5 Boro Bike Tour

September, 2015 was my inaugural Citi Bike ride. I signed up for the membership and took a Rules of the Road class hosted by a volunteer organization, Bike NYC, before unlocking my first bike. Whenever you see a city cyclist breaking a rule, just know that I made an effort to become a NYC bike rider who knew what they were doing. Getting a ticket on a bike is the exact same ticket you would get for breaking a law while driving a car, meaning it is $190. Consider yourself warned. 

Since 1977, NYC has hosted the 5 Boro Bike Tour, a 40-mile cycling route from Manhattan, to the Bronx, to Queens, over to Broolyn, and ending in Staten Island. This year, we paid $130 each to participate in this 40-mile extravaganza. We considered renting bikes through a bike shop but decided to commit to our love of Citi Bike and ride on Citi Bike all day, even though the bikes weigh 45 pounds, more than double a regular bike. My former ClassPass colleague, Jeff, had done the tour on Citi Bike before so I knew it was possible. Jeff also had a connection at Citi Bike who would waive our overage fees after the race, allowing us to check out a bike for the entire race without incurring fees (which would have been $65 a person, not bad actually). 

On May 7, 2023, we woke up to weather in the low 60s, clear skies and sunshine ahead. We took off from Tibeca at 8:40. Several people biked up next to us during the race to say “Wow! You are doing the race on a Citi Bike.” We saw 5 other Citi Bikes the whole day, which was quite a low percentage considering 60,000 people biked that day. The 4 hour and 40 minute ride had random conversations, beautiful city views, and some rough hills, but all smiles. 

My back hurt for exactly one month after. I’m not sure any amount of training could have spared me the pain of a 45 pound bike. And I can't say I would do it again on a Citi Bike. But I loved every minute of it. To experience all 5 boroughs on closed roads, on a sunshine day, is a magical feeling. It fueled my desire for more long bike rides, prompting a 35-mile bike ride in the Hamptons and a 30-mile tour in Chicago. 

Know of a cool 30-40 mile bike tour? I am all ears! !