18 MAY 11 - MAY 17, 2018 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
41st TD Five Boro Bike Tour
another successful ride
BY JAIME DEJESUS
JDEJESUS@BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Ready. Set. Bike!
A total of 32,000 bicycle
enthusiasts from all over
the world participated in the 41st
annual TD Five Boro Bike Tour, held
on Sunday, May 6, during which attendees
rode their bikes across the
five boroughs, making for another
successful event.
"It went very well," said Ken Podziba,
president and CEO of NYC Bikes.
"The one thing that is out of our
control went very well and that’s the
weather. It’s always the first Sunday
in May and it’s a very tricky time because
it rains, sometimes it’s too hot,
sometimes it’s too cold. This year was
just right so we are happy about that."
The tour itself was also deemed a
success.
"People seemed to really
have a good time," he
said. "I met a lot of
people after the ride
and they were very
impressed with all
of the volunteers.
The Police Department
was wonderful.
There was a certain
energy. I think what’s so
special about the tour is the
diversity.
"There’s nothing like it in the world
where you have all walks of life
coming together and experiencing
something magical like seeing all five
boroughs on two wheels, car free," he
went on. "It was an amazing experience.
New York City is a microcosm
of the world. You have people from
all over the world here so it already
feels international but I think this
goes beyond that. I met so many
people from places like Tennessee,
Iowa, Louisiana. Everyone was
in such a great, wonderful
mood and it was one big
New York City party so
we were very pleased."
One change this
year was moving the
expo portion from
lower Manhattan to
Red Hook, which initially
left long-time attendees
upset.
"We got beat up on social media
about it, but people were so happy
when they got there," Podziba said.
"Many came by ferry, others by
subway, some rode their bike, but
many thought it was cool. Even a lot
of New Yorkers have never seen Red
Hook before and people had a great
time at the expo so what seemed to be
a negative at first actually turned out
to be a positive. We hope it helped the
local businesses because we
were encouraging people to
go out to the bars and restaurants
there as well."
The expo — which featured
100 exhibitors — was attended
by around 60,000 people.
Attendees saw the latest bikes, gear
and tons of tourism companies with
interactive games.
"Taiwan Tourism had a virtual
reality ride where you're riding on
a stationary bike and you have a VR
headset on so you feel like you’re
riding throughout Taiwan and it’s
great," Podziba stated. "Clif Bar had
a ping pong table, there were fashion
shows, ethnic food trucks and bike
education. It was one big party. There
were lots of kid-friendly activities.
"It's really a badge of honor for New
York City," Podziba concluded. "It's
not only the largest bicycling event
in the country, it's also the most exciting
and inclusive bike event in the
world. There's nothing like it. That’s
the strength of it and that’s why I love
it so much."
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photos by Corazon Aguirre
Scenes from the Five Boro Bike Tour as
it passed through Bay Ridge.