Some Five Boro Tour tips

May 5, 2008

If you’re going to jump on a bike and attempt to ride 42 miles through a city on the east coast, here are some things you should try to keep in mind.

1 – training your body a little is advisable. Riding 42 miles after living la vida donut is NOT easy.

2 – pick the right equipment. Don’t bring a 30lb mountain bike and knobby tires to this gunfight. You will lose…mostly all your speed and momentum on every flat surface that you traverse. And remember, once you stall out and stop, a body at rest tends to stay at rest.

3 – New Yorkers ride bikes just like they drive cars. They are supremely confident that people will hold their line and will take any opening to pass. It’s infuriating because the rules of the road (and the bike) dictate that passing should take place on the left. If there was one bad thing about this ride, it was that so many people did not adhere to the ‘pass on the left’ dictum. It put riders at risk and was a selfish and inconsiderate (is that redundant) thing to do

4 – Boston could learn a thing about bike advocacy from New York. They’re going to put in 1200 bike racks and ensure that 1800 miles of bike paths are established in their city. In Boston, we have drivers get in a snit if any other vehicle – bike, scooter, motorcycle or wheelchair shares the road.

Lighten up! Gas just went past $4 a gallon…maybe it’s time for more of us to get on bikes and stop being chickens.

More to come…