Northeast - NY Century

I usually try especially to hit the Bronx part because I don't ride in that borough otherwise, except for the Tour de Bronx certain years. Some of the greenway through parklands is very nice.

I plan on riding either 75 or 100 but will probably start closer to 7.

I did it last year and I'm not sure I'm doing it again. It was OK until it gets into Queens and then it really slows down due to the street riding. It also felt like all of the miles that are added to make it a century are in Queens so you get to see a lot of it and it isn't very exciting.

Maybe I'll do one of the shorter rides to avoid that. I can always loop back around Brooklyn if I want to do a full 100, but by that point I'll usually have had enough.


This good for me cause I live in Queens!:D

See y'all there...sure wish we'd had those BF jerseys for these rides.

From the NYCC board (and I assume a marshall)

The 100 mile route returns to Manhattan this year via the Wards Island footbridge at East 103rd St. before heading north to the Bronx. It's 79 miles into the route.

Lucky07, that's my understanding as well. The packet that I received after registering shows the map the way you described it, but there's a bullet that says something about the 75-mile route going to the Bronx as well.

I can't find any "updated" map, if indeed the 75 is, like the 100, going through the Bronx. Anyone have any other info?

I have the turn sheets and it doesn't say anywhere I can't distribute them, so PM me an email address if you want them.

So I'm a legal marshal on the 75 - woot! :D

I am palnning on dong the 100, if all goes well.

Anyone have ideas on a good parking garage nearby? Do they get full quickly? Any experiences from out-of-towners would be appreciated. I am coming in from NJ via Lincoln tunnel. thx

I am palnning on dong the 100, if all goes well.

Anyone have ideas on a good parking garage nearby? Do they get full quickly? Any experiences from out-of-towners would be appreciated. I am coming in from NJ via Lincoln tunnel. thx

Go to the Upper West Side (90's and Broadway would be a great place to start looking) and then ride to the start. You'll save a bunch of money that way.


You guys should all try and hook up, I know of probably 10-15 guys from BF who will be doing the ride.

I am palnning on dong the 100, if all goes well.

Anyone have ideas on a good parking garage nearby? Do they get full quickly? Any experiences from out-of-towners would be appreciated. I am coming in from NJ via Lincoln tunnel. thx

I come across the GW Bridge and park on Riverside around 122nd street, next to Grant's Tomb and Riverside Church. That time of morning there's LOTS of FREE street parking in a safe area. Just a little more than a mile from the start area.

I'm outa here and on the road. See y'all Sunday morning.

I think the BFers are planning to meet here. Traffic triangle/island at 11th & Lenox. Right? It's a block above the start & the ride should go right by.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=15+lenox+ave,+New+York,+NY&sll=40.798688,-73.952258&sspn=0.0048,0.009806&ie=UTF8&ll=40.798832,-73.952129&spn=0.0012,0.002452&z=19&iwloc=addr&om=1

Pretty sure that's the spot!

You guys should all try and hook up, I know of probably 10-15 guys from BF who will be doing the ride.

It would be nice to have people to ride with. I keep thinking I'm going to get lost somewhere along the way, even with the turn sheet. We'll have to see.

I'll be riding with my girlfriend for the 100, so we'll probably keep a moderate pace compared to most BF people. If you see a guy on a debadged green Surly LHT with a girl on a white Terry, that's us.

I'll be at the 6am start. (bearded guy on green Trek 520, with massive front & rear cargo racks).
See you all tomorrow.

I'll be there for the 100. Tall Guy. Black Surly Pacer. Grey Jersey. Black Shorts.

Whoa.. what the f.... 6am start???

Whoa.. what the f.... 6am start???
http://www.madebymark.com/madebymark/ambien.jpg

yup...the 100 starts at 6am, but I think you can start with one of the later groups and still ride the 100 if you prefer.

renegade44, how do you like the Pacer? I'm thinking about building one as it seems like just the kind of bike I'm lookin for, but I haven't seen one in person yet.

Whoa.. what the f.... 6am start???

Same time as last year.

slvoid - just get there by noon, you'll still finish by 5 ;)

I like my sleep...

does anyone how many people usually ride this in total? i'm talking about everyone that starts, not just the 100 milers

I'm doing the ride. I'll be riding to the start w/ an upstairs neighbor who is a first-time century rider and meeting a regular riding partner on the way. We should be there in time for the 6AM start. I'll keep an eye out for you guys when we pass the triangle and you jump in. I'm a 6' white guy who will likely be wearing my BF jersey -- yes! -- riding a black, red and white Scott CR1 (carbon baby!). Should be pretty easy to spot me -- I've got white tires on that bad boy. :D Anyway, my neighbor I'll probably only see at the start b/c I don't think he's very fast. Not sure how fast my riding friend and I will ride as we just rode a tough 100+ miles today in the heat. She'll be on a Lightspeed Ti/carbon Sienna. Note that Mrs. Oboeguy is passing on the century this year to allow me to do back-to-back centuries at my speed, so I will not be on the folder!

I like my sleep...
Sleep is over rated :D
I think I'll get me some. :p

I'll be on my black Kuota Kredo.

I'm going to start with the 100 milers, but I may cut it short depending on the route sheet. Like I said before, I don't want to do the Queens riding as it just isn't worth it. If I cut out 20 miles of Queens I'll ride home to make it up. My experience though is once I hit the finish line, any finish line, I'm done.

I'll be on my IRO fixie doing 75 miles (at least that's the plan), but after loading trucks at TA today, I may cut it down to 15 miles. :P

can someone pm me a turn sheet i am going to try to pick up near ally pond and part of the queens and bronx ride...if crashing it is possible. i bartend and am just about to get off work

*yawn*
*stretch*

Man, I hate getting up early...

*yawn*
*stretch*

Man, I hate getting up early...

Bah, it's not that much earlier than when getting up to ride before work...

So sleeeepy...

Bah, it's not that much earlier than when you usually go to sleep

Fixed that for ya ;)

can someone pm me a turn sheet i am going to try to pick up near ally pond and part of the queens and bronx ride...if crashing it is possible. i bartend and am just about to get off work

ahhhh! My wife isn't feeling well so I may just scoot out to alley pond later today and ride back to Astoria Park, living in Queens and all....:(

I got back from my party at 1:30am, so rather than showing up late and hung over, I just woke up now, ahhh..... laaaazy.

First ride report!

After checking into the marshal station a few minutes late (sorry I didn't get a chance to say hey) Avatar and I were off. By the time we got to PP I noticed my wheel was getting a bit out of true and I could hear the hanger rubbing against the spokes - I had this problem once before and traced it to a tension issue (which was the start of all my wheel issues all summer long). [I actually got this wheel back last week, brought it in to be retensioned after 80 miles like he said and was told it was fine to ride for the Century.] Over to the mechanics station, we worked on it best we could (which actually was pretty damned straight) and then we were off again. Helped out with a flat that blew a hole in someone's tire near Coney Island - did the patch+dollar bill trick and that seemed to get him going again (though he insisted on putting the patch on upside down...hope that held). Got separated from Avatar with that flat and he was kicking ass with that headwind - for once I didn't completely die so that was a plus but still had trouble keeping around 13 (though I did leave everyone else behind me so they were having worse issues). After making a quick Gatorade (lemonade) and food (hot dog) stop at the [unofficial] Nathan's rest stop I was off and running to catch up. A few blocks later I hear a few bangs from the rear wheel and notice some broken spokes :( This effin' rear wheel has been the bane of my existence all summer and now this is the second time I couldn't finish this damn ride. Sigh...

So, I made my way back to Nathans, had some clams strips washed down with one of those 32 oz beers and rested on the subway back. I am now off to the shower and a nap.

Cramps ended my 75 mile bid so I finished the 55 miler instead. Stupid cramps.

The rest stop at Nathans was stocked with anti-cramping food :D

Breakfast at Nathan's? Yum Yum!

woke up at ten. got on the trail in astoria at steinway and 20th ave and rode to the finish only did about 30 miles plus another ten after the finish. the bronx section was interesting. still got a free water bottle

*yawn* *stretch* Man, I hate getting up early...
Dude, I woke up at 3:30 to do this stupid ride. So SUCK IT. ;)

Some things went very well: ride started right on time, volunteers were very friendly (especially the Girl Scouts out in Queens), maybe 1 or 2 parts of the city I hadn't been to before.

Other things, well... Only 1 thing really wasn't organized all that great, namely the road markings, they weren't quite as clear as I'd liked. Otherwise the main issues were particular to yours truly, namley getting up way to freakin' early, lots of mechanicals etc.

Hey all, finished the ride stronger than expected. Finished at 2PM with almost 16 mph moving average. Tried to meet up with you all, but the new route didn't go past the meetup spot. Yeah, the marking could have been a little better.

On big intersections they should mark if you missed a mark, a few times I couldn't see it because of the cars.

First ride report!

After checking into the marshal station a few minutes late (sorry I didn't get a chance to say hey) Avatar and I were off. By the time we got to PP I noticed my wheel was getting a bit out of true and I could hear the hanger rubbing against the spokes - I had this problem once before and traced it to a tension issue (which was the start of all my wheel issues all summer long). [I actually got this wheel back last week, brought it in to be retensioned after 80 miles like he said and was told it was fine to ride for the Century.] Over to the mechanics station, we worked on it best we could (which actually was pretty damned straight) and then we were off again. Helped out with a flat that blew a hole in someone's tire near Coney Island - did the patch+dollar bill trick and that seemed to get him going again (though he insisted on putting the patch on upside down...hope that held). Got separated from Avatar with that flat and he was kicking ass with that headwind - for once I didn't completely die so that was a plus but still had trouble keeping around 13 (though I did leave everyone else behind me so they were having worse issues). After making a quick Gatorade (lemonade) and food (hot dog) stop at the [unofficial] Nathan's rest stop I was off and running to catch up. A few blocks later I hear a few bangs from the rear wheel and notice some broken spokes :( This effin' rear wheel has been the bane of my existence all summer and now this is the second time I couldn't finish this damn ride. Sigh...

So, I made my way back to Nathans, had some clams strips washed down with one of those 32 oz beers and rested on the subway back. I am now off to the shower and a nap.

Wow, sorry to hear that. You have lots of issues with that rim! I stayed home today and watched the World Champion New York Mets beat the Houston Astros for the sweep! All and all, it was a good day!!

Wow, sorry to hear that. You have lots of issues with that rim!

Yeah, one day they'll build it right or they'll get tired of seeing me.

Hope everyone had fun.
Sorry to have missed the meet up. I was in the pickup line before 5:30, but the TA pea-brains didn't open the tables until 5:50. I was at the table getting my tag when the 100s started, so I didn't get out for another 10 minutes.
Finished the 75 with no big problems, although the headwinds coming back on the Harlem River Greenway wore me out. Back in CP just after 2. Would liked to have done a lap of the park, but my butt was done for the day (will be looking at new saddles soon)
I thought the arrows were easier to spot this year. I didn't get lost this time. Rest stops were good, except for the LONG waterlines at Prospect Park and Canarsie. The people at the Van Courtland stop were having way too much fun.
Enjoyed the Bronx, although I was riding solo for most of it. A fast group would catch and pass me, and I wouldn't see anyone else for 10 minutes or so.
Will eventually post the ride report on my lj bike blog.

Funniest thing I saw was someone getting doored ..... by a port-a-john at the Carnarsie stop. No one hurt, but she felt pretty stupid for riding along the front to the johns.

I thought the markings were pretty good. At any confusing intersection there'd be a confirmation mark on the road beyond it. I didn't use the cue sheet as I can't see it without my reading glasses, and relied on the marks, as well as my partners on the ride.

I did the entire 103 (maybe 102 as I led a group directly back to the route when we all took a wrong turn after the Brooklyn Bridge). I finished at 3:00. I had a small accident on the Triboro, at the bottom of the stairs when I was getting going again. I was pushing off when a runner brushed me and I went into the VERY abrasive wall. Blood was dripping. I cleaned it off and kept going. When I had to walk across the traffic at the Bronx side of the Willis Ave bridge, I found that my ankle really hurt. It also had a hole in it from the chainring I think. Otherwise I thought the ride was much better than last year, or at least I rode it better. Maybe I should do a real century next.

My only mechanical difficulty was my own doing. I swapped wheels last night, taking my Shimano Velomax wheels off and putting my Campy Ventos back on. The wheels worked fine, but I forgot to take the magnet. No speedometer today.

AT this point in the evening, around 9:30, I still can't put any weight on my ankle. The other scrapes are pretty superficial.

I smoked the Ocean Parkway/Canarsie stretch. Something kicked in and I went 19-20 mph on the flats. It was quite satisfying hearing "holy ****" as I passed by some. There were folks on road bikes much faster than I, but if you got zipped by a marshal with a gray Dahon Speed P8, that would be I. I went in with no training after being in China for 7 weeks, so not bad! Climbs were much more difficult without training.

cc_rider: what was so fun at Van Courtland?

I started cramping up around mile 50 in my quads and hamstrings in both legs. It was killer. From that point on, I was down on my granny chainring the rest of the way as people passed me by. I was happy to finish the 103 (probably 104 given the 3 or 4 times that I followed packs of people only to realize they missed turns), even though we got in right before 6. My girlfriend was saying that next year we can just work on improving the time.

The ride was great though. I thought the markings were mostly fine, especially if using the cue sheet. The one thing I HATED was the lack of notification that people gave when passing. The majority of people would never say anything when passing and some people would pass at really close distances. I saw one guy pass another guy on the right and the other guy ending up sort of colliding with him and then a guardrail and then he broke a spoke. Is it too hard to say "On your right/left"? Ugh. So yeah, that pissed me off the whole day. I made sure to thank those that did let me know.

Other than that, a beautiful day.

Also, does anyone know if there's anywhere online where we can find a version of that map that was at rest stops, with the route highlighted?

I especially was annoyed at those hot shot riders in full kit whom I can imagine clothes-lining accidentally. :) I told some to please say something when passing, but I don't think they were listening.

I'm going to add a discussion of etiquette at the start line to the suggestions box.

My report: I had a pretty good day on the bike. I thought the weather was great, the route was switched up a bit, which was nice & I managed to hook up with a fairly fast group for most of the way.

I got up to the start in plenty of time (I thought) to get my bib & cue sheet & meet up with the BFers at the triangle. Nope. There was a massive line for 'pre-registered' riders. I'll sign up early next year to avoid that.

The ride south to Brooklyn Bridge was uneventful. I did see a Marshall warning people to at least look before they blew threw a 2 way light. Eash.

The view over the bridge at sunrise is beautiful. I doubt I'd ever see it if not for this ride. The Brooklyn Zoo stop is great. Glad they added that back in this year. Something about being there before it's open to the public is very cool.

Hooked up with a decent group after the Park & stayed with them until Ward's Island. One guy had a huge kneebrace, the other had what looked like a reconstructed knee. They both cranked 19-20mph for much of the ride. Kind of incredible. The group rounded out to about 6 people, and even though it wasn't a real paceline, we stuck together for the most part.

Missed a ton of turns, probably because of the pace, and definitely because of some missing arrows or dark green arrows painted on the asphalt. I have decent vision, but those weren't easy to see. Seems like lots of people blew turns, so I don't think it was just us. Probably put in a good 5 miles of backtracking.

Rest stops were decent for the most part, not amazing but fine.

Only saw 1 accident as someone wiped out on a Greenway turn with lots of sand. The riders seemed ok, but definitely banged up a bit.

Got into a couple of scraps myself on bridge crossings. One one, a woman fell into me as she tried to get back on her bike at the top of the stairs. I got knocked into a chainlink fence & thought I was fine. The woman was ok, so we got up & rode. Later I discovered I was pretty heavily bruised & scraped. It's sore today, but fine. Oh well.

Second dust up was on the Ward's Island bridge. People were walking their bikes on either side of the bridge, and a mtn bike guy was on the left. I figured I had plenty of room to pass & called out that I was riding up. Mtn bike guy immediately started wobbling and we bumped. We were fine, but the guy was kind of freaked out. I probably shouldn't have passed, but I was already going slow enough to fall over.

Turned off at 110th St and rode over to the Park. Wound up with almost 90 miles. That was plenty. Probably averaged 16.5 -17mph for the ride, which is decent for me, especially with all the stops/starts.

Had a good ride. Glad I took the 75 mile route. I'd definitely do that again. I figure I'll ride the Bronx on the TA October route.

Sorry I missed the BF group. I'm doing the MS Ride & the Tour de Bronx. Maybe some of us could meet up then. Hope everyone had a good ride.

What was the mileage for the 75 mile route? I know my computer isn't accurate, and it read 84 miles.

I had a great time. Started at 6AM and finished at 3PM. It was my first century (actually more like 112 including riding to and from CP) and I felt great. I think I spent too much time eating at the rest stops, because I wasn't even hungry for about 2 hours after the ride.

Also, the day before the ride, I replaced my chain because I accidentally broke my old chain. My cassette is only a year old and doesn't appear to be worn out, but I noticed that the new chain felt funny on some of my favorite cogs and occassionally it slipped to a different cog. Not a very big deal, but now I'm replacing the cassette.

The day before, I also tuned up my brakes to eliminate a terrible squeal. It was completely gone. Then on my ride to the start, it returned with a vengeance. I ended up fixing it while waiting in line for the start, and it worked out nicely all day.

Looking forward to riding more centuries. Maybe even longer rides.