Ian Marsh has been fixing bikes at Recycle-A-Bicycle in DUMBO and the East Village (now closed) for more than ten years, after successfully completing a high school internship there. He rides a Surly Long Haul Trucker and a 1990s Univega road "frankenbike", and in this edition of #TourTips, Ian gives essential advice for making sure your bike is Tour-ready.

This year is special. It's the 40th Anniversary of what is now known as the TD Five Boro Bike Tour, and we are so excited to celebrate this milestone by riding 40 miles of car-free streets on May 7 in support of free bike education in New York City. 

Nothing! We all know that bikes are amazing, but “amazing” may even be an understatement. Bicycles’ inimitable intricacies transform cyclists into the single most efficient moving entities on the planet, triumphing over nimble animals and grandiose machines. Bicycles are so exquisite that Steve Jobs admired them ardently throughout his career, referring to computers as “the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.” What makes bikes so uniquely distinct that Jobs, who revolutionized the very nature of human interaction, chose them as the best analogy for his vision? What sets cyclists apart from other beings and machines, and how can one prove...