What the Five Boro Bike Tour Means to Me

In 2011, Bike New York asked me to write about my experience with the Five Boro Bike Tour and what it means to me (note: you can share your story too!). Since the link to my article no longer works, I'm posting it on my blog for eternity:

Most grown women probably don't consider a 50 pound mass of metal and rubber their best friend. But I do.

I received my bike as a gift in 2004, but was too out of shape to ride. It took 3 years and losing about 40 pounds to build up the courage I needed.

My first ride was an ambitious one: from my apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, over the Williamsburg Bridge to Manhattan.

With some self doubt, but even more determination, I rode to Williamsburg. I confronted that steep ramp - and just started pedaling. To my amazement I was strong enough to pedal a bike (with no gears!) up that bridge; all the way to Manhattan and then back to Brooklyn. I went home, wrote about the experience and cried, simultaneously amazed and proud of that accomplishment.

But it wasn't until 2009 that I signed up for my first bike tour: The 5 Boro. A friend of mine encouraged me to register. He believed in me, even when I did not.

My training was simple: Just ride a little more every weekend than the previous weekend. By that first Sunday in May, I was nervous, but pretty sure I was ready.

What I hadn’t anticipated was the worst weather in 5 Boro's history. It was cold and rained all day. I was not prepared - mentally or physically.

Despite the unfortunate weather conditions, I rode. I was freezing and drenched. But I told myself I wasn’t giving up; I would complete that bike tour, no matter what. Though it was the toughest thing I’d done in my life thus far, I did it! I arrived at the muddy party in Staten Island, taking the ferry back to Manhattan, and biked home to Brooklyn.

That experience, The 5 Boro Bike Tour, changed me. That day I proved to myself I was capable of so much more than I ever realized, that I could set a goal and complete it, that I could overcome challenging conditions and that I was more fit than ever.

It's been 2 years and I've done many bike tours since, but the 5 Boro will always be the most special. My life has changed for the better in so many ways because of that first bike tour.

Now my bike and I are world famous - thanks to my blog and the thousands of miles I've ridden around NYC. And that's the same bike I ride in every bike tour: my best friend - a pink Hello Kitty Cruiser with no gears. I wouldn’t consider riding anything else.

See you on May 1st!