More than 32,000 cyclists braved brisk, wet weather for the Five Boro Bike Tour on May 1. The 48-degree day and sporadic showers were a hassle, but the annual bike marathon was no flat tire, one rider said.
“I wouldn’t say it ruined it — it just was less pleasant,” said upstate resident Manny Morales.
A friend who planned on riding with Morales bailed last-minute, so Morales commiserated with fellow cyclists who slogged it out in the sopping wet, he said.
“I was pretty much alone, with 30,000 other close friends,” Morales said.
The 40-mile ride, which famously closes down portions of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, began in Manhattan and took riders through the Bronx and Queens before depositing them in Brooklyn’s sweet embrace — and later forcing them onto Staten Island for the ride’s finale.
Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head: The wet weather did not kill the riders’ spirits.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
Warm up: Janet Braxton rests at the Brooklyn Roasting Company cafe at the Navy Yard before finishing the trip towards Bay Ridge and eventually Staten Island.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
Rest stop recharge: Megan Ayers and Theresa Sanderson take a breather at the Brooklyn Roasting Company cafe at the Navy Yard.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
Pedaling ponchos: It was no cake ride for the 30,000 or so bicyclists who took the 40-mile ride around the city in the rain.
Photo by Stefano Giovannini
No hands: The roads were slippery, but that did not stop the cyclists.
Photo by Georgine Benvenuto
Not something you see everyday: Bicyclists head towards the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to reach the Staten Island finish line.
Photo by Georgine Benvenuto
Keep it up: A bicyclists rides through Bay Ridge — the last Brooklyn neighborhood he saw on the Five Boro Bike Tour.
Photo by Georgine Benvenuto
Finishing strong: Bicyclists ended the 40-mile ride around the five boroughs with a trip over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
