Five Boro Bike Tour

Posted in My New York by

(video from bikenewyork.org)

Every year for the last four years I have considered doing the 5 Boro Bike Tour by Bike New York. Every year I’ve either forgotten, complained that I did not own a bike or else, registered too late, only to find it filled. This year thanks to a reminder from a friend I managed to sign up before the tour sold out.

Waiting to start our 6 hour tour.

The fact that I already knew how to ride a bicycle was a positive minimized by my not owning a bike and thus never riding one more than a few blocks. The tour is a forty-two miles ride though the trafficless streets of 5 New York Boroughs. Initially I considered renting, however, renting cost more than the actual tour itself! Next I thought of buying, however, I did not know what kind of bicycle to get and everyone I spoke to told me to go to an actual bike store and not a general store. Finally another friend suggested that I borrow and this being the route of least resistance (read cheapest), I took it. Through a series of events the bicycle I ended up using for the tour was one I never rode on before tour day. What an experience! Note to self: Make sure you familiarise yourself with the bicycle before you actually ride it.

on 14th & 6th

For those unsure, the 5 Boro Bike Tour takes its riders from  downtown Manhattan (through Central Park) into the Bronx and then onto the FDR. Back into Manhattan you go over the Queensboro bridge, through Astoria Park and onto the BQE which leads to the final run over the Verrazano Bridge and finally into Staten Island where you stop for the Festival at Fort Wadsworth. After this you still have about three miles of cycling to the Staten Island Ferry which takes you back to Manhattan, the end of the tour.

I cannot say I trained for this ride, I did go to the gym and did build up some endurance however, riding a stationary bike as exercise and being on an actual bike route with elevations are two completely different experience.

At a rest stop in Queens

We started on 14th street and 6th avenue to avoid the crowd of people at the start line (Battery City), this was probably a good decision since you had to get there pretty early to be close to the front and you are also riding with 30,000 people. 30,000 people trying to get started is a lot of waiting. It also made our Central Park wait, for people merging and runners crossing shorter; and though I love trees and grass, I do not particularly like the smell of horse manure, so waiting just five minutes – as opposed to the one hour I overheard a lady telling her friend – was worth the 14th street start.

Vehicles of choice

After our second rest stop at Astoria Park and about 25 miles into the ride I wanted to stay off the bike seat and perhaps lie on the grass for a bit (or forever). As a wise friend and 5 Boro Bike Tour veteran once told me, “It’s the getting back onto the seat after stopping that really hurts!”. Indeed, she was correct. She was also correct when she told me that the BQE is much harder than the Verrazano Bridge. I struggled on the BQE. I could not understand why people were passing me nor why it took so much effort for me to advance. When I finally reached the rest stop before the Verrazano Bridge I had already decided that I was not going to ride up the bridge, if the BQE was that difficult then I did not know how I would make it up such a long incline.

A few people from our group left before the Verrazano Bridge, so from ten we were down to six.

Here we go into the 4th borough

The trek up the Verrazano Bridge turned out better than I thought, so I kept peddling (slow and steady, just keep going) until I reached the peak of the climb and then it was all downhill from there (literally). Going down was one of my favourite parts of the tour as it was the promise of the end, the cool – almost cold – breeze that hits you and knowing that I did it, I travelled across the Verrazano Bridge for free! (Seriously, Staten Island, $11.00 to cross a bridge?) It was only on the descent that I noticed that I had lost a lot of air in my tires – probably why I was struggling to move forward on the BQE, but that is just my supposition.

We rested for at least 30 minutes at the festival, got some free massages (best feeling ever) and flavoured coconut drink and I accepted a free visor – so much sun. The final three miles after the festival took us to the Ferry and then a Ferry ride took us back to Manhattan and that ended the tour.

With a total of six bananas consumed, a start time of around 8:30 a.m. and an end time – at the festival – of 2:30 p.m., I think I did pretty well for my first long distance bicycle ride. The pain the next day was not as bad as I thought it would be (now that it’s a somewhat distant memory). Will I do it again? I’m pretty sure I would.

Latitude Log of Tour

The day on Twitter:

It’s too early for me to be up. #tdfbbt #whatdidigetmyselfinto
5:15 AM May 2nd via web

Racked and ready to roll. #tdfbbt #earlymorningsmarts
5:56 AM May 2nd via UberTwitter

Silver Bullets new friend. #tdfbbt #gettingtweetsinbeforeriding http://tweetphoto.com/20784245
5:59 AM May 2nd via UberTwitter

First rest stop. Back in Manhattan, just blasted thru the Bronks. #tdfbbt
9:27 AM May 2nd via UberTwitter

At Astoria stop. Bananas are yummy!!! #tdfbbt
10:32 AM May 2nd via UberTwitter

In the 4th borough – Brooklyn. Passed the 25th marker on the way. Wow … This is crazy. #tdfbbt #whatwasithinking?
11:49 AM May 2nd via UberTwitter

From our first rest stop about an hour ago. #tdfbbt http://tweetphoto.com/20811903
11:52 AM May 2nd via UberTwitter

Only the Verrizanno bridge to go. I feel like I accomplished something. My butt hurts. #tdfbbt
1:36 PM May 2nd via UberTwitter

FINISHED the bike tour!!!! #tdfbbt #accomplished.
2:36 PM May 2nd via UberTwitter

I rode the ENTIRE Verrazanno!!!! #accomplished! #tdfbbt
2:42 PM May 2nd via UberTwitter

I survived my FIRST bike tour!! #tdfbbt http://tweetphoto.com/20834043
3:03 PM May 2nd via UberTwitter

Juuust got a free massage … A massage never felt this good. #tdfbbt
3:41 PM May 2nd via UberTwitter

I’m on a boat! Well, the Staten Island Ferry. #tdfbbt.
5:16 PM May 2nd via UberTwitter

home. showered. bed! what a great day at #tdfbbt
8:05 PM May 2nd via web

Conventions: A Toy Story

Posted in My New York by

Buzz and Woody

One of the great things about New York is the many conventions and exhibits that you can find in the city. “The city” for those who are not in the know, is another name the locals have given to Manhattan. If you are going into the city, you are going into Manhattan.

For those who aren’t sure what a convention or exhibit is, I can only describe it as a gathering of like organizations (groups/companies) in one place to display their  product(s), either for profit or to raise awareness. Generally for profit.

Football Toy

I attended my first convention this week at the Jacob Javits Center. It was a Toy Convention, and yes, that means that there were companies who were displaying their toys for all ages. There were baby toys, stuffed animals, weird gizmos, gadgets for kids and old school toys. There was even a paper football toy there. Except, instead of you making the football and having a friend hold their hands up as the goal, they have provided you with a leather toy shaped like the paper football and a toy goal post. It was cute, but what a way to take the creativity (and to some extent, fun) out of a childhood game.

Old School Monopoly

My favourite part of the convention was the board games. There were tons of new board games and reinvention of old ones everywhere! There was an entire booth dedicated to Settlers of Catan, a game that I keep hearing about but have yet to play. They had the original Monopoly board, something that’s a bit hard to find now with all the newer versions being released.

There were so many different chess sets for any taste, my favourite was the Seelie and Unseelie courts set – well, I’m not sure it was called that, but it was a Faerie set.

Hello Valentine!

There were a ton of action figures, spectacularly made. The intricate work that is put into the clothing and face of these action figures is amazing. I even saw some Tim Burton action figures. Does it make me odd that I want one? I mean, he does have a very macabre line of toys.

I enjoyed the few hours I got to spend at the convention, walking around and feeling like a kid in a candy store.

The best part? Well, since it was Valentine’s Day, the best part would be bumping into Edward Cullen … even if he was just a life-size cardboard cutout. “Why Mr. Cullen, you’re shorter than I thought!”.


Tim Burton Toy

I choose you!

New York Secrets: Street Food

Posted in My New York, Plateful by

Our Locals Only stamps

The streets of New York City are littered with street vendors. Some sell souvenirs and little knickknacks and others sell food. One of the best hotdog eating experience is getting it from a street vendor. I’ve been told that one of the best chicken and rice is the vendor on 53rd Street and 6th Ave. People love buying the roasted nuts, especially in the winter. No one thinks twice of these things. So when my friend, Evie, told me that she had passes for two to sample food from a food truck where the meal was cooked by a top New York chef I was game.

NBC got a few chefs to leave their kitchens for a day and make gourmet food for New Yorkers in a food truck. The locations were secret and you had to have a password to get stamped to get food. Our street cart was run by Chef Daniel Boulud owner of DBGB Kitchen and Bar.

Only the best sausage ever!

I got the sausage and Evie got the burger. The dessert was a kind of parfait, but whatever it was it was delicious.

Chef Boulud was a pretty funny and high energy guy. He had a great personality and was quite hilarious while sharing the food. “Sausages! Burgers, where are my burgers!!.”

It was quite an experience. What can I say, gourmet food by a famous chef from a street cart is full of YUM!

Waiting in line to for food.

The chef

The food cart

Juiciest burger

Amazing dessert

Daniel Boulud

Serving the meal

Restaurant Week: Sending food back

Posted in My New York, Plateful by

really burnt meat

I did one Restaurant Week post already, so I am not going to go into details about this one, but there were a few things that I found interesting. Apparently, lamb done medium well is not the same as steak done medium well. This was the first time I ever sent food back, but really I could not eat the charcoaled piece of meat that was on my plate! Though, if I was quite honest with myself, I probably would have tortured through it if one other person at our table wasn’t sending their meal back in the first place.

Initially I was extremely upset about sending the food back, I didn’t want to insult the person preparing our food, however, the more I thought about it the more I realised that, regardless of whether it is Restaurant Week or not, the reason we go to restaurants and pay money is to enjoy a well prepared meal and if that is not true then the entire experience turns into a bad one.

I suppose the one saving grace of the meal – other than the apple cake – was the good company.