Five Boro Bike Tour
Why yes, I am registered for the Five Boro Bike Tour on May 1 in New York City. Ron and I have talked of doing this ride for years. And, Lord willing, it’s happening this year!!!
As my long-time readers know, we have been traveling a lot the past year and half. My husband travels for work and, since our nest is empty, I get to travel with him. He calls it his Road Show. We take our bikes and ride as often as we can on the weekends.
(Ron has to be in the DC area on Monday, May 3, with The Magic Aire Road Show, so we are driving up to New York a couple of days early to ride our bikes. To make the weekend more affordable, we will be using Hilton Points for our hotel and eating on the cheap. We hope to snag some discount tickets to see a show or two on Saturday. We will drive to DC after the ride on Sunday.)
I have to ride a bunch in March and April to prepare! The Verrazano Bridge is 700 feet tall! Here is the route.
The 40-mile, car-free Tour begins in Lower Manhattan (the start line is at Franklin St. and Church St., with entrance points for each of the four start waves running south along Church to Battery Park), heads north through the heart of Central Park, and continues on to Harlem and the Bronx before returning south along the East River on the FDR Drive. From there, cyclists cross into Queens and then into Brooklyn, where riders take over the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway before the heart-pumping climb up—and thrilling ride down—the breathtaking Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and into the Finish Festival on Staten Island.
We will park that morning in Staten Island and take our bikes on the ferry to the start. We purchased the VIP package which includes breakfast, early start times, a jersey, lunch after, and much more. I love the jersey! It has the skyline of NYC on it!
Even after thirty-two years of marriage we must be intentional about spending time together. We plan time off for fun and adventures. Our grief made this more important; it’s easy to let grief overwhelm us and consume our thoughts. Doing fun things together helps us heal and remember the joy we have in Christ. Having an adventure scheduled months away gives us an interesting topic to discuss and plan.
Oh! And here is the latest picture of sweet Lucy. She’s ready to go outside and play with her big brothers.
cycling, Cycling New York, Five Boro Bike Tour, New York, NYC, travel
susieshy45
Kathleen,
Lucy’s looking great and all wrapped up to take in the new day. How many grandbabies do you have ?
How many days is your bike tour and how many miles long ?
Susie
KathleenBDuncan
Lucy has three big brothers, so four. My other kids are not married.
The bike tour is only forty miles. Should be a very nice ride! Weather should be beautiful in May.
susieshy45
40 miles, Kathleen ? I would never be able to do it. Lots of love to you,
Susie
KathleenBDuncan
The first time I ride with Ron we went twelve miles. I had to stop every three to rest. And we were SLOW! The next week I was riding twenty! We went slow and steady, stopping when I needed it. That was a few years ago. Last spring, we rode all over the country. Some rides were ten miles, others were longer. I rode just over 100K in August, but we trained all summer for that.
I’ll have to train to be ready for the ride May 1. Twice each week. Plus running and swimming.
susieshy45
Oh my Kathleen. You are phenomenal.
Susie
Hammad Rais
Wow!! Lucy is so cute!
Good luck on this great tour, Kathleen!
KathleenBDuncan
Thank you. I am one proud grandma!
And I am excited to be planning our trip to NYC!