This Sunday marks the 31st edition of the Commerce Bank Five Boro Bike Tour. And to think it all started with a question posed by a New York City schoolteacher.
From the Bike New York website:
"Eric Prager was commissioned by the NYC Board of Education to create a bicycle safety program. One of Eric's co-workers was Sal Cirami. Sal worked for the school lunch program and was also an AYH Bicycle Committee leader. The two met by chance, and a brief conversation resulted in Sal inviting Eric to the next monthly Bike Committee meeting. Eric outlined his plans for his bicycle safety program at that February meeting.
It was thus that the "Five Boro Challenge" was born. We'd have bike clinics for students on safety and repair and have a day trip around the five boroughs to practice the safety rules. Unlike recreational rides at the time, which took place in the countryside, the Five Boro would celebrate the urban landscape. Easy and simple. The date would be Sunday, June 10, 1977. We threw ourselves into the project. This could be fun!
Five high schools would participate with 50 or 60 students along with about 200 members of bicycle clubs. (Why should just the students have a good time?) Our route would be 50 miles starting and ending in Flushing, Queens. We'd ride to Brooklyn and go over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into Staten Island. The Staten Island Ferry would bring us into Manhattan and then we'd ride up to the Bronx and back to Queens over the Throgs Neck Bridge. The plan was set."
We hope to bring you a firsthand account of the event, as I am registered to participate. But, the flu that has kept me away from the computer for the past two weeks may have the final say.
For something at a quicker pace, check out one of these races in select regions of the country.
05/03/2008
Barrio Logan Grand Prix-12th Annual
SAN DIEGO, CA
Sugar CRM Cats Hill Classic-35th Anniversary
Los Gatos, CA
San Tan Crit
Mesa, AZ
Wintergreen Ascent 2008
Nellysford, VA
Winona Lake Criterium & Winona to Wooster Road Race
Winona Lake, IN
Giordana Dilworth Criterium
Charlotte, NC
Turkey Hill Country Classic
Lancaster - Washington Boro, PA
Circuit of Sauk
Reedsburg, WI
Ogden BDO Criterium
Ogden, UT
Bull Run Farms Road Race
Springboro/Lebanon, OH
05/04/2008
Cyclo de Mayo Grand Prix and Fiesta
Scottsdale, AZ
Vernon Hills Grand Prix
Vernon Hills, IL
2008 Memorial Hall Criterium
Philadelphia, PA
Mark Reynolds San Luis Rey Road Cycling Classic
Bonsall, CA
US Air Force Cycling Classic
Arlington, VA
Cone Azalia Classic
Milan, MI
As always, click through to Truesport.com for results and photos of some of the above.
1 comment:
I actually rode in this one year. It was like pusing a herd of cattle through a straw. Something worth doing once in a lifetime just to see NYC from that perspective. Bring your defensive riding skills however because given the great disparity of riding skills, it can be a horror show.
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