Boogie down Bx Takeover – 2016 Tour de Bronx
October 25th, 2016 by Mr. C
(Starting line by Lehman College)
(A Bronx-Grand Concourse takeover! – the bridge is over,the bridge is over!)
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One of my favorite annual events in NYC not to mention that it’s also free is the Tour de Bronx currently on its 22nd year of operation! The Tour de Bronx is an organized bicycle ride cruising through the streets of where else – da Bronx! There are 2 routes bicyclists can choose either the 25 or 40 mile ride (technically 27 or 44 miles). I’ve been at the 25 mile version of the ride for the past 4 years but one of these years Alice, one of these years – banG Zoom – to the 40 mile Bronx moon! This year’s ride which was just last Sunday yielded about 7000 bicyclists according to the Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. He’s what I call a hands on leader. Besides welcoming the riders and MC’ing the event, you can also find Ruben Diaz bicycling alongside you on the Tour! That is pretty inspirational to the community if you ask me! Tell me what other borough president, mayor, council person, or government official does that! Hell, the Mayor of NYC – Deblasio has been reported of taking helicopter rides to get from borough to borough!
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(I parked my cage on Southern Boulevard across the street from the Botanical Garden. Getting the mini-circus clown bike ready!)
(Riding up on Bedford Park Blvd en route to Lehman College. Contemplating on loading up with fuel here)
(The frustration is real at 8am Harris Field/Lehman College check-in!)
(After check-in, peeking in on a Motorcycle riding class across the street)
(Old reliable Honda Rebel on the left / Harley Davidson Street on right)
(Queuing up – getting ready – And we’re off!)
(Ruben Diaz jr – Bronx Borough President hyping up the crowd!)
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Instead of the starting point of the Tour de Bronx being by the Bronx Supreme Court building not far from Yankee Stadium, this year’s ride opening will now be at Harris Field by Lehman College which is going in the complete opposite direction of the South Bronx! How did I like the change? I thought it was a great idea minus a few growing pains with the check-in process at the ball field! The bottleneck at the start of the ride is not an issue now at the new location start at Goulden Ave / Bedford as in years prior in the South Bronx. The bottleneck the organizers do have to iron out now is with the check-in process of the riders trying to enter into the park to get their paperwork for the ride. All in all, the switching and tweaking of the route of the tour was a great idea! One of my favorite parts of the ride was the new addition of shutting down a tremendous chunk of the Grand Concourse (From 193rd St to 138th st) of vehicular traffic and letting the riders ride through! It was gnarly surfing through a main thoroughfare in the Bronx such as the Grand Concourse and seeing amazing sites along the way such as the historic Paradise Theatre, the Kingsbridge Armory, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Andrew Freedman Home, & probably many others that I might have missed! Another ride favorite moment of mine was also on the Grand Concourse when we made a left onto 138th Street underneath the ramp which headed into the Deegan expressway. The archway of the elevated ramp and the sight of the street art/mural on the wall when making that left underneath the overpass was really cool! The normal rest stops at Crotona Park, the Castle Hill YMCA, and the Pelham Bay Nature center remained the same. There was some slight tweaking of the route that I noticed but in general, the streets and neighborhoods we rode into were mainly the same as in years past. Riding the bike path greenways along the Bronx river is always a rock steady favorite of mine as well! The Bronx Botanical Garden was the anchor endpoint of the ride as usual! I want to thank the Tour de Bronx bike organizers, Ruben Diaz Junior, and those that participated in this event which made this such a great day of riding and appreciating what we have all around us! See y’all next year – god willing!
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(Shortly leaving the start line at Lehman College, we run into the Kingsbridge Armory on the left – a National landmark and a mighty impressive structure! Have never ever seen an Armory this big! Not the greatest angle of the Armory. Must see in person!)
(After the Kingsbridge Armory, we make a right on Jerome Ave with elevated “4” subway train tracks above us)
(We got on the Grand Concourse on 193rd Street & we are taking over the streets from 193rd st down to 138th!)
(The historic Paradise Theatre, now also a Church)
(The last time we were inside the Paradise Theatre was for a Babyface & Tank concert. Stunning interior design & architecture)
(Further down the Grand Concourse on 166th st is the Andrew Freedman Home – mural by Panmela Castro – Kool Herc is still watching!)
(We make a left on 138th St off the Grand Concourse – pretty cool mural underneath the overpass to the Deegan)
(Crotona Park – rest stop)
(a customized Schwinn bike)
(Industrial section of West Farms Road)
(Heading towards Starlight Park along the Bronx River greenway)
(The YMCA in Castle Hill rest stop in sight – Whitestone Bridge in sight)
(YMCA rest stop)
(View of the Whitestone Bridge from the grounds of the Castle Hill YMCA)
(A few cutie Yorkies on the Tour de Bronx)
(last rest stop at Pelham Bay Nature Center)
(We are on the final leg of the tour)
(Bronx Botanical Garden – finish line in sight!)
(The End!)
Tags: #TDB16, #tourdebronx, 2016 tour de bronx, bicycling, bicycling nyc, cycling, nyc, tour de bronx
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