It’s been on my bucket list for over a decade, and finally, I visited the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for the first time this spring to see the cherry blossoms. I’m not really sure why I waited so long – other than my dislike for crowds – but I’m so glad I finally decided to go1. There weren’t a lot of people there, and getting to the gardens itself was so easy on mass transit.
It was peak blossom season so all the cherry blossom trees were blooming brilliantly. I know there’s beauty in the chaos of free-flowing gardens, but I love when gardens have symmetry, and the BBG did not disappoint with its lined walkways and symmetrical tree lines. My little perfectionist’s heart felt such a sense of awe and calm2. Outside of the cherry blossoms, we meandered around the gardens checking out most of the sections including the bonsai trees3, and tulips (my personal faves).
Despite the fact that my allergy meds were not working due to the amount of pollen in the air I had a fantastic time and would absolutely recommend a trip. I only wish I visited sooner!
~*~
1. Thanks to my friend who threw out the invite! I really don’t think I’d have motivated myself to go otherwise. 2. I almost asked my friend and her friends to do a version of the Wes Anderson trend that’s been going around on TikTok, but I held back. 3. I used to have two bonsai trees, but unfortunately, my lack of skills (and clearly non-green thumb) meant an early departure for both.
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.
Eat. Read. Blog 