Dear New York City: Thanks for the Five Boro Bike Tour

    2007 Five Boro Bike Tour

For the first time in ten years, I’m not doing Bike New York's TD Five Boro Bike Tour. I’ll tell you why - but let me tell you a story first. 

On the first Sunday of May 2005, I woke up early at my fiance’s studio apartment located on 32nd Street between 3rd and 2nd. I quietly dressed and rolled my bike - an early 1980’s Turner recumbent - and headed outside to ride to the start line. At the time the recumbent, with the 16” front wheel and 27” rear wheel, was one of only two bikes I owned.*

2008 Five Boro Bike Tour. The last year we'd see the Commerce Bank dude 

When I first signed up, I thought I was just going to be riding in the event as a way to challenge myself and experience the city. Little did I know I was starting an annual habit that would take me through 2014. 

    2009 Five Boro Bike Tour. A Rain Year.

I don’t remember a lot of specific details of that first ride - only one moment of intense fear when I was coming off one of the bridges and a saw a cyclist turning a corner in front of me. I distinctly remember staring at the rear wheel and thinking the following words:  

“I hope we get the house.”

At the time, my fiancé and I - then living in separate cities - had put in a bid on a house in Stamford, Connecticut the previous Friday. We basically got a ‘we’ll let you know’ response from the listing agent since the day of the Five Boro Bike Tour there was an open house. The tour gave me a chance to push my breath rapidly in and out of my lungs instead of just holding it. 

    2009 FBBT. I stood on the median to get this shot and could barely keep the rain off the lens. 

We ended up getting the house and, a few months later, getting married. The sale of that house will close within days of the 2015 FBBT, and we’ll be celebrating our ten year wedding anniversary this fall. But back to my first FBBT. 

   2011 FBBT

In addition to that moment of first-world panic, I remember passing several people changing out flats (and helping one woman out with hers).  Later I was pleased to get through the ride on my museum piece without any flats myself or other mechanical problems.

Each tour, I’d use the recumbent and promised myself not to use it again for the next Five Boro Bike Tour if it got a flat. I ended up doing ten Five Boro Bike Tours in a row - from the year I turned thirty to the year I turned thirty-nine - and never had a single flat or any other problem, physical or mechanical. Part of it is because I know how to do basic bike maintenance, the other part is the recumbent is magical. 

   2010 FBBT

Of course, when I wasn’t riding in the tour, the recumbent wasn’t always problem-free. The first time the frame cracked, I paid a guy $60 to weld it. The second time it cracked, I welded it on my own since I bought a Lincoln Electric MIG welder and taught myself how to use it between Crack 1 and Crack 2. 

A few years later, just before the 2012 FBBT, I did some risky bike surgery and welded a metal bar so I could have full use of the dinner plate-sized, 60-tooth chainring. Meanwhile, 27” wheels and tires continued to get harder and harder to find: a wheel from a Dumpster-bound Fuji Espree that was only supposed to get me through the 2011 FBBT lasted three more tours and is still on the recumbent today.

And still the bike continued to give me no problems - always drawing admiring comments from the ladies, excited smiles from the kids, and stares of disbelief from the carbon-fiber frame riders - particularly when I’d pass them going up the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. Through all ten tours, some of the coolest, most determined riders I met pedaled bikes different from all the others. People like BikeSnobNYC underestimate recumbents at their peril. 

    2010 FBBT

Over the years I figured out everything I thought I needed to know about the tour. I determined what I needed to bring and my list of The Five Things I Can’t Live Without on the Five Boro Bike Tour remains a popular post this time of year. (Just remember: when you get your tea saucer-sized cookie at Zaro’s Bakery, eat half at the start line and eat the other half at Astoria Park as you’re loading up on bananas). 

    2012 FBBT

At the close of each tour, I’d try to figure out how to plan for the next one. As soon as I found out when the sign-up period would begin, I’d write it down and plan my day so I could register the minute (or, rather, the minute the servers stopped crashing) it began. When they stopped mailing tour packets and made Bike Expo New York, I figured out how to do that too - but worried not mailing the packets would make the tour less diverse. When their weird bag policy got put into place (to be fair to them: it happened after the Boston Marathon bombing) I went along with that and even managed a workaround.

    2013 FBBT 

And I continued doing the tour. The only reason I am not doing it this year is because I’m moving to California. This very week that’s happening. In fact, the day before the tour I’ll be looking wistfully at cars with bicycles on the roof heading east while I’m driving west.

If you’re doing the tour, be sure to look around at the riders around you: there are thousands of people, of all ages, from all over the world, pedaling pieces of junk, works of art (or both). Every body type and income tax bracket will be represented. That - and the ability to watch the city grow at least once a year from a free-flowing river of cyclists never gets old. Over ten tours, Borders Books fell. The Freedom Tower rose. And the city abides.

    2008 FBBT. Worth at least 1,000 words about bikes and cars in cities.,000 words about bikes and cars in cities.

So, Bike New York, thanks for the Five Boro Bike Tour.  I’m positive that this Sunday, at my hotel somewhere in Ohio, I’ll wake up at 3:00am terrified I missed my Metro North train from Stamford to Manhattan (and I will wear my 2010 FBBT T-shirt that day). 

But because I didn’t snap up my FBBT ticket it means that somebody else did - hopefully a newcomer. Whoever you are, have a great time. Whatever you ride, I hope it runs flawlessly. Whoever you meet, I hope you make friends. And whatever you do don’t take the day for granted. 

     2014 Five Boro Bike Tour. At the time, I was unaware I wouldn't be doing the 2015

And thanks to the NYPD, the sponsors, and of course the presenting sponsor, TD Bank. I hope you keep up your commitment to the tour and make a big, big show of putting a bike rack in front of each and every one of your branches - like I’ve tweeted at you about before. You’ll get great press and make more money like when CVS dumped cigarettes, you’ll lead the change parking lots around this country desperately need and, possibly most important, I’ll bank with you forever. 

And to all who will be shivering at the start line on Sunday (don’t worry; it’ll either get warmer or you’ll have so much fun you’ll forget you’re cold): enjoy the city that never sleeps when only the cyclists are awake. I’ll miss you all most of all  - and I’ll look for a fun annual ride in Silicon Valley. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. 

   Unknown FBBT 

*My bike collection peaked at 14 and 3/8th bikes in the fall of 2013. Because of the move to California I’ve cut back to 7 and 1/5.

Follow me on Twitter at @michaelknorris

Bike Expo New York 2013 is On

A few hours ago I was standing in line, waiting for Bike Expo New York 2013 to open. I struck up a conversation with a friendly woman waiting near me and quickly learned she was from Guinness World Records, and was attending the expo since Cabot - the great dairy co-op in Vermont - was attempting to create the world's largest smoothie.

You meet the most interesting people at Bike Expo New York.

(Yes, that is a stationary bike-powered blender, and even though I was appreciative of the little packets of cheese Cabot was handing out, I believe they should have been selling these things). 

Now I arrived early, determined to get my packet and wander throughout the stands, hoping to find a solution for my Great Cookie Problem (for those of you just tuning in: I need to bring an oatmeal raisin cookie from Zaro's with me on the Five Boro Bike Tour or it just isn't the same, and because of the new security restrictions I needed to find a bag large enough to fit a cookie but small enough not to draw the attention of security). 

I have to say I'm a little disappointed no vendor seemed to have marketed their smaller bags with that angle, but you will be pleased to know that there are some options. Vaya Bags, thankfully, is there again this year, and so is Green Guru (their bag forms the little dot at the end of my question mark; here it is again if you missed it).

It's also a lot of fun to see products, services and rides you never thought existed: Rockin Noggins makes fashionable helmet covers, and if I recalled my wife's helmet size and knew her taste a little better, I'd have picked one up right there. 

I also learned about a cool art project called BikesAroundTheWorld.com. My explanation won't do it justice, but I will tell you it has to do with photographs of bikes that have been made into painted works of art (none fit in the little backpack I brought with me). 

The 'wow' factor has to belong to High Roller, and they make…well…this is what they make. 

If you remember what it was like to have one of these when you were a kid, you're in luck, because the rear wheels are plastic so you can skid - presumably while making the tire-screeching sound with your teeth.

Also, you can see the new Citi Bikes for the bike share coming soon in NYC; I think these bikes are made by the same company that provides them to London and Boston for their bike shares, but New York City will very soon have one of its own…and not only is Bike 00001 on proud display, but you can test ride the bikes outside. 

Don't leave without food…a bit of a news: Larabar is not giving out their fun little bars during the tour this year; you have to visit the expo to get a taste. Also, Honey Stinger is there with some samples, including caffeinated cherry cola energy chews. 

I also entered a couple of folding bike raffles (unfortunately, not a Brompton) and learned about a new bike from Dahon, but you'll have to wait for Folding Bike Week 2013 for any new info on that…and if their new products are enough to make up for my disappointment in them for discontinuing my beloved Dahon Matrix. 

The Expo runs through today and into tomorrow, so I hope you have a chance to go even if you don't need to make your bike Five Boro Bike Tour 2013 compliant. I'll see you at the tour. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding. 

Is Your Bicycle Five Boro Bike Tour 2013 Compliant?

I am riding in Bike New York's TD Five Boro Bike Tour once again this year. But this year is different because it follows a few short weeks after the Boston Marathon bombing (if you want to donate to help the victims, be careful to avoid scam web sites and stick with ones like One Fund Boston which was created with the help of governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick and Tom Menino, the mayor of Boston who has turned his city into a surprisingly nice place to ride).

As I was expecting, the bombing would affect how large, outdoor events were going to plan security, and since I had been gearing up for the Five Boro Bike Tour 2013, I wasn't surprised when a message was sent out last week, which contained the following:

As part of this security plan, you are not permitted to bring the following:

• Backpacks
• Saddlebags/panniers (front and rear)
• Hydration packs    

You are permitted to bring the following:

• Water bottles
• Fanny packs (small waist packs)
• Small bike frame bags (under seat and handlebar bags) 

However.

That's a picture of the trunk box I had during last year's tour (and I took that picture at the Five Boro Bike Tour 2012 by holding the camera over my shoulder). 

Now this year I was really looking forward to debuting my Even Better Bike Box to the Five Boro Bike Tour community. I even made a special modification to it by substituting a Serfas bike light for the metal knob on the lid.

This new security rule - which I hope isn't around for the Five Boro Bike Tour 2014 - is going to cramp my style. But I do not want to give the police officers and Bike New York volunteers any reason to be worried (or stop my bike to search it) and, frankly, my style could probably use a little cramping. 

Now the issue I have now is I have to remove my Even Better Box and at the moment I have nothing to substitute it. Even the Better Bike Box made from a plastic Plano toolbox is too large. Fanny packs are allowed but if you know what a recumbent looks like the fanny pack is not the right kind of luggage. Underseat bags are permitted (can't mount one of those, either)

When I asked the Five Boro Bike Tour for a clarification on what I could bring (if baskets were allowed, for example) I was sent to the Five Boro Bike Tour 2013 security page. I recommend that you read it - and marvel at the amazing patience of Five Boro Bike Tour's Elizabeth Kiker - but the upshot is you can't have trunk bags, or any other kind of bags, if they are over 420 cubic inches (length times width times depth to figure this out).  You also can't break that rule with bags that are transparent, so you can forget about making a rucksack from a recalled pair of Lululemon yoga pants. 

No baskets are allowed, either, but you can have a rear rack with a little net or small bungee cords to hold your jacket (it will be a beautiful day but it is always cold at the start line). 

Plus - and this is the part that piqued my interest - you can apparently have multiple bags if they meet the size requirements. 

I am heading to Bike Expo New York this weekend to pick up my tour pack, but I'm also going to be on the hunt for possible solutions. For one, I'm hoping that Vaya Bags, which makes bike bags of all sizes from recycled materials in New York City, will be there. After all, one of the Five Things I Can't Live Without on the Five Boro Bike Tour is the tea saucer sized oatmeal raisin cookie from Zaro's. I have to know where to store that cookie or all may be lost. Stay tuned, follow Bike New York's new security rules, and we'll have a great tour this year. Thanks for reading and thanks for riding.