Picture boarding a commuter train into Manhattan at 5:11 AM. Then picture it filled with... What? Denizens of the night, spirits of the departed and ghosts of commuters past? Possibly, but this morning the cars held cyclists., real breathing, smiling, anxious cyclists, eager to ride in the largest bicycle tour in the U.S., the Five Boro Bike Tour. As we hurtled lurching along toward Manhattan the skies began to lighten and dawn peeked over the horizon as we broke above ground at Penn Station's 7th Avenue entrance. We started to check our press kit for directions to the start, but instead, we hopped up on our bikes and just followed the crowd.



Fifteen minutes later we found ourselves on Church Street in Lower Manhattan where thousands of riders was had already assembled. Barely light, New York's streets infamous for their unfriendliness had been transformed through the excitement of the assembled multitude into a colorful blanket of cheering friends, gathered for a shared day of exercise and the enjoyment of biking. On this crisp, sunny, forty-six degree morning we simply didn't see anything but smiles.