42,000 of my closest friends

Ever since I learned there was such a thing, I have wanted to do the Five Boro Bike Tour. Last Sunday, I did. It's a 42 mile tour of New York and ending in Staten Island (with, seriously, about 3 minutes in the Bronx). It was awesome, except for the part where I left my seat bag in a Port-a-Let in Astoria, only to discover this in lower Brooklyn, about 15 miles later, and with no way to back track. Fortunately, the fine folks at Bike New York have an excellent lost and found system.

The most memorable thing about the ride was the myriad sounds I heard: the cumulative roar of hundreds of tires rubbing the road, a chorus of bells ringing at the starting area, all the bikers hooting as we entered an underpass on the southbound FDR. There were sights too, of course. Here are some:

The staging area in Downtown Manhattan. To get the full effect, you really need to click on this picture

Up Sixth Avenue.

Hauling down the FDR Highway: one of my favorite sections of the ride!

The Port-A-Let queue in Astoria. Little did I know when I snapped this shot that I'd be leaving so much behind...

The Verrazano Narrows Bridge, as seen from the Staten Island Ferry after the ride. It's really long, but if you look south while crossing you can see open Atlantic clear to the horizon. It's closed to Bicycle traffic except for this ride.