My 42 miles of adventure started at 7am when I met my team in TriBeCa. At 8am sharp, we were off!
With roughly 30,000 participates, the ride was pretty slow at first, but as we got closer to Central Park the gaps between people became greater. After Central Park, we went through Harlem (for about 10 blocks), then Brooklyn and finally, Queens. Along the way were rest stops stocked up with Pop chips, Bonita bananas, Larabars, Snapple energy drinks, water and other little snackies from the sponsors. We only stopped at one rest stop (#2) and I’m proud to say that in the span of 4 hours, I didn’t need to use the restroom once!
What a cool experience to have in NYC; we rode on streets, bridges, and highways, through parks, and should have gone on ferries (we didn’t make it to Staten Island due to the 3-hour wait when you return to the city). Not sure if you noticed or heard, but it was raining on Sunday and yes, I rode through it like a champ…sort of. The subway ride on the way back was a little painful and cold…very cold.
Did you know that this tour is the largest biking event in the United States!?! If you live in NYC (or not), this is an experience not to be missed. I was lucky to be recruited by a team of 18 that raised money for three great charities: Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA), United Veteran’s Beacon House (UVBH) and Generation Iraq. Overall the team had 228 donations for a total of $19,200!
Join me next year!