obersts001

Astoria, Queens, 10:00 am
They hold up the Tour so that they can better manage traffic on the BQE, so we all had to wait in Astoria Park and its view of the Triboro Bridge. The wait didn't do a lot for me: I was wearing two layers under a windbreaker, and was sweating when we got to the park. It was colder waiting than riding, and a bit windy near the East River, so I was itching to get back on the road. They let us go a few minutes early and we rode through a very pleasant residential neighborhood, where may of the residents were out to watch & greet us. After a few minutes we went over the Pulaski Bridge and into Brooklyn.

Northern Brooklyn, 10:15 am (here my times get really fuzzy)
The northern edge of Brooklyn is Greenpoint / Williamsburg, aka Hipsterville, USA. We were close to, but not right on, the East River. There are lots of new condo developments in this area, and there were a few people out with coffee, trendy shoes, and bewildered looks on their faces.

Brooklyn DUMBO, 10:25 am
I like this neighborhood. More people out and watching the Tour than anywhere else, and very friendly. I waved to a lot of kids on shoulders around here. When you turn left toward the East River and you have the Brooklyn Bridge to your right and downtown Manhattan right in front of you, it's a highlight. If I had a camera, I would have stopped here.

Brooklyn Navy Yard, 10:35 am
This is not an area with which I'm at all familiar, and there was not a lot of activity, but the riding was easy. This may be before DUMBO; can't remember because by now my butt was chafing.

Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, 10:40 am
This is one of the "marquee" sections of the 5BBT, taking over a major highway, but it wasn't nearly as interesting to me as the FDR. It's a bit hilly, which was fine, but there's not a lot to see as you're riding by. I would've preferred to see, I don't know, Bay Ridge? There were also many, many potholes. The construction crew working on the highway stopped work and watched the bikers go by -- your tax dollars at work! A few riders were letting loose and treating it like an A-23 ride, but I was still passing more people than were passing me.

Belt Parkway, 10:55 am
Off the BQE and on to the Belt, which was a lot more interesting because it hugs New York Harbor. There were a bunch of walkers and riders on the greenway that separates the Belt from the water, and several wavers. On the opposite side of the highway were kids playing baseball, though one game had stopped to watch the proceedings. The Verrazano loomed in the distance. Right before the ascent, I stopped at the last break point before the "festival".

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, 11:10 am
This, I had read, was the biggest challenge of the tour -- from sea level to 22 stories up. Truth is, I thought the Queensboro was harder. This was longer, certainly, but its massive length turned it into a long slow climb, instead of anything approaching steep. The marshal at the center of the bridge had a megaphone and was saying "Welcome to Staten Island. WHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!" I hit 32 mph on the descent into Fort Wadsworth. As we hit SI land, the sun pops out for the first time all day.

Staten Island Fort Wadsworth, 11:20 am
This was the "festival", that is, the place where the sponsors try to sell you things. It was not crowded by the time I got there (I never completely lost sight of the lead police cars), but there was a line of people at most of the vendors. There were people with signs that said "Congratulations! You Made It!", which is deceptive since it's a few more miles to the Staten Island Ferry. I pick up a free Snapple t-shirt and start to head out toward the ferry.

But wait! The marshals are holding people back because the roads on SI are not yet closed. They tell us that they will open the roads to bikes at 11:45. This finally happens at 11:55.

Staten Island, 11:55 am
The route to the ferry is mostly industrial, but I do overhear one woman on the sidewalk say "oh finally, they're starting this stupid thing". This becomes a bit of a race for some people, even though we will all make the same ferry.

Staten Island Ferry, 12:05 pm
I was gently pushed up to the 2nd level of the ferry by an attendant, which I initially resisted but turned out to be quite nice. I stood outside, watching the Status of Liberty go by on the left and Governor's Island on the right.

Lower Manhattan, 12:40 pm
Mad rush out of downtown as cyclists ride in all different directions, scaring tourists and annoying cops. I get myself over to the West Side Greenway and leisurely make my way back up to the Upper West Side, entering my building at 1:15 pm. The ride from Battery Park to the UWS makes up for the fact that I shirked the start of the race.

In total, 45 miles in 5:15, with really just a shade under three hours of real riding. It's sunny and warm now, so I think I'll stretch my legs a bit and take a walk!