Everyone who knows I’m a cyclist, but isn’t one him- or herself, is going to ask whether I did the Five Boro Bike Tour. The answer is “no”.
I am happy for those who did. I simply don’t want to ride in such a mass of people, some of whom have no idea of how to ride in groups. Also, I don’t want to be stuck on Staten Island for three hours, waiting to get on the Ferry. That happened the last time I rode the 5BBT.
Plus, I’m cheap.
I don’t want to spend $25 on a one-day ride, even if there’s a T-shirt
at the end of it.
Vera, like Arielle, didn’t seem to mind that I
didn’t have a planned itinerary. She
took me through on a journey through a place that showed no sign of the
changing season, and another that couldn’t help but to remind one of the fact
that today was one of the first warm days of the year.
Passing Forest Park and rolling down Woodhaven
Boulevard as it turned onto Beach Channel Drive, I could have been on my way to
the Rockaways again. Much as I enjoy
riding there, Vera wasn’t about to take me there, and I was happy for
that.
From there, I picked up the bike trail along Shore Parkway to the Canarsie Pier, where it seemed every male from the surrounding neighborhoods was fishing.
Next stop: Coney Island. It simply wasn’t possible to ride the boardwalk because it was so crowded. It was like the Fourth of July, except that nobody was swimming. Although the ocean is warming, it’s still only about 10 degrees C (50F): too cold for most people. Lots of folks were walking, playing volleyball, building sandcastles or simply hanging out in the sand. Even Hasidic Jewish girls were taking off their shoes and treading the sand in their heavily-stockinged feet.
Up to that time, the wind had been blowing at or
beside me. That meant, of course, I’d
have the wind at my back for a good part
of the ride home. Even with all of its
cracks and potholes, the ride up the Ocean Parkway bridle path and past Prospect Park and the Williamsburg
waterfront went quickly.
So…I had two great days and two great rides on two
great bikes. I could hardly ask for
more.