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• The 5 Boro Pizza Challenge is an annual event where participants eat a slice at a preselected pizzeria in each of the five boroughs of NYC without using a car. 
• I set out on a Saturday morning to conquer the five boroughs — and eat a ton of pizza — in the name of journalism.
• The slices I had in Staten Island and Manhattan stood out among the crowd. 
• The event also raises awareness for NYC's public transportation system and raises money for the public transportation activist group  Transportation Alternatives.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Nine hours, 40 miles, five boroughs: These are the lengths I traveled to taste some of the best pizza slices in New York City.

It was all part of the 5 Boro Pizza Challenge, an annual race where participants eat a slice at a preselected pizzeria in each of the five boroughs of NYC without using a car. 

The challenge started at 11:00 a.m. on a sunny Saturday, and the goal was to hit all five spots and cross the finish line in downtown Manhattan before 9:00 p.m.

Here was my journey to find some of the best pizza slices in NYC. 

11 a.m. — I arrived at the meeting point on a Saturday morning in Manhattan's Financial District to join a crowd of roughly 170 participants who spanned all age groups.

Many people were standing with bicycles, and some were decked out in full cycling gear and speedsuits.

Event staff handed out some swag as you checked in, including a fanny pack, T-shirt, and a racing bib. They also distributed lists of the pizzerias that we'd be hitting in each borough, which were folded shut.

I tried to open the list, but was stopped by the woman next to me. She told me that everyone opened their lists at the same time to make sure nobody got an unfair head start.

Once everyone had the list, we opened them and began to plan our route across NYC.

The five selected pizzerias were:

• Norm's Pizza in Downtown Brooklyn
• Paulie's Pizzeria in Tompkinsville, Staten Island
• Pugsley Pizza in the Bronx's Fordham neighborhood 
• Rizzo's Fine Pizza in Astoria, Queens
• Sofia Pizza Shoppe in Manhattan's Midtown East neighborhood 

Joe Cutrufo, the creator of the 5 Boro Pizza Challenge, told me that the race isn't meant to be a roundup of the absolute best pizzerias in NYC — just some really, really good ones. 

For my route, I planned on using ferries and subways as my modes of transportation. Since I was already downtown, I decided to hit Staten Island first, then Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx, in that order.

The entire trip would span roughly 40 miles — 34 on the subway and ferry and around 6 miles on foot.

Though most of the journey was going to be on public transportation, it was still a long haul. 

11:20 a.m. — As I walked to the Staten Island Ferry, I saw other pizza challenge participants sprinting past me.

Many of the participants were going for time, whereas I was taking it pretty easy. My day was all about the taste. 

Along the way, I thought about growing up in northern New Jersey — an area widely considered to have some of the nation's best pizza — and the pizza-filled years I've spent living in the city.

As I took the free ferry to Staten Island, I also thought about how the challenge was raising awareness for NYC's public transportation system. 

Cutrufo told me that proceeds from the 5 Boro Pizza Challenge go to Transportation Alternatives, an activist group whose mission is to "reclaim New York City's streets from the automobile and advocate for better bicycling, walking, and public transit for all New Yorkers."

12:17 p.m. — I got off the ferry and walked about a mile to Paulie's Pizzeria on Bay Street. The line, which was comprised almost entirely of challengers, went around the corner.

Thankfully, it would be the only line of the day as the group got fuller and slowed down (or maybe that was just me).

Paulie's is a small slice shop with an attached restaurant. I was psyched to embark on my pizza-eating journey.

This would be the most challenge participants I'd see in one spot all day. Many were using Lime bicycles, which are part of a bike-sharing service similar to Citi Bike. 

After waiting in line for about 15 minutes, we made it inside. The interior was small but efficient, though the leaning towers of pizza boxes stressed me out.

The workers behind the counter were able to move a large number of people in and out quickly. 

12:33 p.m. — This pizza was gorgeous. The sauce had a great deep red color, the slice had a uniform shape, and there was some solid bubbling on the cheese, which I like.

Right off the bat, I knew this slice was going to be special. 

All-around it was an amazing slice. The cheese was perfectly melted and the entire slice was thin, crunchy, and delicious.

The highlight, however, was the sauce, which was rich and perfectly portioned.

Ian's ranking: 4/5

1:35 p.m. — After I finished the slice, I resisted the urge to pop back in for another and instead walked a mile back to the ferry station to return to Manhattan.

After getting off the ferry, I took the R train to Downtown Brooklyn for the next leg of the challenge.

2:15 p.m. — I got off the subway at Jay Street and walked a few blocks to Norm's Pizza on Adams Street for slice number two.

I could smell Norm's Pizza from down the block as I approached. 

The interior of Norm's was small but cozy, and the slice shop also had a table for customers to scarf down pizza at their leisure.

The employees working behind the counter were exceptionally friendly. 

One of the employees happily jumped in a photo with me as I posed with my next slice.

This staff member jumped in front of the camera as I was being photographed, then shouted his Instagram handle at me as he disappeared into the back of the restaurant. 

2:21 p.m. — This was a decent-looking slice, with good color on the crust and and a deep yellow on the cheese. The slice was a little asymmetrical, but we aren't really here for geometry. Overall, a handsome slice.

The slice was hot and ready in minutes. 

This was good utility pizza. It wasn't too greasy and had a nice robust flavor. However, the crust wasn't as crunchy as I like, and while the sauce was certainly there, I would have liked a little more of it.

The highlight here was the cheese.

Ian's ranking: 3/5 

3:20 p.m. — After I finished up at Norm's, I took the F train back into Manhattan, got off at the Lexington Avenue and 63 Street stop, and walked down a few blocks to Sofia Pizza Shoppe on 54th Street.

Staff behind the counter seemed thrilled to see more challenge participants — probably because we were buying so much pizza!

The inside of the small slice shop featured brick walls and a cute, lit-up "PIZZA" sign, along with a small bar that faced the street for customers to eat at.

Sofia Pizza Shoppe was the smallest of all the pizzerias I visited during the challenge. 

3:23 p.m. — This is what pizza should look like. Great color, bubbly cheese, and an even crust with just a touch of crunchy brown.

I bumped into another participant on his bike, who told me that this was his favorite slice in all of NYC. 

This slice had an awesome crunch and a great crust. The cheese was melty enough that it gave a pull, but didn't drag the entire cheese layer off of the slice when you took a bite.

The sauce was solid, but the highlight here was definitely the crunchy texture.

Ian's ranking: 3.5/5 

4:20 p.m. — After I finished up at Sofia Pizza Shoppe, I took the R train to the Steinway stop in Astoria, Queens, to grab a slice at Rizzo's Fine Pizza.

If you aren't looking for it, you might miss the small Astoria slice shop. 

Inside, a large sign that read "Please forgive our appearance while we renovate" hung behind the counter, and the walls were adorned with art that appeared to be for sale.

Some of the art on the walls was priced at over $300. 

4:25 p.m. — This slice left a little to be desired. It had an interesting, curled crust that looked like it had been cast in a tin, but the cheese-to-sauce ratio was a little off.

Although it wasn't the most appealing slice in the world, I was intrigued by the crust. 

It definitely wasn't the best slice of pizza I've had, but it wasn't the worst. The crunch was terrific, but the sauce was a bit too sweet, and the cheese didn't offer a whole lot of flavor.

And, to be fair, this pizzeria is most well-known for its thin-crust Sicilian-style slice. I was sticking with classic cheese at every pizzeria to keep my ranking consistent. 

Ian's ranking: 2.5/5 

6:04 p.m. — After Rizzo's, I took the R train to Rockefeller Center, then transferred to the D train and rode uptown to Pugsley Pizza on 191st Street in the Bronx.

The pizzeria was swamped with Fordham University students and their families for parents' weekend, but there was no line.

This was a total neighborhood spot, with specials named after regulars hanging prominently in front of the counter.

The owner of Pugsley Pizza was very accommodating, and other participants said he had been playing the saxophone earlier in the day. 

6:14 p.m. — This slice looked pretty good and featured a large crust, a deep red sauce, and an even layer of cheese.

Somehow I managed to find some room to put down this delicious piece of pizza — even though it was my fifth slice of the day. 

This reminded me of a Jersey slice — in a good way! It was a little doughy and had good cheese and sauce, an even distribution, and great flavors throughout the slice.

The only thing it was missing was the crunch.

Ian's ranking: 3/5

8:00 p.m. — After taking the subway back to the finish line in Lower Manhattan, I received my "medal," a metal bottle opener.

Everyone who finished the race received a Citi Bike day pass, while the winner and runner-up also received a waterproof Cleverhood biking cape, ticket packages to the New York Pizza Festival, and Giftzza pizza box gift boxes. 

Paulie's Pizzeria in Staten Island was my favorite slice. I would actually go back to Staten Island for this slice (no offense, Staten Island — you're just very far away).

Ian's complete rankings:

While I had a blast gallivanting around the city and enjoying some killer pizza, it's good to note Cutrufo's goals for the event: To raise awareness about public transportation alternatives and — most importantly — to have a good time.   

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