Three friends and I and roughly 30,000+ other cyclists did the forty-two mile New York Five Boro Ride on May 7, 2006.

Along for this year's ride were Denis Erkal '06, a physics major, Peter Galajda, a biophysics postdoc, and Delia Westerdahl, a cycling friend of mine who I first met on the Erie Canal Ride in 2000.

Denis, Peter, and I met at the physics building parking lot at about 3:15 am Sunday morning to load bikes. We drove to Staten Island and got there in time for the 5 am ferry. We met Delia (who was staying with her daughter in Brooklyn) on Church Street and waited for the ride to start.

Delia and I rode the tandem recumbent tricycle and got a lot of comments from other riders! "Cool bike!" "She's not pedaling." "Comfortable?" "How's the weather down there?" The best one: "Look, a tandem lay back bike!"

It was a little cold and damp to start but eventually warmed up and turned into a nice day.

The rest of the story is in the pictures below.

	We're unloading the van in a Staten Island Parking lot about 4:30 am. Here are Denis and Peter.		Some of the riders and bikes waiting for the 5 am ferry.
	More riders and bikes waiting for the 5 am ferry.		Denis and I pose with an ugly sign.
	Inside the ferry looking towards the stern. Peter (back to the camera) and Denis are just to the left of the flag.		Looking out the bow of the ferry.
	Look closely and you can see Lady Liberty.		The lower Manhattan skyline before dawn.
	We finally made it to the starting area and settled in for the long wait until we could start riding. Peter goes for an unusual angle on this shot.		Also, Delia (in the pink/lavender sweatshirt) finally joined us. Peter stands with his bike just behind.
	Peter to the left and Denis near the middle. It was a little chilly in the morning.		The crowd down Church Street. Bikes as far as you can see!
	The crowd to the north on Church Street. Notice the gap. We are essentially at the front of the non-VIP area. Ahead of us and up to the sign (that perhaps you can just make out) is the VIP area. (You get there by paying extra money, having a funny bike, or some other reason.) It's only about 7:18 am. By the time the ride started at 8 am, the gap was completely filled up.		We're finally under way, slowly. Notice that some people still have a foot on the ground. I call this "scooter mode." In our trike, we just relaxed and "went with the flow."
	We finally get to the sign that marks the official start of the tour.		A picture of the picture takers.
	The tour moves in fits and starts in spots. I think this may be part of the backup to get into Central Park.		We waited to take advantage of a rest stop until Astoria Park (about 20 miles into the tour). You don't really have a choice about this one, since the route comes in one side and goes out the other side of the park. Amazingly enough, with the huge crowd, we ran into Ruslan, a post doc in the Princeton Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. Here are Delia, Ruslan and Peter. Denis couldn't wait and is far ahead.
	The trike parked at Astoria Park.		Some of the crowd in Astoria Park.
	More of the crowd at Astoria Park.		I was having a little problem with some cramping in my leg and we had to pull over so I could stand up and stretch it out. It gave an excuse for a photo-op. I believe this is on the BQE (Brooklyn Queens Expressway).
	The view towards Manhattan from the BQE.		Later on we approach the Verrazano Narrows Bridge connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island. I shot this while riding (my knee is in the picture!).
	We stopped at the midpoint of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge for some photos. Here's Delia.		Cyclists ascending from Brooklyn.
	Cyclists descending to Staten Island.		New York Harbor from the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
	Peter and Delia at the festival on Staten Island.		Delia and I at the festival.
	The Verrazano Narrows Bridge as seen from the festival on Staten Island. At the festival you can buy food, buy souvenirs, hang out, etc. From the festival at Fort Wadsworth it's another three miles or so back to the ferry or the parking lot.		There was a line to get out of the festival. You get a different perspective on a recumbent trike! That's Denis to the right of center.
	We're still in line. Here's Delia seated in the trike and Peter, very bored, behind. The trike has comfy seats while waiting in all these lines!		Eventually we made it out of the festival and rode back to the ferry where we dropped Delia off so she could return to her daughter's house in Brooklyn. Peter (in the photo), Denis and I returned to the parking lot and loaded the trike and bikes for the drive back to Princeton.
	Peter got some shots of Delia and me actually riding the trike. I've just added these at the end. Here's the first of three.		Here are Delia and I on the trike in a crowd.
	And here are Delia and I on the BQE approaching the Verrazano Narrows Bridge (there are still several miles before we actually get on the bridge).