More than 32,000 cyclists are expected to roll through New York City on Sunday as the 46th edition of the TD Five Boro Bike Tour gets underway in Lower Manhattan. Riders will start in staggered waves and move through all five boroughs before Sixth Avenue is expected to reopen to traffic by noon.
The annual five boro bike tour gives riders of every skill level a rare chance to travel on streets that are usually packed with cars, but it also brings extensive closures across the city. The New York Police Department will decide where roads close and when they reopen, and the agency is directing cyclists heading southbound to the start line to use Broadway for east side entry points and those heading northbound to use the Hudson River Greenway for west side access.
Organizers are also telling riders assigned to different waves to ride together in the latest wave, a practical step meant to keep the start moving smoothly. That matters on a day when tens of thousands of cyclists are funneled into Lower Manhattan before spreading across the city, turning a familiar Sunday ride into one of New York's biggest traffic operations.
The event's appeal is simple: it opens streets that are normally off-limits to cyclists and gives thousands of people a route across the city without cars. The friction is just as simple. For several hours, the same roads that make the ride possible will be tied up, and by midday the city will be working to shift back from parade-day logistics to ordinary traffic.
