Five Boro Bike Tour Map

About the Five Boro Bike Tour

On the first Sunday in May, 32,000 cyclists of all skill levels come from around the world to roll through every borough of New York City on streets totally free of cars. For one day, the roads are yours, the bridges are yours, the City is yours—there’s no better way to experience the Big Apple. Produced in conjunction with the City of New York, the TD Five Boro Bike Tour is the world’s biggest charitable bike ride, with proceeds funding our free bike education programs. In 2014 alone, we taught bike skills to more than 16,000 kids and adults. When you ride with Bike New York, you’re helping us in our mission to empower more New Yorkers to grab life by the handlebars.
via bike.nyc

Five Boro Bike Tour History


The event began on June 10, 1977 as the Five Boro Challenge with about 250 participants. The original tour was 50 miles long and started and ended in Queens.
What started as a one-time event became a tradition the next year when the New York City Mayor Ed Koch embraced the idea of a city-wide bike tour. The distance was shortened and the word “challenge” was changed to “tour” to make the event more appealing to the general public. That year, the number of participants increased tenfold to around 3000.
via wikipedia