Services for Registered Riders
The Commerce Bank Five Boro Bike Tour's fantastic team of staff and volunteers is ready to help cyclists along the route. All services on the Tour route, at the five rest areas, and at the Festival are available to riders wearing a Tour vest.
Rest Areas • Recycling • Bike Repair • Lost and Found • Marshals and NYPD • Medical Help • Toilets • Tour Photos • Information and Reunion Centers • Staten Island Ferry • SAG (Support and Gear)
Rest Areas
Replenish your energy at five rest areas along the route. Complimentary snacks at each stop include Bonita bananas, Snap2O water, Lärabars, and oranges. Signs and marshals along the route will direct you to rest areas--or to bypass lanes.
Rest Area Locations:
In addition, there are two water stations offering water and toilets. These are located at Mile 28 and Mile 42, before the Staten Island Ferry. Route Map >
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Recycling
New this year, selected rest areas will have designated recycling areas for paper and plastic bottles. Please look for the proper receptacles when discarding items.
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Bike Repair
If your bike needs attention, stop at a repair tent. Labor is free, but there's a charge for parts. Be sure to bring a spare tube. Flat tires are the most common problem. Marshals are more likely to be able to help you if you have a tube.
Repair services can be found at:
Lost and Found
Check at Information and Reunion Centers for items lost along the way. After May 5, call 212 932 BIKE in case your lost items were brought to the Tour office.
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Marshals and NYPD
Marshals wearing yellow vests are on bicycles along the route ready to provide assistance. They give route directions and tell you about road conditions. New York Police Department officers are also on the route to manage car traffic and help with problems. Please follow their instructions.
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Medical Help
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics from the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Medical Bike Unit are available to attend to medical needs, as are ambulances from the NYC Fire Department Emergency Medical Service. Ask any Tour marshal or police officer to get you medical assistance if you need it. There are also EMTs at each rest area.
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Toilets
Hundreds of toilets are available throughout the Tour, including handicap-accessible ones at all rest areas, water stations, and the Festival. There are also a few additional locations, and these may have shorter waits than at rest areas:
* Handicap-accessible toilets available.
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Tour Photos
brightroom will automatically take your photo as you cycle along the Tour route. For identification purposes, keep your Tour vest, rider number, and helmet number clearly visible. After the Tour, brightroom will contact you via e-mail so you can view and purchase your photos. Details >
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Information and Reunion Centers
The information tents at rest areas and the Festival are where you should meet cycling companions who may have gotten separated from you on the ride. Volunteers can help you get reunited, and there is a message board for your use.
Riding with a group? Here are some tips to help you stay together.
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Staten Island Ferry Service to Battery Park
Both before and after the Tour, special ferries run to accommodate Tour cyclists. The ferry is free. Getting There >
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SAG (Support and Gear)
Trucks and buses provide transportation to the Festival for cyclists who require assistance. Simply pull off the road and wait for the SAG buses and trucks that follow the Tour. Marshals will load your bike onto the truck and hand you a baggage tag; you can then board a bus to Staten Island. Reclaim your bike at the SAG drop-off at the Festival before the Tour ends.
If you do not pick up your bicycle on Staten Island, you may claim it at the Bike New York office from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. on May 4 or Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. until May 30. After May 30, unclaimed bicycles will be donated to Recycle-A-Bicycle. Call 212 932 BIKE for more information.
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The Commerce Bank Five Boro Bike Tour's fantastic team of staff and volunteers is ready to help cyclists along the route. All services on the Tour route, at the five rest areas, and at the Festival are available to riders wearing a Tour vest.
Rest Areas • Recycling • Bike Repair • Lost and Found • Marshals and NYPD • Medical Help • Toilets • Tour Photos • Information and Reunion Centers • Staten Island Ferry • SAG (Support and Gear)
Rest Areas
Replenish your energy at five rest areas along the route. Complimentary snacks at each stop include Bonita bananas, Snap2O water, Lärabars, and oranges. Signs and marshals along the route will direct you to rest areas--or to bypass lanes.
Rest Area Locations:
| Mile 11 | FDR Drive at 116th Street, Manhattan |
| Mile 19 | Astoria Park, Queens. All cyclists near the head of the Tour are held here for about 45 minutes while the NYPD closes oncoming roads to traffic. Cyclists near the tail of the Tour are directed to a mandatory shortcut that bypasses this stop and leads to the next one. |
| Mile 21 | Con Edison Learning Center, Queens |
| Mile 27 | Commodore John Barry Park, Brooklyn |
| Mile 35 | John Paul Jones (Cannonball) Park, Brooklyn |
In addition, there are two water stations offering water and toilets. These are located at Mile 28 and Mile 42, before the Staten Island Ferry. Route Map >
Top ^
Recycling
New this year, selected rest areas will have designated recycling areas for paper and plastic bottles. Please look for the proper receptacles when discarding items.
Top ^
Bike Repair
If your bike needs attention, stop at a repair tent. Labor is free, but there's a charge for parts. Be sure to bring a spare tube. Flat tires are the most common problem. Marshals are more likely to be able to help you if you have a tube.
Repair services can be found at:
- Start Lineup, near Battery Park, Manhattan
- 59th Street, off Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), Manhattan
- All rest areas (see above)
- The Festival
Lost and Found
Check at Information and Reunion Centers for items lost along the way. After May 5, call 212 932 BIKE in case your lost items were brought to the Tour office.
Top ^
Marshals and NYPD
Marshals wearing yellow vests are on bicycles along the route ready to provide assistance. They give route directions and tell you about road conditions. New York Police Department officers are also on the route to manage car traffic and help with problems. Please follow their instructions.
Top ^
Medical Help
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics from the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Medical Bike Unit are available to attend to medical needs, as are ambulances from the NYC Fire Department Emergency Medical Service. Ask any Tour marshal or police officer to get you medical assistance if you need it. There are also EMTs at each rest area.
Top ^
Toilets
Hundreds of toilets are available throughout the Tour, including handicap-accessible ones at all rest areas, water stations, and the Festival. There are also a few additional locations, and these may have shorter waits than at rest areas:
| Start Area | Battery Place*, just north of Battery Park. A second location is at Church Street and Park Place or nearby. |
| Mile 3 | Avenue of the Americas, at approximately 52nd Street, before Central Park. Look for signs. There are no restroom facilities for Tour riders in Central Park, so use these before you enter the Park. |
| Mile 7 | Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd., about one mile north after exiting Central Park. |
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Tour Photos
brightroom will automatically take your photo as you cycle along the Tour route. For identification purposes, keep your Tour vest, rider number, and helmet number clearly visible. After the Tour, brightroom will contact you via e-mail so you can view and purchase your photos. Details >
Top ^
Information and Reunion Centers
The information tents at rest areas and the Festival are where you should meet cycling companions who may have gotten separated from you on the ride. Volunteers can help you get reunited, and there is a message board for your use.
Riding with a group? Here are some tips to help you stay together.
- Make sure you and your friends have exchanged and stored cell phone numbers before the Tour begins. Important numbers: a non-cycling contact, the name and number of your hotel, and your home and cell numbers.
- Make sure all cell phones are charged, and bring along quarters or a calling card for pay phones just in case.
- Designate a location in case you need to regroup at the end of the ride. The Festival Information and Reunion Center is recommended.
- If you're looking for someone, ride to the next rest area Information and Reunion Center rather than waiting on the road, since your companion may be ahead of you. If you don't find him or her at the rest area, tell the volunteers where you last saw the person. Our volunteers have helped reunite many separated cyclists.
- Use the message boards to communicate with adults in your group. Post your message--"John Doe: Meet you at the Festival Reunion Center," for example--under the first letter of the last name of your companion. Make sure everyone in your group knows the procedure.
- Designate a non-cycling friend to take calls during the Tour and be your personal message center.
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Staten Island Ferry Service to Battery Park
Both before and after the Tour, special ferries run to accommodate Tour cyclists. The ferry is free. Getting There >
Top ^
SAG (Support and Gear)
Trucks and buses provide transportation to the Festival for cyclists who require assistance. Simply pull off the road and wait for the SAG buses and trucks that follow the Tour. Marshals will load your bike onto the truck and hand you a baggage tag; you can then board a bus to Staten Island. Reclaim your bike at the SAG drop-off at the Festival before the Tour ends.
If you do not pick up your bicycle on Staten Island, you may claim it at the Bike New York office from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. on May 4 or Monday-Friday, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. until May 30. After May 30, unclaimed bicycles will be donated to Recycle-A-Bicycle. Call 212 932 BIKE for more information.
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