Last Sunday, I went to the 20th Annual Tour de Bronx. Unlike other events organized by Transportation Alternative, this tour's completely free (thanks to the generous sponsors) so I just preregistered the 40-mile ride anyway (there's a 25-mile option for leisure riders). It's sunny, a little windy but not too cold so I didn't really have any excuses not to participate. I've learned from previous experience and decided not to clip in this time since we'd stop quite often on city streets. I rode to the starting point, Bronx Country Clerks Office, near the Yankee stadium, via Queensboro Bridge, 1st Ave and Willis Ave Bridge. When I got there, there's a pretty long line for the preregistration already and I was actually quite surprised by the large turnouts. Anyway, I just waited in line for approximately 30 minutes but it didn't really move at all. It's also kind of chaotic due to the lack of direction. In the end, one of the staff approached to the riders, took the preregistration papers and handed out the body bibs and cue sheets. The riders did need to fill out the emergency contact info in the back of the body bibs. To be honest, if the organizers aren't going to assign any numbers, they'd just hand out the stuff so the participants could get going and didn't have to keep waiting pointlessly. Anyway, after that, it's another long wait at the starting line. During that time, the Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz Jr., greeted the riders, and claimed that he and his wife would join us in the 25 mile ride. The tour finally started around 10:30am and riders started paddling on the marked route. It's very crowded in the beginning and somehow there's a very loud flat tire right at the start so it's kind of funny but that person must feel terrible. There're three rest stops along the way, Bronx YMCA, Orchard Beach and Van Cortlandt Park and the YMCA rest stop was the biggest among the three and had a pretty nice view to Whitestone Bridge. However, I mistakenly took the short cut near St. Raymond's Cemetery, and missed a few miles and skipped Throgs Neck Bridge part. The part I liked most during the tour was Pelham Bay Park and City Island since the scenery was so beautiful. I've heard of Pelham Bay Park being the largest park in NYC but never had a chance to visit it so it's nice to go to some new places and explore the city. I didn't like Van Cortlandt Park very much because of the muddy trail. In addition, after Van Cortlandt Park, the route became very hilly for the last 10 miles. The finish line was at New York Botanical Garden, in which the cue sheet didn't show at all. I finished at around 3pm and there're free domino pizzas, drinks, t-shirts, live music for the participants to rest and enjoy. Although there's a Marshal-led group ride back to Bronx Country Clerks Office at 4pm. I decided to leave early (I'd have stayed if it's a police escort). I returned to Queens via Grand Concourse through Randall's Island and Triborough Bridge. I got home probably around 5:15pm and was kind of tired and went to bed early that night. I was really proud of my accomplishment on Sunday because at least I finished the race on my own this time comparing to the disappointing results in the Century Bike Tour. This tour should conclude my biking season in 2014 and I'll definitely pedal more next year whether participating in organized tours or riding by myself.
