Tour de Brooklyn

2013 marked the 9^th annual Tour de Brooklyn and unlike previous years they’ve increased the cost to $ 20 and capped the participants to about 1,200. The ride is held the Sunday after Memorial Day. They change the route every year to keep the tour interesting, great for people who live in the area and keep doing it but not so much for the people visiting NYC and really wanting a more complete overview of the borough in one shot.
The ride is about 20 miles long with a 45minute rest area halfway through where you can refill your water and get some free snacks (orange slices, bananas, and energy bars). There’s a police escort for the ride as they don’t block off any streets so occasionally there are stops at intersections.
This is very important so pay attention, this ride is definitely not for everyone. Expect to be in a packed group of riders going 8 – 10 mph the entire time. If you’re unaware of bike speeds I’d say 16 (+/​-​2mph) is a comfortable biking speed at a decent pace on flat ground. What this means is that this snails pace bike ride will be great for children and beginner bikers who either don’t typically bike much or are normally too nervous to bike alone on busy NYC streets. It’s also a decent ride for those looking to see a little bit of Brooklyn that they normally never would have seen. As I did the 5 boro bike tour put on by the same company I had assumed it was the same as everyone could bike at their own pace. The fact that they don’t close down the streets may be the main factor with the pacing.
I was with the bike group about 3 – 4 miles before I discovered this and broke off from the group, biking a parallel route a block away so that I could bike at my own pace (making sure to occasionally stop and have an eye out for the police escort to make sure I hadn’t lost the group). After the halfway point I just left the group and went on my own Brooklyn bike ride, something I enjoyed far better.