Five Boro Bike Tour
Encyclopedia
The Five Boro Bike Tour is the largest recreational cycling event in the United States
. It is produced by Bike New York
. Every year on the first Sunday of May, over 30,000 riders participate in the 42 miles (67.6 km) ride around New York City
. The route, closed to automobile traffic, takes riders through all five boroughs of New York City, across five major bridges, and finally across New York Harbor
on the Staten Island Ferry
.
The tour starts at Battery Park
in Lower Manhattan
and ends with a festival in Fort Wadsworth
, Staten Island
, (the car free route continues from Fort Wadsworth to the Staten Island ferry allowing participants to make a complete 42 mile loop back to Manhattan). Participants line up behind the start line at Franklin Street and Church Street creating a queue which extends well south of the World Trade Center site
.
The tour runs north up the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), past Macy's
, before entering Central Park
. After exiting the park the tour heads north through Harlem
on Seventh Avenue, crossing into the Bronx
for a short 2 miles (3.2 km) section before re-entering Manhattan via FDR Drive. The FDR portion of the tour runs south through Manhattan under Gracie Mansion
before crossing the East River
via the Queensboro Bridge
into Queens
. The first major rest area of the tour is at Astoria Park
, Queens.
From Astoria Park the tour crosses south through Queens, over the Pulaski Bridge
into Brooklyn
, where it follows the waterfront, past the Brooklyn Navy Yard
. After crossing under the Brooklyn Bridge
, the route follows up and onto the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, continuing on the elevated BQE before dropping onto the Shore Parkway
and over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge into Staten Island
.
Once in Staten Island the tour makes a stop at Fort Wadsworth
for a festival, before continuing the last three miles (5 km) to the Staten Island Ferry where riders can take the ferry back to Battery Park in Manhattan. Some New Jerseyans return home over the Bayonne Bridge
instead.
What started as a one-time event became a tradition the next year when the New York City Mayor Ed Koch
embraced the idea of a city-wide bike tour. The distance was shortened and the word "challenge" was changed to "tour" to make the event more appealing to the general public. That year, the number of participants increased tenfold to around 3000.
The success of the 5 boro tour has inspired other major city tours, such as Bike Philly
in Philadelphia, and Bike DC
in Washington DC.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is produced by Bike New York
Bike New York
Bike New York is an organization based in New York City that encourages cycling and bicycle safety. They are best known for producing the Five Boro Bike Tour, the largest recreational cycling event in the United States. The Tour, which occurs on the first Sunday of May every year, takes 30,000...
. Every year on the first Sunday of May, over 30,000 riders participate in the 42 miles (67.6 km) ride around New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The route, closed to automobile traffic, takes riders through all five boroughs of New York City, across five major bridges, and finally across New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
on the Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
.
Route
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
and ends with a festival in Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. Prior to closing in 1994 it claimed to be the longest...
, Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, (the car free route continues from Fort Wadsworth to the Staten Island ferry allowing participants to make a complete 42 mile loop back to Manhattan). Participants line up behind the start line at Franklin Street and Church Street creating a queue which extends well south of the World Trade Center site
World Trade Center site
The World Trade Center site , also known as "Ground Zero" after the September 11 attacks, sits on in Lower Manhattan in New York City...
.
The tour runs north up the Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), past Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, before entering Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. After exiting the park the tour heads north through Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
on Seventh Avenue, crossing into the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
for a short 2 miles (3.2 km) section before re-entering Manhattan via FDR Drive. The FDR portion of the tour runs south through Manhattan under Gracie Mansion
Gracie Mansion
thumb|250px|Western sideGracie Mansion is the official residence of the mayor of the City of New York. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and Eighty-eighth Street in Manhattan...
before crossing the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
via the Queensboro Bridge
Queensboro Bridge
The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59th Street Bridge – because its Manhattan end is located between 59th and 60th Streets – or simply the Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City that was completed in 1909...
into Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. The first major rest area of the tour is at Astoria Park
Astoria Park
Astoria Park, a park located along the East River in the New York City borough of Queens, contains one of the largest open spaces in Queens. The park is operated and maintained by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Situated in Astoria and adjacent to the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge...
, Queens.
From Astoria Park the tour crosses south through Queens, over the Pulaski Bridge
Pulaski Bridge
The Pulaski Bridge in New York City connects Long Island City in Queens to Greenpoint in Brooklyn over Newtown Creek. It was named after Polish military commander and American Revolutionary War fighter Kazimierz Pułaski because of the large Polish-American population in Greenpoint...
into Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, where it follows the waterfront, past the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The United States Navy Yard, New York–better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or the New York Naval Shipyard –was an American shipyard located in Brooklyn, northeast of the Battery on the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the river across from Corlear's Hook in Manhattan...
. After crossing under the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
, the route follows up and onto the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, continuing on the elevated BQE before dropping onto the Shore Parkway
Belt Parkway
The Belt System is a series of connected limited-access highways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The system comprises four officially separate parkways; however, three of the four are signed as the Belt Parkway...
and over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge into Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
.
Once in Staten Island the tour makes a stop at Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. Prior to closing in 1994 it claimed to be the longest...
for a festival, before continuing the last three miles (5 km) to the Staten Island Ferry where riders can take the ferry back to Battery Park in Manhattan. Some New Jerseyans return home over the Bayonne Bridge
Bayonne Bridge
The Bayonne Bridge is the fourth longest steel arch bridge in the world, and was the longest in the world at the time of its completion. It connects Bayonne, New Jersey with Staten Island, New York, spanning the Kill Van Kull. Despite popular belief, it is not a national landmark.The bridge was...
instead.
History
The event began on June 10, 1977 as the Five Boro Challenge with about 250 participants. The original tour was 50 miles (80.5 km) long and started and ended in Queens.What started as a one-time event became a tradition the next year when the New York City Mayor Ed Koch
Ed Koch
Edward Irving "Ed" Koch is an American lawyer, politician, and political commentator. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and three terms as mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989...
embraced the idea of a city-wide bike tour. The distance was shortened and the word "challenge" was changed to "tour" to make the event more appealing to the general public. That year, the number of participants increased tenfold to around 3000.
The success of the 5 boro tour has inspired other major city tours, such as Bike Philly
Bike Philly
Bike Philly is a bicycle tour of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on a closed route cleared of motorized vehicular traffic.The tour is sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, and it occurs on the second Sunday of September. The inaugural event for Bike Philly was held on September...
in Philadelphia, and Bike DC
Bike DC
Bike DC is a bicycle tour of Washington DC, on a closed route cleared of motorized vehicular traffic.The tour has been staged with both Fall and Spring dates, in 2010 Bike DC was held on May 23...
in Washington DC.