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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 8-14, 2022 BXR
BY BEN BRACHFELD
The Five Boro Bike Tour
will return to full strength next
month after two years of pandemic
limbo, and cycling honchos
say participants this year
will not only get to enjoy the event
at capacity, but also an extra hour
of car-free streets.
The tour — which, as its name
suggests, visits all five boroughs
— is once again open to its capacity
registration of 32,000 participants,
after being cancelled
altogether in 2020 due to the COVID
19 lockdown, and featuring
a diminished ridership of just
20,000 in 2021, and a later-thannormal
August date. The event,
which began in 1977, comes back
to New York on Sunday, May 1.
With the extra hour in place,
participants will be able to
choose from a greater number of
“waves” with which to start the
tour, which organizers say will
reduce congestion and allow for a
more pleasant experience.
“The extra hour is a gamechanger
for the riders of the TD
Five Boro Bike Tour,” said Ken
Podziba, president of event organizer
Bike New York, in a statement.
“The ability to spread out
the start waves means less congestion,
plus additional space
to soak in the amazing views
and enjoy a more leisurely, freewheeling
ride. This year’s Tour
will be the best one yet, and we’re
grateful to Mayor Eric Adams,
Department of Transportation
Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez
and all our government
partners for working with us to
infuse an exciting, new liberating
feel to the Tour experience.”
Organizers have not yet released
the route for this year’s
pedaling palooza, but, as in previous
years, the program will begin
in Lower Manhattan and end on
Staten Island. Last year, the route
started at Manhattan’s southern
tip and traveled up to Harlem,
crossed the river for a brief layover
in the Bronx before returning
to the east side of Manhattan,
after which riders crossed
the Queensboro Bridge and cycled
through waterfront nabes in
Queens and Brooklyn. Finally,
riders trekked across the Verrazzano
Narrows Bridge to the finish
Bicyclists approach the Verrazono Bridge in Bay Ridge May 6 during the Five Boro Bike Tour. Photo | Elizabeth Graham
line in St. George, Staten Island.
All streets along the route are
closed to motor vehicle traffic so
bike riders can peacefully and
safely navigate the city.
The $112 entrance fee is steep,
but the fee supports Bike New
York’s charitable mission to provide
free bike education courses
to children and adults throughout
New York City. The non-profit
claims that its educational programs,
administered at “community
bike education centers,”
reached up to 30,000 New Yorkers
in 2020.
The entrance fee includes
snacks, water, and “entertainment”
at rest stops along the
route, access to free bike repairs,
and entry to the “finish festival”
at the end of the circuit on Staten
Island.
Five Boro Bike Tour to return
to full capacity in May
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