An estimated 30,000 bicyclists braved the rain and took advantage of closed streets for the 42-mile Five Boro Bike Tour yesterday. The event started in Battery Park City, headed up to the Bronx, then back into Manhattan to head over the Queens via the 59th Street Bridge. The route went through Queens into Brooklyn and ended in Staten Island, where cyclists took the ferry back into lower Manhattan. Bike New York (which sponsored the event) executive director Pam Tice told the Staten Island Advance, "They didn't let the rain hold them back.because this is the day you get to ride on the FDR and over the Verazzano. This is the day they get to do it."
Some fun facts: The event's first year was in 1977, when 250 people participated. And if the same number of cars (30,000) drove 42 miles, the cars would burn more than 60,000 gallons of gas and emit more than a million pounds of carbon dioxide. More fun facts here.
