Five Boro Tour

One of the largest organized bike rides on the planet. This charity ride is 40+ miles through all five boroughs of New York City. Starting is lower Manhattan the ride moves up to Central Park then circles around to end in Staten Island. With 32,000 riders, this is an experience. I have done this in 2012 and 2015. Only downside was that I am used to the pristine air of rural bike trails and the city air made the ride seem longer than 40 miles.

The ride is the first Sunday in May but registration is in January. If you want to do this be sure to register early, it fills quickly. For more information check out the Bike New York website.




See a short video clip of crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at the end of the tour on Mark's Bike Tock YouTube Channel.

DC Bike Ride 2016

A seventeen mile ride through closed streets in the nation's capital. I had a great time when I did this in 2016. Riding the national mall and past the pentagon without any cars to contend with was memorable to say the least. Only downer was a light rain for the duration of the ride. Learn more at DC Bike Ride.

I stayed in Bethesda and was able to ride the Capital Crescent Trail to the start of the ride. After the ride I met my wife and was able to bring my bike on the subway that stopped under our hotel.

Great Allegheny Passage

I rode the GAP in 2015. I started in Pittsburgh, PA and rode to Cumberland, MD over three days. The ride was easy and I could easily have done it in two days but I wanted to take my time and enjoy the sights. I also wanted to be sure to stop for plenty of pictures along the way. These are some of the more memorable ones from the trip. More information may be found at GAP Trail or Great Allegheny Passage. There is also a Facebook page for the GAP.

The GAP was the first trail selected for TrailLink's Hall of Fame. The GAP is also the #1 trail in the top 10 trails in Pennsylvania according to the rails-to-trails conservancy. Bicycling magizine has named the GAP #1 in its top 10 list of the Best Long Rail Trails in the US. You can find a video of one of the bridge crossings along the GAP on my YouTube channel.

Start of my ride

The end of my ride

It felt good to get here after 130 miles of uphill

Mason-Dixon Line

Sculpture made from railroad spikes

Pittsburg, PA to Cumberland, MD

Florida Keys

I rode the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail in July of 2016. I started in Key Largo and after just five or so miles got caught is a downpour. I was soaked to the skin in no time. The rain however was warm and actually felt good. The problem was the humidity. I was wet the rest of the day. I rode about half way on the trail to Marathon Key. The humidity and relentless sun took its toll. I planned on spending the next day relaxing on Marathon with my wife before resuming my ride the following day.

I revised my plans and decided to break up the remaining miles into two days. I started early to beat the sun, before dawn. I had not planned ahead and encountered the seven mile bridge while it was still dark. My rental bike had no lights and the bridge had a very narrow shoulder. This made it unsafe to proceed in the dark. I waited for first light and crossed. I got to the other side early enough to see many key deer on Big Pine Key. My wife followed in the car a few hours later and passed through Big Pine Key in the midday heat. The deer were staying out of the heat and she did not see any. After about 30 miles, I stopped at a local store for some additional water and texted my wife. She was just a few miles behind me so I waited for her to pick me up.

The following day my wife dropped me off where I had stopped the previous day and I finished my ride into Key West. Once I got to Key West I rode along the coast past the airport to the southern most point. Then it was on to the end of the road (A1A). A ride down Duval St and back up to meet my wife at our hotel and I as able to check off another trail from my wish list. My GPS recorded 116 miles for the ride.