As strange as it may seem, 32,000 cyclists passed by our apartment building this morning as they participated in the annual Five Boro Bike Tour. My building is a few doors down from the entrance to the 59th Street bridge. Bikers started nearby as they rode through all five boroughs –Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, totally free of traffic.

Very few people know about this, but next year this tour might be totally different. There is a new Kickstarter project now underway that is trying to bring bike riding into the age of smartphones. Vanhawks, the bike’s manufacturer, wants to raise a little over $100,000 to fund Valour, a bike that can track your rides, give you directions, and even alert you to passing cars or bumps in the road.

Bike riding just went from being a sport where you were basically on your own, to one of being totally connected. Participants in New York City’s Bike Tour next year will be a lot more knowledgable about the path they are exploring if they decide to buy a “Valour.”

The “Valour” should be ready this October from $999.00 to $1,200.00, depending on various upgrades.