Northeast - Anybody ever do the NYC century?

The times when the ride is on public streets, are these streets closed to vehicle traffic?

Also, they mentioned there may be "stairs " on the route. WTH? Why would we need to use stairs on a Century ride?

Lastly, what were your experiences on the ride.

Thanks.

Good ride, worth the money.
Streets are NOT CLOSED.
The Throgs neck bridge has stairs on the walkway which is how we go.

Good tip is to get there early to the start.
There are many bail points if needed.


good luck

Rob

It's a fun, urban century. Most of the ride is on city streets, with some sections on park/bike trails. As Rob mentions, there are a million bail points and lots of sites to see. Definitely worth at least one try.

It is a good ride.
Watching the sun rise from the Brooklyn Bridge is almost worth the entire trip.

Register early enough to get your ride package ahead of time. Otherwise you might have a long wait at the pick up/sign up tables and might even miss the start (happened to me last year).
The water fill-up stations at the first two rest stops were too small so the lines were very long. Bring enough water to last a while if you don't want a long wait.

Not lying - there are some rough patches (small stretches of sand, rocks, shells; some stairs, etc...) but overall a great way to see parts of the city you probably haven't no matter where you are. A lot of the ride takes advantages of bike paths but there is a bit of street riding. The idea is to be comfortable riding in the city and learn how to get from one area to another - in that it's a great success.

I'm 0 for 2 for completion though...this year will be different! First one my body broke down at mile 50 and limped to mile 80 for the subway, the second my bike at mile 20 (bad wheel build = game over).

Yeah I missed the start last year. SInce I'm not the fastest rider that's what pretty much prevented me from completing the 100. I decided to bail in the South Bronx so I could get my t-shirt and commemorative water bottle rather than risk showing up at, what might well have been, a closed rest stop. Of course the upside is, if you don't care about water bottles and t-shirts, and you're local, you have all the time in the world. It's not like you have to catch a train back.

There were some stairs on the Triborough bridge but there were also volunteers who offered to carry my bike for me :p Also the TriBorough has relatively low rails, in some places, which might make acrophobic cyclists uncomfortable. On the other hand, the view looking straight down the East River is spectacular.

Going to miss Ride to Montauk, really itching to do this one.

Oh yeah - I'll be on it. Probably marshal it too.

Make sure to bring tough tires and lots of flat-fixin's. The roads are pretty junky, so flats abound.

Also, while there are many bail-out points, there's also a fairly big stretch in the residential sections of Queens where there's no subways....

Also, while there are many bail-out points, there's also a fairly big stretch in the residential sections of Queens where there's no subways....

As luck would have it that's where I had my asthma attack and had to limp back 30 miles.

I've done it once. Not last year, but the year before. I had a great time. As others have pointed out, the streets along the route are not closed. I didn't find that to be a problem. You'll see a lot more of the city than you would on, for example, the Five Boro Bike Tour. And it's a lot less crowded.

You can bail out pretty much anywhere. You'll never be all that far from a subway stop. As to long lines at the water fill-up stations, there's nothing to stop you from pulling over at any one of the approximately one million delis, bodegas, candy stores and the like that you'll pass and stocking up on water or Gatorade or whatever you drink.

That's the other nice thing about it - can be a very leisurely and relaxed day with plenty of sightseeing and stops.

I'm just going to call you Marshal from now on. :D :o :(

See how it went from corny to embarrassment to sad? Yeah, that's how I roll yo. :innocent:

Ha! :D

When I did get that asthma attack the marshals really helped me limp to the end, so this has been my way of giving back. Don't mind the title at all! :D