Northeast - Tour de Brooklyn: How young is too young?

The tour is a leisurely 18-mile ride. My kids are both good bike riders -- the 5-year-old has been on two wheels since he was 3. But I fear that 18 miles is really quite far for him. Anybody done this who would suggest otherwise? (And while we're at it, how do I break it to the 5-year-old that his 8-year-old brother gets to go and he doesn't?:eek: )

Bklyn,
Yeah, 5 is too young for 18 miles I think. I might take my 6 year old, but she'll be on a Trail A Bike. My 7 yr old loves to ride, but he couldn't do that mileage.

That said, I did see some 9-10 year olds lined up for the Tour de Bronx last year (the shorter route).

I'd just tell the 5 year old it's an older kid thing and maybe they can do it next year.

Yeah, you're right. I think it's mostly a factor of those 16" wheels! Poor kid spins out in 100 feet on a straightaway! Maybe he and his little sister and mom'll get to see "Shrek" or something....
Lucky, if you do it, I'll look for you.

Bklyn, If I do it, I'll be on my wife's old silver Hard Rock, w. a black Trail A Bike.

I was a lead marshall for TdB. This was a pretty slow ride as some people left early because of the pace. Luckily the second part of the ride was better managed among marshals so we were able to move the ride along better. I nearly ran into a jogger who was running on the bike lane in Prospect Park in the final stretches before I braked hard as swerved out of trouble. It was mostly my fault because I was looking behind me to change lanes and watching for cyclists who never say anything as they pass you. Before I knew it, the jogger was 8 feet away. Nearly had to fill out my own accident report and I was a bit shaken.

As marshall, I had two cars went out of their way to circumvent me on 4th ave. I don't think I can do much if a truck flattens me. Later I talked to a policeman and he said that they can slap violators with a summons. Overall a decent ride. They need more bathroom accomodations and there are lessons to be taken to improve the ride for next year. I had a good time.

Thanks for the excellent ride! Lots of friendly spectators. A few brief stops, but I got to talk to people and I never felt the pace was too slow.

I saw a car drive around a marshall, but overall I think the marshalls and the police did a wonderful job managing traffic.

Didn't make this ride. My daughter lost her enthusiasm for it & I was still recovering from the Montauk ride... Hope everyone had fun.

Very slow ride. Lots of stops, like at the "border" to Bay Ridge. What was the holdup, were they deciding whether they wanted us in?
My favorite moment: In Dyker Heights, after the lunch break, as we passed a bunch of cars that were furious waiting for us, there was some woman who was stuck in her little cul-de-sac. She must have come out to her little parking lot, gotten in and . . . uh-oh. No marshall, no cop, no one to tell her what was going on. As far as she knew, this unbroken line of very slow bicyclists was going to last forever. She was wailing out of her car window, "Ya ruinin' tha nay-ba-hood!"

Haha, that lady in Dyker was a trip....she was trapped in that driveway forever it seemed......Avatar I think we both almost hit the same jogger....If it was a brunette hottie in spandex anyway....i think i nicked her elbow or something, my handlebars rattled at 24mph due to it....so I just hammered out of there, when the volunteers at the tables said it was over I was alone to finish, despite my possible hit-and run

Having now done both the TdeB's in NY, Bronx and Brooklyn, the Bronx ride is far superior. It is a longer, more interesting route that takes you through the entire borough. The pace is much faster, although they did corral us at the first rest area. It was fun if not the longest or most serious of rides. At least they didn't stop us in the middle of the route somewhere.

If I had known that we would ride down 4th Avenue I wouldn't have bothered. That is the least attractive street in all of Brooklyn. I'd rather have just done loops in the park.

I took my 10yo twin daughters and even they thought it was slow. They were wondering if this is what it is like when I do all my rides. I felt conspicuous on my road bike, but its the only one I ride.

Zacster, I'm with you 100 percent. My ONLY problem (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=239391&highlight=bronx) with the Tour de Bronx was getting back to Brooklyn.

FYI: The Tour de Bronx (http://www.transalt.org/calendar/tourdebronx/) is Oct. 27 this year. I'm happy to ride as part of a Brooklyn contingent.

Alright. I'm getting in shape and doing this. Where in BK are you, do you bike all the way there & back?