More than 30,000 persistent pedalers will take to the streets on Sunday, May 3, for the 48th annual Five Boro Bike Tour.
The massive communal ride spans 40 miles, starting in lower Manhattan and ending on Staten Island. Along the way, cyclists swing through Central Park, cross the Queensboro and Pulaski bridges, and see a huge cross-section of Brooklyn — from Greenpoint to Park Slope and all the way down to Bay Ridge — before making their final push onto the Verrazzano Bridge.
Here’s everything you need to know about the tour, road closures in Brooklyn, and more.
When does it start, what’s available on the route, and where can I watch?
The Five Boro Bike Tour kicks off in lower Manhattan at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 3. Participants will start in five waves, with the fifth wave leaving at 10:30 a.m. The tour is not a race, and it will likely take each wave several hours to move all the way through the route.
In Brooklyn, cyclists will cross into Greenpoint on the Pulaski Bridge, head south through Williamsburg, Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, loop through Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo, then enter the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to speed down to the Verrazzano Bridge.
For riders, the tour offers rest stops, fluid stations, bathrooms and bike repair services.
In Brooklyn, there will be a rest station at Commodore Barry Park and water stations at Brooklyn Bridge Park and on the BQE in Gowanus, according to the tour program. Repair services are available at both the Brooklyn Bridge Park and Gowanus water stations, and bathrooms are available at all rest and water stops.
There will be official cheer zones and live entertainment along the route, but you can also watch and encourage riders from anywhere along the route!
What streets are closed, and when?
A number of local streets will be closed on Sunday to make way for the tour. Closures are likely to begin at midnight on May 3 and continue through 7 p.m., though exact timing will vary – keep an eye on signs posted on your local streets to determine when and if your route will be impacted.
Here are the streets that will be closed, according to the Department of Transportation:
- McGuiness Boulevard between Pulaski Bridge and Greenpoint Avenue
- Java Street between McGuinness Boulevard and Franklin Street
- Greenpoint Avenue between McGuinness Boulevard and Franklin Street
- Franklin Street between Java Street and North 14th Street
- Kent Avenue between North 14th Street and Williamsburg Street West
- Williamsburg Street West between Kent Avenue and Flushing Avenue
- Flushing Avenue between Williamsburg Street West and Navy Street
- North Elliot Place between Flushing Avenue and Park Avenue
- Navy Street between Flushing Avenue and York Street
- York Street between Navy Street and Gold Street
- Cadman Plaza West between Prospect Street and Tillary Street
- Tillary Street between Cadman Plaza West and Adams Street
- Brooklyn Bridge Promenade between Tillary Street and Centre Street
- Gold Street between York Street and Front Street
- Front Street between Gold Street and Old Fulton Street
- Old Fulton between Furman Street and Front Street
- Old Fulton between Front Street and Cadman Plaza West/Prospect Street
- Furman Street between Old Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue
- Atlantic Avenue between Furman Street and Columbia Street
- Columbia Street between Atlantic Avenue and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway West entrance at Columbia Street
- Brooklyn-Queens Expressway/Gowanus Expressway between BQE West entrance Columbia Street and the Verrazano Bridge
- Verrazano Bridge Lower Level (Staten Island-bound)
