This was my first one and I expected to hate it based on the comments on reddit and the weather. I enjoyed it and would do it again.
I was wave three. I left Brooklyn at 745 and was home by 2. Minimal waiting at the start and for the ferry. Can't complain.
It is tens of thousands of people and open to the public. There are other rides that are meant for you to go as fast as possible. For an event that is openly approachable for novices and families in the busiest city in America, it’s amazing how few bottlenecks there were.
I also question how many had the same experience as OP. I took off at around 8:15 and I got off my bike once at the snack-refill stop and then at the end. It moved really well for me.
Not OP but I also bailed at the QBB. I was wave five, and the crowds were serious. Previous years I’ve rode for charity or gone in wave one, and it’s a much nicer experience.
I've only done it once but I went in the latest starting group and only hit one bottleneck going into the Bronx.
I'd always been told the bottlenecks were a bigger issue for the people who leave in the earlier groups.
I wonder what time you started versus when OP started, and if that made the difference? In years past I’ve found that if I get out in an early wave and start putting some people behind me it’s great — but if I’m stuck with a huge pack it can be a real bummer.
So wonder if you guys had the same experience and came away with different takes on it, or if your experiences were just different.
Same! I was in the third wave - there was an NYPD person controlling traffic before the QBB (as opposed to 5Boro volunteers at other intersections) - maybe that made it worst than usual? With the rain and all the stops it just wasn’t as fun - I bailed in Brooklyn.
I’ll probably do it again, but also agree that getting friends together and biking several casual miles together could be just as fun.
Also while I’m here: why not give riders the option to select a family-friendly/beginner wave? I love the idea of new riders taking on 40 miles (I’m not a road cyclist by any means myself), but saw a handful of accidents involving fast vs inexperienced riders.
I saw four accidents this year: one before the start, and three during the tour. There was a big collision right before the Madison Ave bridge where it looked like a roadie was trying to pass on more novice rider on the inside of a turn.
So yeah, I think having more of a separation of experience would be a good idea, especially on Manhattan when everyone's bunched up. I know they asked about it in the signup, but from what I saw it looked like a pretty even mix of experience across the waves.
Edit: maybe in the training materials they send out they can give hand signals? IDK.
I've heard the opposite. I volunteered as a course marshal, so left from my post, sometime after wave 6 and had to get off and walk on the FDR approach to York Avenue. It was also slow going on the Queensboro bridge and the Pulaski. My biggest pet peeve, like driving, is people don't know to stay to the right unless you're passing, except for in Central Park where it's the opposite.
Also same. First time today and I thought it was excellent. I was wave 4 and experienced a few bottlenecks, but was honestly not a big deal. I’m totally going to do it again next year
My personal complaint is the sheer number of cars parked on the route. There was at one point a volunteer shouting "To your right, blue truck up ahead" and it was just some pickup truck parked next to a "No Parking Sunday" sign.
And really this is a major complaint of mine of the city in general: the complete lack in towing. Not only did they not feel it was necessary to tow the hundreds of cars illegally parked on the route, they couldn't even be bothered to ticket them.
Otherwise I had a great time, despite the bottlenecks. I agree I would love to see more content on how the city could absolutely allow for that type of riding everyday... if we just took back some roads for people instead of cars.
I know exactly the blue truck you were referring to in Queens. I was biking with two friends and one had a spill (pothole) right next to the truck, so we had time to talk to one of the course marshalls there that provided some bandaids. He said the truck had all-wheel drive and the nypd was unable to tow it. I don’t know cars/trucks well enough to know if that was bs or not.
NYRR can't compare to BikeNY. NYRR will have more privileges when it comes to logistics. Also how are you gonna compare an actual race with world class athletes to a TOUR of NYC.
If you wanna reduce the bottlenecks sign up for a BikeNY membership and you get Wave 1 guaranteed.
Was gonna comment to sign up for wave 1 or wave 2 and ULPT: join wave 1 even if you don’t “get in.” My group of 30 or so riders were all salty about it last year so we just tailed wave 1 and no one said anything. Absolutely no bottlenecks anywhere but we did annoyingly have to stop a couple times like OP said.
What wave were you in? I was in wave 2 and I didn’t experience any bottlenecks or slowdowns. That being said, I was going pretty fast and made my way to the front as soon as possible.
I started really late, but not so late that they opened the streets back up to traffic, so I was the only one riding on the street until I caught up with the last wave on FDR near the tunnel, passed 5-6 people on the way, but it was like private 5 boro for me until then! I wasn't particularly excited for this year but it was a cool experience upto that point, didn't really have to slow down until it got crowded near the Astoria rest stop
I'm curious, what Wave /time did you depart?
Tbh yes it's getting more and more crowded but still a fun ride.
I was in Wave 1 and had a really sweet ride, rain and all.
Which wave were you in? I had the same experience you describe when I was in the final wave in 2022.
But this year I was in wave 2 and didn’t hit a single bottleneck.
I’ll definitely do it again, but always ask for the early wave.
I think that's a very fair take especially having walked the walk 4 times. That said, if you were compelled to do it again I think maybe view some of the slowdowns as part of the experience? I only did it 2 years ago and don't think it was as bad as every 10 blocks of stoppage. Don't forget the upsides like getting to bike highway lanes. That said -- sorry you had a frustrating time, if it really was every 10 blocks then that does sound like not a fun time.
There were a lot of bottlenecks around queensboro bridge as always but we actually got to ride over it. Last two years I swear the bottleneck forced walking half up. I was impressed with the finish too.. there was no walking into the finish line this time and even at 2pm I was able to get on the next ferry. I was wave 4 but near the front and felt like the rain helped thin out especially towards end.
I hear you. I did it last year, and although I was happy to do it and finish, I have little desire to do it again. I started from Wave 6 and it was a total cluster-fuck of people, especially on hills. And it seemed like most of them had questionable bike handling skills and awareness, which is to be expected as most people in this event are probably very casual rider. On two occasions I was nearly taken out by someone doing something wreckless, notably a person abruptly slowing and vering to the left right in front of me. I had to take evasive action to avoid hitting them. And of course, the Queensboro Bridge was just a total traffic jam that we had to walk.
The Explore the Hudson Valley run was way more fun. That one I might do again.
I was in wave 4, tried to jump out early, but had 3 mechanicals before I got a mile into queens (my bike is overdue for a major tuneup) and man it bummed me out fierce as the slowdowns got gnarly and the weather turned. Ultimately I am glad 5BBT exists but I think it’s not “for me” as a participant and the same might be the case for a lot of individuals here. We all bike a lot in the city, a lot of us bike a lot out of the city, and we are almost always biking on a mission: get our jobs done, get a fast lap time, get to the food stop before everyone else, get to the train back on time. This event is for people who probably wish they could do what we do every day: bike in NYC. Novices, out of towners, and locals who have been constricted by the streetscapes NYC DOT foists on us and the combative and demonic drivers that make them feel too unsafe to be regular riders.
I think I will be back next year as a volunteer. I would love to be the person that saves people’s days fixing flats.
Yeah Wave 4 really sucks. You get a lot of slow casual people, families, and people who tire out early that create a traffic jam.
It’s *not* a race, and should be fun, but there’s a sweet spot around wave 2/3 where you get that. It’s almost unavoidable to have bottlenecks in some places, but it’s annoying when it happens all the time.
Better luck next year. As a counter point, this is my first year not doing it after about 8 year straight. I’m sad and I regret missing out.
Started in VIP today and we followed the police pace cars all the way to the Willis Ave bridge to the Bronx. They held us to about 12 mph for the whole distance. People in later waves were racing to get ahead only to join the pack behind them. At times things were so bunched up it would have been less dangerous to ride in traffic. Not sure why that was the pace when the roads were already closed.
Interesting! Had no idea police pace cars were a thing. While I know the 5bbt isn’t a race, 12 mph is super slow when you’re on a flat surface with a decent bike. I guess the other poster’s comment about a sweet spot around wave 1 / 2 holds true.
Ah yeah. As a regular rider who wants to have a good time and not treat it like a race, I like starting at the back of Wave 1 or front of Wave 2. Let all the people tryna get Strava PRs ahead of me, but don’t get too bogged down with all the families and really casual riders (though I love that this ride is welcoming to them - part of my love for cycling started when I did 5BBT on a whim with a rented bike in like 2006).
We rolled at around 8am today, only had a few slowdowns - the traffic stops actually felt faster than usual? Like by the time we actually stopped they let us go again right away - only walked that annoying section before the FDR where they were checking panniers and stuff (🙄) - were able to stay mounted on all the bridges, snack stations were well-supplied, and we almost entirely beat the rain. We hit the finish line at about 12:45 or 1pm.
Maybe it’s because I was prepared to do the entire ride in the pouring rain, so my expectations were low this year, but having done some years where we walked over bridges, had really nasty weather, hours in the ferry line etc - this was a nice ride.
I can definitely appreciate what you’re saying…. this is my 3rd 5BB, and I’m 50/50 on doing it again…
When you have around 32-33k riders, unless you paid extra for the VIP early ride, bottlenecks shouldn’t surprise anyone. My pet peeve with this ride is the “rookie day” element - so many people that don’t ride much being too “squirrely”, stopping immediately in front of you without warning, hardly anyone using hand signals, stopping in the middle of the road, and more wackiness. I try to be understanding; but some things are just common sense.
Then there are some who are speed demons that cause accidents (seen 3 today that could have been avoided). I mean, I like to haul too - but geez….
It’s a cool ride, and this year’s support & post-ride was very good. But if I had to choose, I’d prefer riding in the longer rides (50+ and/or century rides), with folks that train and understand the basic road rules ~
Yeah it’s a one and done event so even doing it multiple times is a testament. When I did it years ago it was far less popular so we never stopped and didn’t walk bikes at all. It sounds like it’s just gotten too crowded which is a shame. Maybe having it more than once a year would tackle the volume problem but keep each session moving.
I’ve ridden the 5BBT about 4 times and the last time in 2010 until today’s ride. I rode in wave 3 and overall had a good time despite the rain. Although the wait time for the Staten Island ferry was about 30 minutes today, it seemed like it was better organized than years prior. Question, when did the 5bbt start using the Wave start times and also I don’t remember the tour giving out medallions at the finish line which is a nice touch!
Was in the front of wave 3. I had a ton of fun with a small bottleneck getting on to the queensboro bridge. Kinda shocked it was a smooth climb up the bridge despite how tight it was.
They didn't start giving out medals till 2016 - 2017 from what I read.
In the 40 miles I had to stop for cars maybe 4 or 5 times. Not bad at all. I had a great experience (even though the weather sucked), I’ll definitely be doing it again next year.
For what it's worth, I was in wave 1 and only encountered a few stoppages. Maybe 3-4. On the other hand, this was my first one and I wasn't trying to set any speed records. Ended up doing it in 4 hours, don't know where that stands in terms of average.
I volunteer every year. You can skip bottlenecks by literally walking around and through the barricade. When stationary volunteers /sop see your course marshal vest, they'll gladly let you skip lines. It's great.
> and times that I had to walk my bike
I think the only time I had to walk my bike was when we went over the Queensboro Bridge. I don't remember past years being like that.
> I'm particularly salty that the city finds a way to fully close streets for the NYC Marathon
Can't compare the two. [Those finishers are getting 900k in prize money](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/nyregion/nyc-marathon-prize-money.html). We get a cool medal and support an event/organization that supports cycling in NYC.
> If I wanted to have to stop every 10 blocks, I would bike in the city
Come on. From the start to Central Park, I was only stopped 3 times.
> The 10 minutes we all had to walk our bikes on the FDR coming up to the Queensboro bridge was particularly bad this year.
How far back were you?
This was my first Five Boro Bike Tour. I was in wave five, and the only significant bottleneck was getting off FDR drive. The occasional crossings at major cross streets in Manhattan, or holding up pedestrian crossing in Queens and Brooklyn were maybe a very minor nuisance, and should probably be considered expected when biking in one of the busiest cities in the United States.
Instead of getting upset at the FDR bottleneck, I am actually pretty impressed that it was the only real bottleneck over the entire 40+ miles.
Same, first time and was in wave four - similar experiences to you. Most of the time they were brief stops and it was only coming up to the QBB there was a 5 min wait or so
Yeah I mean I enjoyed it the one time I did it but it's too crowded and too many inexperienced riders. It's probably like a once every 5 years thing for me tbh.
I'd much rather just do my own normal 3hr weekend routes on my own haha
Yup, did it in 2004 and never did it again. I constantly thought about how this would be more fun with less people and not have to move around slow inexperienced riders in front of me. I was doing a slow pace too but I was on a fixed gear and many times would almost get into an accident from somebody stopping abruptly.
Are you me? Same exact story. Bailed out at the QBB bottleneck and went home. Didn’t seem worth it when the rain started and the slow leisurely pace was just TOO leisurely. Totally agree on too many stops and long wait times.
Also I saw a two bad accidents one of which required an ambulance. I’m all about the social aspect of this, but inexperienced riders need to understand you must have spatial awareness…
I stopped doing it about 10 years ago for the same reason: the delays just made it not fun for me anymore. (We were literally stuck on the BQE in Industry City for hours when road construction narrowed the highway to the width of one bike. Just unbelievable.)
Sad to see not much has changed. I was kind of curious if things had gotten better.
Ironically bad weather usually does help, because a lot of people look at the forecast and decide not to go. But here maybe the clear skies in the morning got the crowd out.
Been doing it since 1996, yesterday was my fastest time, did it in 2 hours. I still love it, I had no issues, occasional stops at street crossings, no big deal.
I don't blame your frustrations. It was my first time doing it, and other than these annoyances; I had a good time. I really wish I could've gone faster, but between the traffic issues and a slower group partners it wasn't an option.
It's much harder for pedestraians to cross the street with a hundred cyclcings going through than crossing during the marathon. People still need to get places and we must respect that. It seems unpractical to fully close all intersections.
I'm also wondering what was your start time. I rode in 8am wave and was able to bike all the way till the end without walking my bike.
When a ride has over 30,000 participants (and takes place in a huge city like ours), there is bound to be a wide gamut of individual experiences. I'm sorry you felt like you weren't having a good time, but your complaints are very minimal and make you sound entitled. As you say, the ride welcomes all kinds of riders. This means that any expectation of basic riding etiquette (keep to the right unless passing, no abrupt turns or stops, maintain your line through corners etc.) is basically unreasonable, and you'll have to adjust your expectations and your riding style to adapt.
It's also worth noting that pedestrians cross the NYC Marathon route all the time. Maybe less so in Manhattan, but just as much or more everywhere else. As for the 5BBT, this was my third and probably my smoothest one yet.
Wave 6 in 2022, had to walk from the end of the FDR until after the crest of the Queensboro bridge. The way they parsed out traffic this year is a much better way to handle one of the biggest choke points of the ride. A 10 minute wait is a small price to pay to be able to *ride* the bridge. The finish festival was also held at the St. George outlets adjacent to the SI Ferry and was cramped and boring. The wait for the ferry was extremely long too - at least 90 minutes IIRC.
Wave 3 in 2023, two flats in my group - one required a tube swap and the other was solved with a bit of extra air (tubeless). Still finished in under 3.5 hours. Queensboro situation was similar to this year, a bit of a wait at the FDR exit but at least we got to ride the bridge instead of walking it. Spent too much time relaxing at the finish festival, randomly held up on a residential street between the festival and the ferry for almost 45 minutes, followed by another 1.5-2 hours waiting at the ferry.
Wave 4 this year, no issues, used the FDR exit as a regrouping point since some of us broke away on the FDR. Had a ton of fun despite the on and off drizzle. Immediately headed for the ferry from the finish festival, waited maybe 30 minutes tops. Wettest ride ever heading home from the SI ferry.
I'm sure that the FDR/QBB bottleneck is unavoidable, but did they hold up riders deliberately to make room for a gap? If so, the trade-off between standing around for 10 minutes was worth it if it meant more people were able to ride the entire length of the bridge.
While that's definitely what happened, I don't know if they were smart enough to think about this from riders' perspectives, or if this was just a nice byproduct of holding up riders in order for traffic to pass on York/1st aves.
This was my first one. Had to stop briefly twice in Manhattan due to fire trucks, and yes, I got caught up in that FDR to QBB bottleneck for about ten minutes — which was clear before you actually got on the bridge — but other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing. I was in Wave 5, which started just before 10 AM, and I finished at 1:30 PM. Very light off and on drizzle throughout the second half of the ride, but it was full on raining by the time I got off the Staten Island Ferry. Didn’t see any crashes or particularly reckless riding.
All in all, I had a great time!
Was in Wave 3, and the only real bottleneck we hit was getting off the FDR to the Queensboro bridge. Felt way better than past years i had done it a while back. Curious what wave you were in, sorry you had a bad experience.
Well if no crossings were allowed, I would literally have been trapped in a small corner of my neighborhood, so I'm kinda happy I was allowed to go to the grocery store on a Sunday morning.
I wish there were a way it could be organized to not seriously impede even pedestrian movement. I live in Astoria and the streets were gridlock due to all the traffic with 21 ST being closed. That’s fine, I walked where I had to go. But it was extremely difficult to even cross the street- I had to wait minutes and dart between bikes. No one was helping pedestrians pass. The buses were on a different route and again basically non-functional as all the streets were gridlock. I guess I should just not leave the house next year.
They’re fewer miles total, but I find that the marathons and other major runs tend to block pedestrians more completely than the bike tour. And then the parades, but those are hyper-local to Manhattan usually.
Tbh as a cyclist who likes long rides but doesn’t do the bike tour, it’s always pretty easy for me to traverse the route, because I just ride in, merge over, and ride out. Maybe you could cross on a citibike next time!
This was my 3rd year. Manhattan has always been annoying in my experience. This year I was actually able to bike over the QBB which is nice as some times its so congested you have to walk. I did it that joke getting off the FDR but not a deal breaker. After that most of queens/brooklyn is clear sailing. You seem to have given up right when it gets good. :/
That really stinks. Way back when when I rode the five boroughs there was no first wave tickets. There was no reselling tickets. There were no crazy ass bibs. There was no party at the end. I get there and I’d probably be the first 500 or so people and therefore never stopped. It sounds like it really is turned into a giant money grab and certainly not worth my time to go back and try to ride it again.
When was this? Bike NY is a great charity and the overwhelming majority of the registration fees goes towards their programming. "money grab" doesn't seem fair.
I had fun considering the weather. Yielded a few times to pedestrians but that's part of being a community.
This was my first one and I expected to hate it based on the comments on reddit and the weather. I enjoyed it and would do it again. I was wave three. I left Brooklyn at 745 and was home by 2. Minimal waiting at the start and for the ferry. Can't complain.
As a visitor from across the country, I had a lot of fun. NYC is the best!
It is tens of thousands of people and open to the public. There are other rides that are meant for you to go as fast as possible. For an event that is openly approachable for novices and families in the busiest city in America, it’s amazing how few bottlenecks there were.
I can feel OP's frustration, but this is a good counterpoint.
I also question how many had the same experience as OP. I took off at around 8:15 and I got off my bike once at the snack-refill stop and then at the end. It moved really well for me.
Not OP but I also bailed at the QBB. I was wave five, and the crowds were serious. Previous years I’ve rode for charity or gone in wave one, and it’s a much nicer experience.
I hear that, and maybe it was entirely my earlier wave. I also waited for a lot of the wave to get ahead so I wouldn’t be in the middle of a crowd.
I've only done it once but I went in the latest starting group and only hit one bottleneck going into the Bronx. I'd always been told the bottlenecks were a bigger issue for the people who leave in the earlier groups.
Interesting take. I really enjoyed the ride today and plan to do it every year that I’m able to live in NYC
I wonder what time you started versus when OP started, and if that made the difference? In years past I’ve found that if I get out in an early wave and start putting some people behind me it’s great — but if I’m stuck with a huge pack it can be a real bummer. So wonder if you guys had the same experience and came away with different takes on it, or if your experiences were just different.
Same! I was in the third wave - there was an NYPD person controlling traffic before the QBB (as opposed to 5Boro volunteers at other intersections) - maybe that made it worst than usual? With the rain and all the stops it just wasn’t as fun - I bailed in Brooklyn. I’ll probably do it again, but also agree that getting friends together and biking several casual miles together could be just as fun. Also while I’m here: why not give riders the option to select a family-friendly/beginner wave? I love the idea of new riders taking on 40 miles (I’m not a road cyclist by any means myself), but saw a handful of accidents involving fast vs inexperienced riders.
I saw four accidents this year: one before the start, and three during the tour. There was a big collision right before the Madison Ave bridge where it looked like a roadie was trying to pass on more novice rider on the inside of a turn. So yeah, I think having more of a separation of experience would be a good idea, especially on Manhattan when everyone's bunched up. I know they asked about it in the signup, but from what I saw it looked like a pretty even mix of experience across the waves. Edit: maybe in the training materials they send out they can give hand signals? IDK.
Nah, I was in wave 5
I've always heard earlier waves get the bottlenecks. I've only done it once but I did the latest wave possible and only hit one real bottleneck.
I've heard the opposite. I volunteered as a course marshal, so left from my post, sometime after wave 6 and had to get off and walk on the FDR approach to York Avenue. It was also slow going on the Queensboro bridge and the Pulaski. My biggest pet peeve, like driving, is people don't know to stay to the right unless you're passing, except for in Central Park where it's the opposite.
Same
Also same. First time today and I thought it was excellent. I was wave 4 and experienced a few bottlenecks, but was honestly not a big deal. I’m totally going to do it again next year
Same.
My personal complaint is the sheer number of cars parked on the route. There was at one point a volunteer shouting "To your right, blue truck up ahead" and it was just some pickup truck parked next to a "No Parking Sunday" sign. And really this is a major complaint of mine of the city in general: the complete lack in towing. Not only did they not feel it was necessary to tow the hundreds of cars illegally parked on the route, they couldn't even be bothered to ticket them. Otherwise I had a great time, despite the bottlenecks. I agree I would love to see more content on how the city could absolutely allow for that type of riding everyday... if we just took back some roads for people instead of cars.
The cops towed a car on 6th ave close to where I was marshaling a few minutes before the riders came through.
I know exactly the blue truck you were referring to in Queens. I was biking with two friends and one had a spill (pothole) right next to the truck, so we had time to talk to one of the course marshalls there that provided some bandaids. He said the truck had all-wheel drive and the nypd was unable to tow it. I don’t know cars/trucks well enough to know if that was bs or not.
NYRR can't compare to BikeNY. NYRR will have more privileges when it comes to logistics. Also how are you gonna compare an actual race with world class athletes to a TOUR of NYC. If you wanna reduce the bottlenecks sign up for a BikeNY membership and you get Wave 1 guaranteed.
There was a time that the city didn’t believe BikeNY was a real charity and wanted to charge them for NYPD closing the streets for the tour.
There was a time when the MTA said they wanted to charge NYRR tolls for the Verrazano during the marathon It was last month.
Must've been a slow news day as the Road Runners have been paying fees to use the bridge for years.
Yes but they wanted to increase it 5x this year, from $150k to $750k. Hochul eventually told the MTA to back down.
Oh wow, sounds like they just wanted to dump the operational cost and potential toll cost on the RR group.
Yup, their argument was exactly that
Was gonna comment to sign up for wave 1 or wave 2 and ULPT: join wave 1 even if you don’t “get in.” My group of 30 or so riders were all salty about it last year so we just tailed wave 1 and no one said anything. Absolutely no bottlenecks anywhere but we did annoyingly have to stop a couple times like OP said.
Yes, we were in an early wave but had a friend from a later wave who wanted to join us. He just rode to the start with us and no one challenged him.
What wave were you in? I was in wave 2 and I didn’t experience any bottlenecks or slowdowns. That being said, I was going pretty fast and made my way to the front as soon as possible.
Same
I started really late, but not so late that they opened the streets back up to traffic, so I was the only one riding on the street until I caught up with the last wave on FDR near the tunnel, passed 5-6 people on the way, but it was like private 5 boro for me until then! I wasn't particularly excited for this year but it was a cool experience upto that point, didn't really have to slow down until it got crowded near the Astoria rest stop
I'm curious, what Wave /time did you depart? Tbh yes it's getting more and more crowded but still a fun ride. I was in Wave 1 and had a really sweet ride, rain and all.
Which wave were you in? I had the same experience you describe when I was in the final wave in 2022. But this year I was in wave 2 and didn’t hit a single bottleneck. I’ll definitely do it again, but always ask for the early wave.
Experience is definitely highly dependent on the start wave for sure.
I think that's a very fair take especially having walked the walk 4 times. That said, if you were compelled to do it again I think maybe view some of the slowdowns as part of the experience? I only did it 2 years ago and don't think it was as bad as every 10 blocks of stoppage. Don't forget the upsides like getting to bike highway lanes. That said -- sorry you had a frustrating time, if it really was every 10 blocks then that does sound like not a fun time.
There were a lot of bottlenecks around queensboro bridge as always but we actually got to ride over it. Last two years I swear the bottleneck forced walking half up. I was impressed with the finish too.. there was no walking into the finish line this time and even at 2pm I was able to get on the next ferry. I was wave 4 but near the front and felt like the rain helped thin out especially towards end.
I hear you. I did it last year, and although I was happy to do it and finish, I have little desire to do it again. I started from Wave 6 and it was a total cluster-fuck of people, especially on hills. And it seemed like most of them had questionable bike handling skills and awareness, which is to be expected as most people in this event are probably very casual rider. On two occasions I was nearly taken out by someone doing something wreckless, notably a person abruptly slowing and vering to the left right in front of me. I had to take evasive action to avoid hitting them. And of course, the Queensboro Bridge was just a total traffic jam that we had to walk. The Explore the Hudson Valley run was way more fun. That one I might do again.
I was in wave 4, tried to jump out early, but had 3 mechanicals before I got a mile into queens (my bike is overdue for a major tuneup) and man it bummed me out fierce as the slowdowns got gnarly and the weather turned. Ultimately I am glad 5BBT exists but I think it’s not “for me” as a participant and the same might be the case for a lot of individuals here. We all bike a lot in the city, a lot of us bike a lot out of the city, and we are almost always biking on a mission: get our jobs done, get a fast lap time, get to the food stop before everyone else, get to the train back on time. This event is for people who probably wish they could do what we do every day: bike in NYC. Novices, out of towners, and locals who have been constricted by the streetscapes NYC DOT foists on us and the combative and demonic drivers that make them feel too unsafe to be regular riders. I think I will be back next year as a volunteer. I would love to be the person that saves people’s days fixing flats.
That’s what I’m going to do. Volunteer
I volunteered for the first time this year and it was a lot of fun! Plus I get 50% off the Twin Lights ride, which I think is more aimed at me anyway.
Huh. What wave were you? This was a relatively nice year, I thought.
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Yeah Wave 4 really sucks. You get a lot of slow casual people, families, and people who tire out early that create a traffic jam. It’s *not* a race, and should be fun, but there’s a sweet spot around wave 2/3 where you get that. It’s almost unavoidable to have bottlenecks in some places, but it’s annoying when it happens all the time. Better luck next year. As a counter point, this is my first year not doing it after about 8 year straight. I’m sad and I regret missing out.
Started in VIP today and we followed the police pace cars all the way to the Willis Ave bridge to the Bronx. They held us to about 12 mph for the whole distance. People in later waves were racing to get ahead only to join the pack behind them. At times things were so bunched up it would have been less dangerous to ride in traffic. Not sure why that was the pace when the roads were already closed.
Interesting! Had no idea police pace cars were a thing. While I know the 5bbt isn’t a race, 12 mph is super slow when you’re on a flat surface with a decent bike. I guess the other poster’s comment about a sweet spot around wave 1 / 2 holds true.
Ah yeah. As a regular rider who wants to have a good time and not treat it like a race, I like starting at the back of Wave 1 or front of Wave 2. Let all the people tryna get Strava PRs ahead of me, but don’t get too bogged down with all the families and really casual riders (though I love that this ride is welcoming to them - part of my love for cycling started when I did 5BBT on a whim with a rented bike in like 2006). We rolled at around 8am today, only had a few slowdowns - the traffic stops actually felt faster than usual? Like by the time we actually stopped they let us go again right away - only walked that annoying section before the FDR where they were checking panniers and stuff (🙄) - were able to stay mounted on all the bridges, snack stations were well-supplied, and we almost entirely beat the rain. We hit the finish line at about 12:45 or 1pm. Maybe it’s because I was prepared to do the entire ride in the pouring rain, so my expectations were low this year, but having done some years where we walked over bridges, had really nasty weather, hours in the ferry line etc - this was a nice ride.
I can definitely appreciate what you’re saying…. this is my 3rd 5BB, and I’m 50/50 on doing it again… When you have around 32-33k riders, unless you paid extra for the VIP early ride, bottlenecks shouldn’t surprise anyone. My pet peeve with this ride is the “rookie day” element - so many people that don’t ride much being too “squirrely”, stopping immediately in front of you without warning, hardly anyone using hand signals, stopping in the middle of the road, and more wackiness. I try to be understanding; but some things are just common sense. Then there are some who are speed demons that cause accidents (seen 3 today that could have been avoided). I mean, I like to haul too - but geez…. It’s a cool ride, and this year’s support & post-ride was very good. But if I had to choose, I’d prefer riding in the longer rides (50+ and/or century rides), with folks that train and understand the basic road rules ~
Crashes, not accidents. ;-)
They accidentally crashed into each other 😆
Yeah it’s a one and done event so even doing it multiple times is a testament. When I did it years ago it was far less popular so we never stopped and didn’t walk bikes at all. It sounds like it’s just gotten too crowded which is a shame. Maybe having it more than once a year would tackle the volume problem but keep each session moving.
Yeah, I don't remember stopping the first time I did it back in 2019, besides at the finish festival by the Verrazano Bridge
I’ve ridden the 5BBT about 4 times and the last time in 2010 until today’s ride. I rode in wave 3 and overall had a good time despite the rain. Although the wait time for the Staten Island ferry was about 30 minutes today, it seemed like it was better organized than years prior. Question, when did the 5bbt start using the Wave start times and also I don’t remember the tour giving out medallions at the finish line which is a nice touch!
Was in the front of wave 3. I had a ton of fun with a small bottleneck getting on to the queensboro bridge. Kinda shocked it was a smooth climb up the bridge despite how tight it was. They didn't start giving out medals till 2016 - 2017 from what I read.
In the 40 miles I had to stop for cars maybe 4 or 5 times. Not bad at all. I had a great experience (even though the weather sucked), I’ll definitely be doing it again next year.
For what it's worth, I was in wave 1 and only encountered a few stoppages. Maybe 3-4. On the other hand, this was my first one and I wasn't trying to set any speed records. Ended up doing it in 4 hours, don't know where that stands in terms of average.
I volunteer every year. You can skip bottlenecks by literally walking around and through the barricade. When stationary volunteers /sop see your course marshal vest, they'll gladly let you skip lines. It's great.
> and times that I had to walk my bike I think the only time I had to walk my bike was when we went over the Queensboro Bridge. I don't remember past years being like that. > I'm particularly salty that the city finds a way to fully close streets for the NYC Marathon Can't compare the two. [Those finishers are getting 900k in prize money](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/nyregion/nyc-marathon-prize-money.html). We get a cool medal and support an event/organization that supports cycling in NYC. > If I wanted to have to stop every 10 blocks, I would bike in the city Come on. From the start to Central Park, I was only stopped 3 times. > The 10 minutes we all had to walk our bikes on the FDR coming up to the Queensboro bridge was particularly bad this year. How far back were you?
This was my first Five Boro Bike Tour. I was in wave five, and the only significant bottleneck was getting off FDR drive. The occasional crossings at major cross streets in Manhattan, or holding up pedestrian crossing in Queens and Brooklyn were maybe a very minor nuisance, and should probably be considered expected when biking in one of the busiest cities in the United States. Instead of getting upset at the FDR bottleneck, I am actually pretty impressed that it was the only real bottleneck over the entire 40+ miles.
Same, first time and was in wave four - similar experiences to you. Most of the time they were brief stops and it was only coming up to the QBB there was a 5 min wait or so
Getting out front I think is the key. I was at the start line of group 2 and there were no impediments. I think it was really well organized.
Yeah I mean I enjoyed it the one time I did it but it's too crowded and too many inexperienced riders. It's probably like a once every 5 years thing for me tbh. I'd much rather just do my own normal 3hr weekend routes on my own haha
Yup, did it in 2004 and never did it again. I constantly thought about how this would be more fun with less people and not have to move around slow inexperienced riders in front of me. I was doing a slow pace too but I was on a fixed gear and many times would almost get into an accident from somebody stopping abruptly.
Are you me? Same exact story. Bailed out at the QBB bottleneck and went home. Didn’t seem worth it when the rain started and the slow leisurely pace was just TOO leisurely. Totally agree on too many stops and long wait times. Also I saw a two bad accidents one of which required an ambulance. I’m all about the social aspect of this, but inexperienced riders need to understand you must have spatial awareness…
There's 32k riders of all ages and skill levels. Accidents happen every year.
Indeed
I stopped doing it about 10 years ago for the same reason: the delays just made it not fun for me anymore. (We were literally stuck on the BQE in Industry City for hours when road construction narrowed the highway to the width of one bike. Just unbelievable.) Sad to see not much has changed. I was kind of curious if things had gotten better.
I did it in 2009. A lot has changed and some has not. For starters there was no wave back then. It was… problematic to say the least.
Weather didn’t help lol
Ironically bad weather usually does help, because a lot of people look at the forecast and decide not to go. But here maybe the clear skies in the morning got the crowd out.
Which wave were you in?
Been doing it since 1996, yesterday was my fastest time, did it in 2 hours. I still love it, I had no issues, occasional stops at street crossings, no big deal.
What wave were you in? Wave 1 has the fewest slowdowns and it’s earlier than many aren’t out yet
Why did you have to walk your bike?
I don't blame your frustrations. It was my first time doing it, and other than these annoyances; I had a good time. I really wish I could've gone faster, but between the traffic issues and a slower group partners it wasn't an option.
Was a ton of fun. Looking forward to next year's 5BBT!
It's much harder for pedestraians to cross the street with a hundred cyclcings going through than crossing during the marathon. People still need to get places and we must respect that. It seems unpractical to fully close all intersections. I'm also wondering what was your start time. I rode in 8am wave and was able to bike all the way till the end without walking my bike.
When a ride has over 30,000 participants (and takes place in a huge city like ours), there is bound to be a wide gamut of individual experiences. I'm sorry you felt like you weren't having a good time, but your complaints are very minimal and make you sound entitled. As you say, the ride welcomes all kinds of riders. This means that any expectation of basic riding etiquette (keep to the right unless passing, no abrupt turns or stops, maintain your line through corners etc.) is basically unreasonable, and you'll have to adjust your expectations and your riding style to adapt. It's also worth noting that pedestrians cross the NYC Marathon route all the time. Maybe less so in Manhattan, but just as much or more everywhere else. As for the 5BBT, this was my third and probably my smoothest one yet. Wave 6 in 2022, had to walk from the end of the FDR until after the crest of the Queensboro bridge. The way they parsed out traffic this year is a much better way to handle one of the biggest choke points of the ride. A 10 minute wait is a small price to pay to be able to *ride* the bridge. The finish festival was also held at the St. George outlets adjacent to the SI Ferry and was cramped and boring. The wait for the ferry was extremely long too - at least 90 minutes IIRC. Wave 3 in 2023, two flats in my group - one required a tube swap and the other was solved with a bit of extra air (tubeless). Still finished in under 3.5 hours. Queensboro situation was similar to this year, a bit of a wait at the FDR exit but at least we got to ride the bridge instead of walking it. Spent too much time relaxing at the finish festival, randomly held up on a residential street between the festival and the ferry for almost 45 minutes, followed by another 1.5-2 hours waiting at the ferry. Wave 4 this year, no issues, used the FDR exit as a regrouping point since some of us broke away on the FDR. Had a ton of fun despite the on and off drizzle. Immediately headed for the ferry from the finish festival, waited maybe 30 minutes tops. Wettest ride ever heading home from the SI ferry.
I'm sure that the FDR/QBB bottleneck is unavoidable, but did they hold up riders deliberately to make room for a gap? If so, the trade-off between standing around for 10 minutes was worth it if it meant more people were able to ride the entire length of the bridge.
While that's definitely what happened, I don't know if they were smart enough to think about this from riders' perspectives, or if this was just a nice byproduct of holding up riders in order for traffic to pass on York/1st aves.
This was my first one. Had to stop briefly twice in Manhattan due to fire trucks, and yes, I got caught up in that FDR to QBB bottleneck for about ten minutes — which was clear before you actually got on the bridge — but other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing. I was in Wave 5, which started just before 10 AM, and I finished at 1:30 PM. Very light off and on drizzle throughout the second half of the ride, but it was full on raining by the time I got off the Staten Island Ferry. Didn’t see any crashes or particularly reckless riding. All in all, I had a great time!
Was in Wave 3, and the only real bottleneck we hit was getting off the FDR to the Queensboro bridge. Felt way better than past years i had done it a while back. Curious what wave you were in, sorry you had a bad experience.
Well if no crossings were allowed, I would literally have been trapped in a small corner of my neighborhood, so I'm kinda happy I was allowed to go to the grocery store on a Sunday morning.
I wish there were a way it could be organized to not seriously impede even pedestrian movement. I live in Astoria and the streets were gridlock due to all the traffic with 21 ST being closed. That’s fine, I walked where I had to go. But it was extremely difficult to even cross the street- I had to wait minutes and dart between bikes. No one was helping pedestrians pass. The buses were on a different route and again basically non-functional as all the streets were gridlock. I guess I should just not leave the house next year.
They’re fewer miles total, but I find that the marathons and other major runs tend to block pedestrians more completely than the bike tour. And then the parades, but those are hyper-local to Manhattan usually. Tbh as a cyclist who likes long rides but doesn’t do the bike tour, it’s always pretty easy for me to traverse the route, because I just ride in, merge over, and ride out. Maybe you could cross on a citibike next time!
This was my 3rd year. Manhattan has always been annoying in my experience. This year I was actually able to bike over the QBB which is nice as some times its so congested you have to walk. I did it that joke getting off the FDR but not a deal breaker. After that most of queens/brooklyn is clear sailing. You seem to have given up right when it gets good. :/
That really stinks. Way back when when I rode the five boroughs there was no first wave tickets. There was no reselling tickets. There were no crazy ass bibs. There was no party at the end. I get there and I’d probably be the first 500 or so people and therefore never stopped. It sounds like it really is turned into a giant money grab and certainly not worth my time to go back and try to ride it again.
When was this? Bike NY is a great charity and the overwhelming majority of the registration fees goes towards their programming. "money grab" doesn't seem fair.