Biking Adventures: the Tour de Bronx

Recently I rode in what will be my last bike tour of the year - the Tour de Bronx. According to the Transportation Alternatives page, it's the largest free bike event in the New York state. I'm not sure how many people were there, but 'free' does bring out a lot of people. It was my first time doing this tour and I was excited to see where in the Bronx we would go, especially since that is my birthplace and I have a lot of childhood memories in that borough.

Unfortunately, the weeks leading up to this bike tour were rough on me and I never planned a special outfit. But we sure lucked out weather wise - it was unseasonably warm (about 70)! So I went with a fairly typical (and uninspired) outfit -

I left Greenpoint at 7:45am bound for the starting point, Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. I consulted my trusty NYC Bike map and planned my route. It was a pretty straight forward trip (Pulaski Bridge to Queens, 59th St Bridge to Manhattan, 1st Ave straight up to 125th St/Harlem and then onto the Willis Ave Bridge which connects to the Bronx, left on 138th St, right on Grand Concourse and straight up to 161st St). Although it was a pretty direct route, I was glad I had been in the Bronx a few weeks earlier (when I rode to Orchard Beach) because it familiarized me with the roads.

 Here are a few shots on my way to the starting line:

4 boroughs, 9 miles and 1 hour later I arrived! I got checked in -

and took some photos before the tour began...

I love the Bronx!

Woohoo! Yonkers represent!

Many people wanted to be photographed with me (as usual). Here are a few-

I was also recognized by many cyclists - mostly from previous bike tours. And of course I was asked all the usual questions ad nauseum by strangers... (I seriously should just have cards printed already):

• "Are you really riding in heels?" YES, THESE ARE MY 'BIKING SHOES'
• "Which tour are you doing (25 or 40)?" (They all assume I am doing the short tour - every last one of them was amazed when I told them '40'.) THE 40. YES, THE FORTY. I DID 90 MILES ON THIS BIKE LAST MONTH, IN HEELS. I HAVE QUADS OF STEEL. OH YEAH, AND DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ME!
• "You took the subway here, right?" NO I RODE MY BIKE HERE. YES, FROM BROOKLYN. AND YES, IN THESE SHOES!
• "Does that bike have any gears?" NO GEARS. THAT'S RIGHT, MY LEGS ARE MY GEARS! AND NO, I DO NOT GET OFF THIS BIKE FOR HILLS! DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ME!

Seriously people - you all ask me the same questions! Have some originality!

Then a woman approached me and told me that her friend, standing a few feet from us, reads my blog. I went over to meet the woman - Irene - and we ended up talking for quite a while before the tour began. (Hi Irene! Great meeting you and I hope you had a great ride! I actually did buy that pink Road ID!)

Just as they were about to let us begin (they kept us waiting forever!) I saw my friends, Amanda & Robbie, who I didn't even realize were doing the tour. Here they are at a later point in the tour -

Finally, we were off! I had no idea where we were going since I hadn't looked at the route ahead of time, but we hit many neighborhoods I was familiar with - as several I was not. There were some urban sections of the Bronx, beach communities, a few parks, some fancy sections and even two cemeteries.

Here are some photos from the tour...

You may recognize this handsome young man. It's my friend Mitch, who I manage to find and photograph at every bike tour!

This is one of my favorite neon signs in the Bronx - I love that the lobster has sunglasses on!

Look where we ended up - back at Orchard Beach. Yes, the same beach where I was freezing and covered in mud just a few weeks earlier!

And here I am, surrounded by more new friends - I call this "hot chocolate"! Hellllllo, boys!

Then, at one point we were in the Wakefield section of the Bronx on East 238th St - which was in the vicinity of the apartment that I spent my first 8 years in. And when I saw we were approaching White Plains Road (the main road that I have so many memories of), I got really excited. We crossed White Plains Road and turned onto Matilda. I immediately welled up with tears. That was my old street - Matlida Ave! I couldn't believe it! The tour turned left on Nereid, but I continued one block further on Matilda, so I could visit my old apartment building.

I had only been there once in the last 30 years since moving, and it was last spring when I did a walking tour of the Bronx and Yonkers. It was emotional for me then as well. I approached the house I first called home and saw a man in the front yard, sweeping up leaves. I was already in tears. I watched him for a moment and thought "That's what my Dad would be doing right now". He saw me watching him and he looked up. I pointed at the apartment and told him "I used to live here" and cried even more. I apologized for being so emotional and said that just looking in that yard brought back a lot of memories. He understood and allowed me to stand there and reminisce.

I remember my dog, Dusty, running around that front yard, I remember playing in the snowstorms and my Cher doll getting 'lost' (temporarily) in the deep snow. I remember my summer birthday parties. I remember my Great Grandparents  - mostly my Great Grandpa Mario because he used to pick me up from Kindergarten and bring me home. I remember that just beyond that front door, in the wood paneled hallway, was my Barbie dreamhouse that I got for Christmas one year. I remember crying in that front yard as I watched the garbage men take the trash - where my Mom had just thrown out our Planet of the Apes dolls. I looked at the door to the storage area and remembered how our bikes were stolen from there one night. I remember standing at that front door with my Dad to call in our cat, Rusty. I remember the side of the building on the street - where my Dad and Uncle played handball against the wall at the front of the building. I looked at the bedroom window and could perfectly recall our bedroom furniture configuration, remembered watching TV in there, remembered summer days how I would look out that very window at the shadows of the trees on the neighbor's building. I looked at the bathroom window and remembered that was the bathroom where I learned how to *use* a bathroom, and the same bathroom where I cracked my brother's head open by showing him my 'trick' of swinging from the towel bar (part of the trick is to hang on!).

There were a lot of memories that flooded over me very quickly. I took a moment to sit on the curb and just process everything. A few minutes later the man emerged from the yard and was going to sweep the leaves and litter from the curb. I thanked him for taking care of the property and told him my Dad and my Great Grandfather Mario (who used to own that building) would be proud. It was nice to see that building again...

I finally left there, and tried to regain my composure. I circled the block to rejoin the tour and made sure my favorite hand painted sign was still in-tact on Nereid Ave. I was thrilled that it was!

I continued down Nereid and we made a left on Webster (that's the Yonkers border, by the way - and Yonkers is where I lived for 25 years, before moving to Brooklyn). We rode up Webster and headed straight into Woodlawn Cemetery! I couldn't believe it! That's my cemetery! I have a lot of family buried in that cemetery and have always loved it. It's just so beautiful. I never thought I would have the opportunity to bike through it. It was simply wonderful!

 

In the cemetery, I had somehow managed to pick up my own personal NYPD escort who accompanied me until the end of the tour! (There were a few cop cars and pope mobiles that escorted the tour till the end, but one cop in particular on a motorcycle stayed by my side the whole way stopping traffic. You'll see him later. He rules!)

After that we headed through Van Cortlandt Park golf course - where my brother worked for years. He doesn't read my blog, but I took a photo for him anyway-

And then we headed towards Riverdale with a brief rest stop in the park by the start of the 1 Train.

While there, a young man said to me "You're awesome!" I told him that yes, indeed, I *am* awesome, and asked him to get a photo with me. This is Sean, a nice Irish boy from the Bronx on his way to get some beer. I mentioned how much I love beer! He and his friends invited me to join them, but I told them I had to finish the tour and get back to Brooklyn, where my beer (and fries) awaited me. Thanks for the offer though, Sean!

As I was exiting the park, a handsome young man with a professional camera asked to photograph me. I said "Sure!" After he took them I asked what they were for - "The Riverdale Press", he told me. I gave him my information and sure enough, one of his photos of me made it into the article-

Waiting to exit the park, I had been warned by cyclists who've done this tour before that Riverdale (the section I was about to embark upon) was the most challenging part - lots of hills. I had been hearing abut this portion of the ride all day and just hoped that I wouldn't encounter a hill so challenging that it forced me to get off my bike. But I had no idea what to expect and didn't want to psych myself out. I just told myself I'd deal with it as it came, taking it one pedal at a time.

(If you are not familiar with Riverdale, it's by far one of the most beautiful sections of the Bronx. You can easily forget you are in NYC. There are lush winding roads with lots of greenery and large beautiful homes set a good distance apart from each other. It's absolutely beautiful.) 

Almost immediately after leaving that park, we were going up a long, steep, winding hill. I was riding along side another man who also had a bike without gears. He mentioned wanting to have a serious 'talk' with whomever planned this route. He said his legs were burning. I thought it interesting to hear his reaction because I also have  bike with no gears, but my legs never burn when I ride my bike -  my heart rate gets more elevated and my pedaling is slower than normal but my legs don't burn from hills. I made it to the top before him and told him I felt great (I love passing guys on hills - in a pink bike - with no gears - and 4 " heels).

As we continued through Riverdale, my NYPD escort was by my side -

We left Riverdale and hit the Kingsbridge section where I saw *the* most daunting hill of the entire ride before my eyes. "We're going up THAT?!". The sight of it alone worried me. I honestly wasn't sure I'd make it - it wasn't just steep, it was pretty long, too. Now, I know that when I ride my bike people are already watching me because of what me & my bike look like - but when I encounter these extra challenges on tours, I am more aware of their eyes than ever and I give it E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G I have because I know they are expecting me to fail. With that in mind, and a deep breath, I started my way up that hill. I happened to be riding along side a slim and healthy looking man around my age. He was in racing gear, on a 'real' bike and his bike was in a gear that had him pedaling frantically. He must have been out of breath because he was breathing through his mouth. I heard him mumbling something (surely cursing the hill) but couldn't decipher his words. I calmly and slowly pedaled along side him, not out of breath, and we kept pace with each other. In fact, we made it to the top of the hill at the same moment. It was fantastic. I felt more vindicated than ever that it doesn't matter what bike you have or what 'bike appropriate gear' you are wearing - all that matters is your will and determination. I am certain he was shocked that I kept pace with him and if I could have high-fived him at the top of that hill, I would have.

We continued along...

And soon after that we made our way to the Bronx Botanical Garden - the finishing point. We used to go there a lot when I was a kid and just hearing those words makes me happy. As we approached the gates, the other NYPD escorts were already there. They had seen me in the cemetery and in Riverdale, but before the crazy hills. They asked me if I made it. I said "Of course I made it! I did NOT get off my bike!" They, and everyone around them - other cyclists included - looked at me, in my heels & outfit, and looked at my bike in disbelief. My personal police escort was there - the one who rode along side me since the cemetery and I asked him to vouch for me, which he did - "She never got off her bike." They congratulated me, though still seemed shocked & amazed (I'll be honest, even I was amazed I made it up those hills!)

I went into the park for my souvenir T-Shirt and found my friend Carin from Weight Watchers who had done the tour with her son. I was glad I bumped into her since I didn't get to see her at the start of the tour. (Hi Carin! Congrats on your first tour!)

And on my way out of the park, a super stylish young man asked to be photographed with me. He had also done the tour. I forget his name but he was European -

I left there, headed for Brooklyn, but didn't take a direct route home. I went from the Grand Concourse, over the Madison Ave Bridge into Manhattan. From there I took Park Avenue all the way down to 42nd St - Grand Central Terminal - so I could use the bathroom and get a banana. Then I rode south on 2nd Ave till Delancey, taking the Williamsburg Bridge back to Brooklyn. Here are some pics from my ride home:

 

 

Ten or so hours after I left my apartment I was back in Brooklyn! I rode north to Greenpoint to go to my usual post-bike-tour-ritual bar for wheat beer & waffle fries. As soon as I walked in with my helmet on, the bartender offered me a sample of a new wheat beer on tap. It was a Weihenstaphen. It was delicious!!! As I removed my helmet, I told him "I just biked 71 miles - give me a pint of that and an order of waffle fries, my good man!"

And just moments later, I was celebrating:

I left there and went home. I was exhausted - too exhausted to even cut my t-shirt and pose for my panty photos, too exhausted to upload my photos to Flickr, too exhausted to even shower. In fact, I went straight to bed at 8pm.

Here are my heart rate monitor stats from that day's bike riding:

Total Biking Time: 415 minutes (6 hours, 55 minutes)
Minutes in Cardio Zone: 215
Percentage of Time in Cardio Zone: 60.48%
Average Heart Rate: 136
High Heart Rate: 178
Total Calories Burned: 2917
Total Miles: 72

I finally took the post-tour photos today. Here they are-

I can't believe bike tour season is over. I already can't wait for next year's bike tours. But in the meantime, as long as there is daylight and it's over 50 degrees, I will be out there every freaking chance I can get. I love my bike!!!!!!


(the entire set of photos - yes, there are more - can be seen here)