The climax of the road trip, the NYC Five Boro Tour! Doing this as a roadie who wants to move quick to beat the rain is pretty tough if you aren't in the first wave, but I eventually caught the front at Astoria Park in Queens, where the police had everyone stop for a bit before closing the rest of the streets.
Unfortunately, I didn't hit the record button correctly after restarting - all of a sudden everyone was moving and I didnt want to lose the front again. I rode in a huge peloton-like bubble right behind the police escort from Astoria Park, through Queens and Brooklyn, until they floored it and everyone opened up on the Verrazano Bridge.
Then we were held once again at the finish festival until the road to the Staten Island Ferry was cleared.
I would say it was a once in a lifetime experience, but I'm definitely going to have to do it again! Next time I'll probably take it easy with friends instead of trying to speed through it. Though, I do have to say the difference in riding in the back with everyone zigzagging all over the road vs riding in the front where people keep their lines and call out hazards like a regular group ride had a big effect on how much I enjoyed the last half. Maybe I just shell out for VIP next time if I can't drag any friends to it!
Strava activity: / strava
Recorded on May 5th, 2024 with an Insta360 Go 3
00:00:00 Five Boro Tour Start/6th Ave @ Franklin St
00:10:08 Manhattan 6th Ave @ W 21 St
00:17:05 Manhattan 6th Ave @ W 50th St
00:19:37 Manhattan Entering Central Park
00:31:14 Manhattan Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd
00:35:55 Manhattan East on W 135th St
00:37:25 Madison Ave Bridge into the Bronx
00:40:07 Third Avenue Bridge back onto Manhattan
00:41:48 Manhattan South on Harlem River Dr
00:49:27 Manhattan Harlem River Dr under Carl Schurz Park
00:53:28 Manhattan 63rd St
00:54:53 Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge into Queens
01:00:27 Queens North on 21st St
01:06:52 Queens Astoria Park
01:07:47 Staten Island leaving Fort Wadsworth
01:10:41 Staten Island Hylan Blvd and Edgewater St
01:12:51 Staten Island Front St
01:16:05 Staten Island Bay St to the Ferry