[Banks246]

Yesterday was a lot of fun. I was nervous after a lot of people talked about the "Five Boro Walking Tour." Only dismounted a few times and it wasn't a big deal. Loved riding down the FDR, the BQE and the bridges.

My girlfriend and I started in Central Park. Best move! Friends started downtown and took forever to go the four miles to the Park.

My biggest complaint: No free Gu packets!!! ;-) I was hoping to stock up.

Also, condolences to the gentleman who had a heart attack on the Queensboro Bridge. My friends texted that they were stopped because of a medical emergency. When we got home we learned that he had passed away. Very sad. Something like this reinforces that you should enjoy every day (and every ride).

 

[MrMook]

I always had fun on the 5-boro, even during the slow parts. It helps to do it with a group of friends, so you can all just have fun, no matter the speed.

It rolls through my neighborhood, but I was too wrapped up in other things, and wasn't able to get over to the route to watch.

Sorry to hear about the poor guy with the heart attack.

 

[craig_d]

I agree- i was pleasantly suprised at how little we had to dismount yesterday. I was also extremely pelased that we were able to ride through Central park with little congestion - I had heard (here I think) that it would be a walking tour through CP.

We started downtown and honestly, I didn't think it was that bad getting to CP.

I rode with 2 friends, and made quite a few aquaitances along the way that made the ride even that much more enjoyable.

I was stopped on the Manhattan side of the Queens Boro Bridge and received an automated call from BNY saying there was a medical emergency and that's wht we had been stopped - nice touch. I was not aware of the magnitude until reading this post - my condolences to the gentleman and his family. My only hope is that when it's my time to go, I can go out doing something that I love.

 

[tednugent]

This year (I didn't do it last year), they did a staggered start. Was in the blue zone, so up front....

Got the text on the ferry.... and saw it in the NY Post.

The group I go with, bypassed Central Park by going up Madison.

Too bad my Go Pro Hero 2 was acting up yesterday....
Here's a video on the FDR
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152781740525237&l=5900237697188589878

you can see the shadow of my helmet in the beginning.

the quality is dialed down, since the 1080p video was over 1 gig

 

[Buckwheat987]

thanks for the updates....glad to hear you had a good time.

 

[Sause]

I volunteered at the Expo on Saturday and a Ride assist marshal on Sunday. Sunday we had to meet up with our captains at 5am. :mad2: I'm not a morning person but my friend and I made it happen. I joined in the ride in between the silver and red groups. Helped with several flats and many poorly adjusted brakes.

It was a really cool ride. very relaxed pace which was nice since I took my MTB with street rubber. I even rode 30+ miles on Saturday with my friend up the Greenway and a lap around central park. It was a great day for it!

 

[Dave1442397]

It was a nice ride. I started with the blue group, so I was already past the Queensboro Bridge incident when it happened.

I saw quite a few falls, but I was really watching out for other people after being warned about it by people who did the ride before. I only saw one serious accident, where someone hit an expansion joint in a dark underpass and was being wheeled to an ambulance as I passed by.

The views were great, and it was a nice way to see the city. I'm usually driving in the boros and see nothing but the traffic around me.

If I do it again I'll have to find out exactly where the Verrazano Strava segment starts, and push harder!

 

[tednugent]

It was a nice ride. I started with the blue group, so I was already past the Queensboro Bridge incident when it happened.

Was also in the blue group also... did you see a person with a brown "moose" helmet cover?

 

[Dave1442397]

Was also in the blue group also... did you see a person with a brown "moose" helmet cover?

Sorry, didn't see you...I saw the trumpet heads, and plenty of people with ribbons stuck to their helmets, but no moose

 

[unnamedny]

I did 5 boro tour last year and it was somewhat fun. I was right in the leading pack. (I even seen the crash on BQE, almost run into it in fact) We had to stop and wait for 40 minutes for the roads to get closed at Queensborough bridge and it was frustrating. What was even more frustrating is that we had to wait another 40 minutes in Staten island park for them to close the roads from the Fort to the ferry. It's a fun event but for $300 VIP ticket I wish they've had at least included an event cycling jersey. Bottom line is, it's a fun event if you get on the bike few times a month, but if you do 2000+miles every year it's not too much fun.