After Tropical Storm Hanna's torrential storms flooded the streets of Brooklyn and shattered one too many branches on Saturday, the sun rose and lit up the skies for T.A.'s annual NYC Century BiKe Tour -- an exciting hundred-mile bike tour across NYC's five boroughs. Farah, Oswald, and I sprung into action early in the morning so that we could catch every moment of this great event.

As soon as I arrived, I saw the early birds ride their way quickly out of Prospect Park to continue their immense journey over New York City. When I entered the park and headed towards the Carousel, there were giant huddled masses of bikers who were taking breaks and grabbing a bite to eat. Since I could not start out without the most important meal of the day, I joined in to eat a delicious and nutritious—and not to mention free—breakfast. Everywhere they had bagels, fruits, and energy bars, all tasty and well prepared by the hardworking T.A. volunteers. Across the lawn next to the Carousel sat crowds of people sitting near their shiny metal bikes, either chatting with their peers, waiting in line to have their rides repaired by trusty bicycle mechanics who sat under a tent and offered complimentary servicing for riders, standing in line for food, or asking for directions for the next leg of their route. It certainly was a busy morning, and there was no time to be wasted.

Among all the hustle and bustle was Ali S. Qadeer, our trusty graphic designer from T.A. who designed our trendy colorful postcards and who we admire enormously for his creative mind. He awaited us with a box full of fresh new unsigned postcards that we needed to begin doing what we do best. Just as we were about to move our station, Andrew McConnell, a TA Super-Member and Volunteer of the Month in the Summer of 1999, showed up and introduced himself. He is a member of Transportation Alternatives who has worked on making Prospect Park Car-Free even before I was born (according to Jessie). He is such an affable and fantastic person who is unmistakably devoted to our campaign, volunteering his Sunday off to help get postcards signed. All together Andrew, Oswald, Farah, and I transported our table and postcards away from the lawn and strategically placed ourselves at the entrance/exit of the 15-mile pit stop of the 100-mile ride.

On the table set up we attached fliers around the edges advertising our "Brooklyn Brings It to Bloomberg" event (MONDAY! Don't Miss It!), and on the boxes we wrote directions telling people to sign postcards for a car-free park. We were officially ready. Thousands of bikers all geared up in spandex suits, mirrored shades, helmets, and gloves rolled in and rolled out, meanwhile flocking by the dozens to our tables to get their hands on a card to help us make our case. Andrew announced to the entering crowds our campaign, making funny statements such as "Get your food over there, and your car-free park over here" or "Don't sign if you want cars in the park!" Farah, Oswald, and I wandered over to the crowds in search of more supporters. And our supervisor Jessie joined us in helping find people to sign postcards -- this was supposed to be OUR job but I guess we could let her have some of the fun.

Our box was filling up, and pens were flying out. People were dashing left and right, asking for directions: Where's the 35-mile route? The 55-mile? The 75-mile? I thought this was the finish line! People filled up this pit stop and masses lined up to replenish their bodies with food and water. I spoke to everyone all along the food line and received almost a hundred-percent yes's. The crowd was so receptive; never in a day did I receive so many positives responses. I guess to bikers, there's nothing worse than a four-wheeler…

Later on, the rest station started to become more peaceful, and what seemed like a Bob-Dylan concert crowd started to slowly exit. The carousel music, still buzzing in the air with songs from oldies like The Carpenters and Beach Boys, kept us entertained at the end of the morning that flew by so quickly. We all began to pack up, discuss topics for our highly anticipated and quickly approaching rally, and load the truck with the beefy chunk of postcards we had completed for the day. This spectacular event epitomizes our need and the people's need for a car-free park, to make everyday as safe and enjoyable as this one. Now we are left eagerly awaiting the one glorious afternoon when we will march to City Hall and proudly make our final stand for Brooklyn.