Five Boroughs Bike in New York City

The decision was made a few months ago that this years Five Boroughs bike would also include a couple of free days to see New York.  Those who tour on bikes know that the best parts of places we visit are those that are not the popular places.   For example Times Square was a crazy place to be but walking over the Williamsburg Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn was really something tourists don't normally do.

The amount of people in Times Square seemed infinite

Walking over the Williamsburg Bridge from Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn 

We visited the Tenement Museum in the Lower East side and had lunch at a very interesting Himalayan joint, before walking over the bridge to Brooklyn.  The Williamsburg district is one of the places where the blue collar workers of Manhattan live.  Live outdoor racquetball and soccer games were the norm.  Hundreds of vendors from every corner of the world, and very eclectic looking flats decorated with the renters flair for art.

 This was with a 40x zoom from two block away and seven stories below.

Williamsburg vendors hawking under the El

 Public transportation and walking were the only means of getting around on this trip. A couple of the subway stations were really interesting in that the art deco was crumbling, but still very much evident.

Chambers St. stop in Manhatten

Another of the places where tourist don't normally visit is the Bowery District.  We all know of it from movies, but how many people make it a point to walk around the place.  We also looked around the Five Points section which has recently had a spike in fame from the movie, "The Gangs of New York".

The Bowery Courthouse

Still there are some things you just gotta see. Like the theater below where the Beatles made their American debut and Central Park.  Everyone goes there and on a nice day, all at the same time.

Athletic fields of Central Park

Common area.  Lots of Frisbee, Thai Chi, and other low key games.

We got a late start from the hotel to the Ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan for the ride on Sunday. The boats ran every 30 minutes and we had to wait for the second one once we got in line there were so many bikes in queue.  Parking the car and getting every thing together, riding the bikes the quarter mile to the terminal and all the waiting was so hectic that I forgot the camera in the car.  Photos of previous Five Boroughs Rides can be viewed  here   here  and here.

We got word that there were some really bad backups in a couple of spots because of road construction, so a few of us combined our knowledge of the city and detoured off the route ending up cutting the ride short. A common theme among bicycle riders is that it's not the destination, it's the journey. We never made our destination, but and still experienced a great journey.