Tour de Bronx
October 30th, 2014 by Mr. C
(My ride parked outside of the Banana Deli on 161st Street)
On Sunday October 26th, I biked the 25 mile leg of the Tour De Bronx! It’s one of my favorite bike rides if not most favorite of the year eclipsing the NYC 5 borough bike ride, Tour de Brooklyn, & Tour de Queens. Not only is the ride free but the vibe and flow of the tour is just plain better than the rest. The rules are not strict as well. It’s recommended that folks wear helmets but I’ve seen plenty of the young & not so young, dumb, & the cool – ride in the tour without much regards for their noggin’ but hey that’s their decision. The streets in the Bx were not closed to traffic but were manned by NYPD for the most part to let the riders flow through! The sun was out and the temperature was a nippy 60 at best with a decent amount of wind to keep things interesting at times. This year I decided to park my car a little bit closer to the Botanical Garden which is where the finish line was at. I left the 4 wheel cager in the Belmont section of the Bronx on Arthur Avenue right in front of the Madonia Bakery a few doors down from the famous Arthur Ave retail market. I loaded up with some freshly baked scones at the Madonia. These tasty morsels served as fuel during my rest stops! I unloaded my foldup bicycle and headed towards Yankee Stadium. 1st stop – the Banana deli on 161st Street! The Banana deli used to serve as a religious pre-stop for the Planet Chocko crew before going to Yankee games. Today, I go for the breakfast of champions – 2 eggs over easy on a roll with sausage! Next, I waddled over to the Bronx County Building, checked-in for the ride, & anxiously waited for that horn to blow at 10.40am! Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz greeted the 6000+ cyclists and off we went!
(Check-in at the Bronx County Building)
The bike ride itself was great fun! I was pretty impressed with my Dahon folding bicycle and the way she handled the urban terrain! I had the bike since 2001 mainly riding in NJ parks and paved paths. This is the first time that I’ve taken it out of its domain besides a few manhanttan runs. As for the tour, there were a few bottlenecks and choke points mainly at entrances into the greenways but in no time the bottleneck turned into a KRS – BDP posse freestyle in da Bronx! We were definitely boom-bapin’ through beautiful urban landscapes, zagging through crotona park, styling and profiling through the greenway paths along the Bronx River Parkway, paid respects while touring St. Raymond’s Cemetary, and stepped into a World of Bx neighborhoods along the waterfront! We were offered bagels with cream cheese, water, energy bars, & juice throughout the 3 rest stops. At the final resting point at the Botanical Gardens we were greeted with pizza and a free t-shirt for those participating in the ride! Right on! I love this ride! Can’t wait to do it all again next year. Maybe we’ll try the 40 mile trek next year!
(Parked in front of the Madonia Bakery – great bread there!)
(Passed the Kool Herc mural on the Grand Concourse enroute to the Yankee Stadium area)
(The Banana Deli on 161st St. Had to grease up before the ride)
(Getting anxious to roll!)
(1st stop of the day – Get those bagels on! – Crotona Park!)
(YMCA rest stop)
(YMCA rest stop overlooking the Whitestone Bridge)
(My bike staring at the Whitestone Bridge!)
(The unicyclist passed me!)
(The Hulk bicycle stretching its muscle at St. Raymond’s cemetary)
(Welcome to Harding park)
(View from harding park)
(Arthur Ave Retail Market)
(Mike’s Deli inside the Arthur Ave market)
(Treated myself to a Big Mike Sub!)
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