I completed my first five boro bike tour earlier this month – and no, the torrential rain did not dampen my spirits!

I’ve always wanted to do the five boro bike tour. I worked up the stamina for 40+ mile rides in the years leading up to this year’s tour – even completed a 48-mile ride the week before. Would’ve done the tour earlier, but I missed the registration cutoff for 2023 and a biz trip conflicted with the 2024 event. So 2025 it was!

Though the weather was less than ideal.

Standing at the start of wave 4, the weather was mostly cloudy and I felt slightly overdressed in my Bianca Belair hoodie with temps in the 60s. Though as it turned out, bringing that hoodie was quite fortuitous.

Just past the halfway mark, the rain came down. And by the time I reached the BQE, it really came down.

And the temps dropped quite a bit too.

While the weather certainly made things…interesting, it was no deterrent. Even with the rain and even with a few break stops, Cyclemeter clocked my total time at just over 3 hours and 40 minutes. Not bad for my first tour!

(The actual distance traversed on the Tour route is just over 38 1/2 miles; you reach 40+ from the finish to the ferry.)

And with that, my “40 before 40” mission – completing my first tour before my 40th birthday later this year – is complete!

A few pix

(Click the thumbnails to enlarge.)

[Fig. 1] the route.

[Fig. 2] the bike.

[Fig. 3] the crowd.

[Fig. 4] the stage.

[Fig. 5] the gate.

[Fig. 6] the end.