What a fantastic day. The weather was perfect, not too hot or cold, and very little wind to battle.
Personally, I drove into 'The City' and stayed in the Wall Street area, as it was close to the start line and to Battery Park, where the ferry would drop me after the tour. It is a great area, but I would not stay there again because of parking difficulties. I plan to stay further up the Island of Manhattan and take the Empire State Bike Trial, nearer to the start line, the next time I do the tour, and there will be a next time; it was fully enjoyable!
As for my parking issues, I had parking included in my hotel, as I knew parking could be a pain in NYC. The downside is that the hotel parking was valet parking, and I had to remove the bike rack from the trailer hitch before the valet would take it. Did I mention that I had yet to check in as the hotel did not have a way to drive close to park for check-in or to drop bags? This resulted in me, on my back under the car in a cramped garage area with vehicles coming in and out, removing the bolt holding the bike rack on with a socket wrench next to my bike and bags. Thankfully I had the necessary socket and driver in the car, and it only took about 2 min. Others were not so lucky, and I only had one socket size, so I couldn't assist them, though I offered. I saw two families with the same problem I had, having to remove their bike racks before a valet would take their cars. I was traveling light, so I just clipped my shoes to the pedals of the S40, hung my helmet from the bars, threw my gym bag of clothes over my shoulder, and walked up the ramp out of the garage walking beside the S40, never concerned about kicking or catching a pedal with my legs. Imagine watching families of 4, with 4 bikes, suitcases, bags, and computers, all trying to sort out and get up the ramp to the street and then on sidewalks to their hotels. Madness!
I didn't want to miss anything on the tour day, so I was up at 0445 and out of the hotel at 0545, as the instructions said to arrive between 0600 and 0700 for my wave. I was the first rider to arrive for Wave 1, for any wave. I was there before the VIP or Charity riders, before the portajohns or route barriers were up, and even before the police had finished arriving. It was worth it to me, as I got some excellent photos and was at the start tape with the 'serious' riders, the folks with $15k+ rides with sub-2-hour aspirations for a 40-mile ride. The start pens were on Chruch Street, with each wave loosely separated. It made for an easy start as it's flat; however, as I approached the start timing line, the street narrowed by about 40%, so it got super jammed. I just sat and walked the S40 until just after the start line. After that, for about the first hour, I had to deal with groups of riders staying together as they supported various charities and causes, making passing difficult and setting the speed at about 8mph. After that, the ride sped up considerably, with no traffic issues. I saw several other recumbent riders but no one on a Cruzbike. I was able to pick up my speed quite a bit once I was in Queens, as the streets were straight, and I was mainly through the crowds and had some space to crank.
I strongly recommend the 5 Boro Bike Tour to any Cruzbike riders! I wouldn't let concerns about the big crowds prohibit you from riding the tour, sign up and give it a go!!
At the start before anyone else!
On the start line, minutes away from the start!
Yup, I'm a tourist!
Boarding the ferry to Battery Park.
