Ok, I think I may just have played this smart. I parked up on
Staten Island and got the ferry across in the morning. I can only
imagine how long it took after the tour because we waited over forty
minutes in the morning. I took the wrong road off Bay Street and
ended up going up and down hills which I don't think I needed to.
Not what you want after the Verizanno!! :)

This was my first 5 borough bike tour and I was as far back/forward
as Dey Street when 8 o'clock came and went and all that happened was
the occasional whooping of the collective in anticipation of some
pedalling to warm us up. Does anyone know if the first cyclists
actually started pedalling at 8?

So by 8:45, I started pedalling. Progress was slow until we hit
55th when we came to a stop. Then it was mainly stop and occasional
go till we inched our way up Americas and into Central Park. I
found it amusing that we weren't allowed in the marked cycle lane!

I had expected the roads to be in a worse condition and only once
did I get squeezed on to an unexpected pothole - fortunately it
wasn't deep and I kept my weight solely on my pedals to minimze any
potential damage.

The first rest stop came suprisingly quickly so no stop was made.
Then came the obligatory walk through rest stop two; again, no stop
was made. I kept myself hydrated through my camelpack and
waterbottle and supplemented that with an occassional energy bar. I
was able to slurp and munch my way through the miles upon my bike.

There was only one point of worry. 59th Street bridge nearly wiped
me out. Climbing up, the cyclists on mountain bikes seeemed to be
taking an age to make forward progress so I started casually weaving
through the crowd. The surface was quite slippery and at one point,
I felt my back wheel slip on the surface. I was convinced I was
going to spill and was quickly able to release my feet out of the
clipless pedals. How, I do not know, but I managed to stay on the
bike, avoided the spill, and not cause anyone else to swerve.

So the rest of the tour went by without mishap. Having started at
8:45, I was quite pleased to reach the festival area by 12:30.

It was an enjoyable ride and the journey off Staten Island was event
free. I was able to admire the riders over the Verizanno and could
only imagine what they were feeling as they walked, huffed and
puffed there way over the large span. It sets me nicely up for the
two Montauk rides over the next two weekends.