2013 New York 5 Boro Ride Info

Definitely psyched to do this. Glad it’s a first come first served; I had friends that some were able to ride, and some weren’t because of the lottery.

Ferry is included. For me it was a bit of a wait, but not terrible.

We did the ride back several times back when there wasn’t a lottery. Last time we did it was in 2001. So, some of this information may be dated…

It is definitely a great ride. Riding and looking up at Radio City Music Hall just sticks in my mind. Riding over the Verrazano Bridge was flippin’ fantastic. You get to see New York in a way you never otherwise get to see.

But, if you do it, get there early early early to be near the front. We had lots of bottlenecks on short inclines (like the 59th Street Bridge) where folks hopped off their bikes without warning and starting pushing them up causing a domino effect because folks couldn’t get by. This happened several times during the ride. They might have taken care of some of that over the years; but, it can definitely slow down your ride experience.

We also learned to plan on spending the night after the ride. It saves a little of the worry of having to wait to get on the ferry and then get too tired on the ride home. I believe we stayed at the Embassy Suites near Battery Park (I used points for the hotel night, definitely worth it). So, it was a short ride from getting off the ferry, getting to the hotel, and then getting a good dinner.

Over the years, it just got a little *too* crowded so we stopped doing it, since we’d done it several times before, in favor of some other rides. But, I do recommend doing it at least once.

I did the five-boro in 2012 but I’m not sure I’d do it again. The only way might be to make it into a party weekend.

@Jason B 38817 wrote:

for the return, is taking the Staten Island ferry free and part of the ride, or do you have wait in line and purchase tickets? I’ve got to assume this is a mess at the end. Thinking of this ride, but a little worried about the return.

@jrenaut 38819 wrote:

Ferry is included. For me it was a bit of a wait, but not terrible.

This. I did the 2012 ride also and it is just somewhat of a line to get on the ferry. I think we waited 45 minutes, but it was at the end of the ride and there was lots of socializing to do. Put this way: It doesn’t stick out as a bad memory from the ride. You’ll be far more frustrated by ride stoppages through bottleneck areas such as parts of Central Park and by newbs with poor bike handling skills.

There are plenty of shenanigans such as people unfamiliar with group rides trying to make crazy passes and causing wrecks (you’ll see plenty of these unfortunately) and of course you’ll see the requisite speed demons making it into a race. You’ll also see some priceless images like 400-pounders in full kit on carbon bikes with 24-spoke-count wheels, all manner of barely roadworthy contraptions which some may loosely refer to as “bikes” (these will be mostly locals), clowns (by virtue of costume and by virtue of behavior) on bikes, super hipsters and the dorkiest of the dorkiest on wheels.

@Megabeth 38828 wrote:

We did the ride back several times back when there wasn’t a lottery. Last time we did it was in 2001. So, some of this information may be dated…

It is definitely a great ride. Riding and looking up at Radio City Music Hall just sticks in my mind. Riding over the Verrazano Bridge was flippin’ fantastic. You get to see New York in a way you never otherwise get to see.

But, if you do it, get there early early early to be near the front. We had lots of bottlenecks on short inclines (like the 59th Street Bridge) where folks hopped off their bikes without warning and starting pushing them up causing a domino effect because folks couldn’t get by. This happened several times during the ride. They might have taken care of some of that over the years; but, it can definitely slow down your ride experience.

We also learned to plan on spending the night after the ride. It saves a little of the worry of having to wait to get on the ferry and then get too tired on the ride home. I believe we stayed at the Embassy Suites near Battery Park (I used points for the hotel night, definitely worth it). So, it was a short ride from getting off the ferry, getting to the hotel, and then getting a good dinner.

Over the years, it just got a little *too* crowded so we stopped doing it, since we’d done it several times before, in favor of some other rides. But, I do recommend doing it at least once.

In 2012 they did corrals for a staged start which many reported as being much better than years past.

One of the highlights for me was one of the best lattes I’ve every had at Sweetleaf Coffee and Tea just as we were leaving Queens about to enter Brooklyn. This year’s route goes via the same route so if you love good coffee you should definitely stop by.

Oh, one last thing (as he does his best Columbo): I and the two other guys I rode with felt like we needed to keep to a decent pace so we could enjoy the festivities at the ride end. The festivities turned out to be blah, so don’t hurry. There is no beer, not even any that you can buy, the food is unmemorable, the whole thing was kind of a let-down. So…take your time while riding. Stop if you want. Look at stuff. Take lots of pictures. You’re not going to miss anything at the end.