How the Five Boro Bike Tour Ride Turned Into a Bicycle-Themed Proposal

New York City’s Five Boro Bike Tour is always packed with surprises added to the thrill of 32,000 cyclists rolling through the city’s car-free streets . But this year, one rider got more than just an unforgettable ride. He got a brand-new bike, a cameo from a YouTube adventure legend, and a spontaneous crowd of well-wishers witnessing one of the best moments of his life.

Josh Wilson, a devoted cyclist and newly-minted doctor, thought he was in for a relaxing celebration weekend. He had just wrapped up medical residency, and his girlfriend, Natali, told him she had a surprise planned.

“Needless to say I was giddy as a school girl when we showed up to the Priority Bicycles home of operations,” Wilson says.

Wilson’s cycling obsession runs deep. He met Natali just a year ago, and bikes have been central to their relationship ever since — their early dates involved rides on Priority Folders. So when Natali led him to the HQ of Priority Bicycles — one of Josh’s favorite bike brands — he knew this wasn’t going to be a normal weekend.

There, the Priority team rolled out a gleaming new Sauce bike. It had a subtle yet meaningful touch: “hasta que pare el sol” was printed along the downtube.

“It’s a saying I have with my girlfriend. Roughly translated it means ‘you and me until the sun stops,’” Wilson explains.

The words made him pause. Then came the kicker: “It’s yours,” the team told him.

“Like waking up Christmas morning and opening the first present,” Wilson says. “I was stoked.”

As if that wasn’t enough, the crew extended an invitation that floored him: “You wanna ride the Five Boro with us?”

“I felt like the prettiest girl in high school had just asked me to prom,” Josh recalls.

At Priority with the new Sauce

And so, on a sparkling new Priority Sauce, Josh joined the team for the ride of a lifetime — beers, bike banter, and the kind of camaraderie that only happens on two wheels. “It also defeats any misconception that a do-everything bike can’t keep up with gravel bikes or go for 50 miles in a day,” he adds. Not that his legs didn’t feel it, especially on the final uphill stretch.

But the ride was just the beginning.

As the tour wrapped up, Josh and the Priority crew grabbed a final celebratory round before boarding the ferry. That’s when the magic happened:

“Dr. Joshua Wilson, could you please come to the podium,” said the voice on the loudspeaker.

Josh and Natali at Five Boro

“I was completely confused and wondering if there was a medical emergency or something,” Josh remembers. Instead, what he found was his girlfriend, his parents — and a video screen.

On it was none other than Ryan VanDuzer, the ever-enthusiastic cyclist-adventurer-YouTuber and one of Josh’s heroes.

“It’s Ryan VanDuzer!!!” Josh shouted.

In the video, Ryan offered a heartfelt message to Wilson and then cued up Natali: “And now, I believe Natali has something to say.”

She unrolled a giant poster collage of their cycling memories. In bold, it read: “Will you ride through life with me?”

Cue happy tears. Hugs. Applause. Josh looked to the guys from Priority — yes, they were in on it the whole time.

At Five Boro, the happy couple with family

“I thought I was supposed to be the guy who planned these types of things,” Josh says, “but my better half is quite the planner who wanted to make sure she locked down a future husband who would save money on gasoline and associated mechanics fees.”

From that first ride to an unforgettable day at the Five Boro Bike Tour, Josh and Natali’s love story is one of adventure, connection, and a whole lot of miles together on two wheels. It’s a beautiful thing.

So what’s next? Josh jokes, “plan a Priority cycle-themed wedding???”

Sounds good to us. Congrats Josh and Natali. Keep riding on.