Thirty-two THOUSAND?! In Pgh, the number of rides exceeding 320 can be counted on one hand with a couple of fingers amputated.
2012-01-11 21:16:18
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Five Boros Ride - Lottery Opens Next Week (1/17)
2012 TD Five Boro Bike Tour Lottery Opens January 17!
Held annually the first Sunday in May, the TD Five Boro Bike Tour is America’s largest cycling event. The event provides participants the unique and fun experience to bike through all five boroughs – a 40 mile, traffic-free ride for 32,000 cyclists. The Tour is produced by Bike New York in association with the City of New York and the New York City Department of Transportation. Proceeds from the event fund Bike New York’s education programs.
The 2012 Tour is months away, but we would like to share some updates to this year’s registration process and improvements to the Tour experience. Here at Bike New York, we are always dedicated to maximizing customer satisfaction. Based on your feedback, we are implementing a number of new initiatives and enhancements to the 2012 TD Five Boro Bike Tour to provide a better rider experience.
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Lottery Registration (January 17 – February 7)
Last year general tour registration sold out within 24-hours, leaving many eager cyclists without the opportunity to ride. This year we are switching to a lottery registration system to ensure that bicyclists who want to participate will have a more fair and equitable chance. You can enter the lottery at any point between January 17 at 10:00 AM and February 7 at 5:00 PM. There is a nonrefundable $6 lottery registration fee for each person entering the lottery. Once the lottery registration period closes we will send out e-mail notifications to inform you of your status. If you do not gain entry to the tour via the lottery system, you can still ride with one of our charity partners or as a VIP. Click HERE for more registration details.
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Tour Enhancements
Based on observations and rider feedback from last year we will be taking steps to increase communication with riders and provide a smoother tour route. As such, we will be implementing staggered start times at the beginning of the tour. This will reduce wait times at the beginning of the day and alleviate potential bottle necks later in the ride. We are also working closely with City officials to limit construction and traffic interference during the Tour. To increase and streamline communication with riders, we will be incorporating social media to provide immediate updates on any route issues. As always, we are continually exploring additional tools to provide easy and quick updates throughout the ride day.
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Bike Expo New York
This year before the tour you’ll have the opportunity to engage with the New York City bicycle community like never before at the first annual Bike Expo New York Presented by Eastern Mountain Sports. Housed at Pier 36 on the Lower East Side, the expo will be the largest of its kind on the East Coast. With bicycle vendors and retailers as well as live performances and free classes, this three day event promises not to disappoint. In addition to entertainment, education and exhibiting, Bike Expo New York will host packet pickup for the TD Five Boro Bike Tour. In order to reduce our environmental impact, packets will not be mailed this year. Bike Expo New York is free and open to the public. Click HERE for more information on Bike Expo New York.
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We are excited for these changes and will continue moving forward with new ways to maximize our customer experience. Proceeds from the Tour fund our education programs and provide free bicycle education throughout New York City. Answers to many outstanding questions can be found on our website. We appreciate your continued ridership and look forward to seeing you at Bike Expo New York.
2012-01-11 21:06:43
The biggest change will be the staggered start times, hopefully it'll mean less walking.
Apparently last year people got stuck on the BQE for 2-3 hours, which is an elevated roadway. There was a lot of public urination and crying children from what I was told.
I did it in 2009, there was a lot of walking and stopping then too. Hopefully the staggered start times helps a lot.
2012-01-11 21:38:54
"There was a lot of public urination and crying children from what I was told."
I call that "Saturday".
2012-01-11 21:55:04
Did the Venture Outdoors deal include registration? I am thinking about signing up for this.
2012-01-11 22:22:01
do it ryan. i am glad i did. venture outdoors did a great job of organizing it and i am glad seth suggested that we lined up as early as we did. it is very flat and roads are in great condition... something that we don't have much of here.
2012-01-11 22:43:55
"There is a nonrefundable $6 lottery registration fee for each person entering the lottery."
Lolwut.
Moneygrubbers.
2012-01-11 22:57:34
I don't think there is a venture outdoors option this year....don't quote me on that.
2012-01-12 01:42:21
Hmm, if only Amtrak let me bring my bike on a train, I could car-free-it from Boston to NYC and go on this ride!
2012-01-12 06:21:19