Has anyone ever done the Gold Coast Ride coming up in Long Island?
How does it compare to Bike NY rides as far as organization, rest areas, etc?

Just did the ride for the first time. It's run by the Huntington Bicycle Club (http://huntingtonbicycleclub.org/document/94104), which appears to be design from a riders point of view

organization: good (missing knives for bagels - first stop, not a biggie)
rest areas: good (1 or 2 that stretch a little further than desired, but may be due to logistics)
route markings: good (but like any, you still need to pay attention)
fee: $25 on the day of
view: great harbor views, and lots of tree lined routes on the north part of the route
would I do it again: definitely yes
elevation: 6,000+ (for those of you that like challenges)
gps route: motionbased (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6237272)
sag support: okay (base on comments, not first hand)

comments: This should go on your short list of rides to do. I think it's a big plus a bike club is running it, on the 70 and 100 route notice good quality riders w/ quality bikes. I was impressed with the quality of the group as a whole.

In NY this week visiting family, I rented a bike and rode the 55 miler.

Good ride, well organized. I was surprised at how hilly it was, and how steep some of the climbs were. (I'm accustomed to the flat south shore of Long Island). My Garmin tracked about 3100 feet of climbing on the 55 mile ride with grades of up to about 14%. The weather was unusually good for July, about 80 degrees F, nice breeze, lots of shaded lanes.

Just did the ride for the first time. It's run by the Huntington Bicycle Club (http://huntingtonbicycleclub.org/document/94104), which appears to be design from a riders point of view

organization: good (missing knives for bagels - first stop, not a biggie)
rest areas: good (1 or 2 that stretch a little further than desired, but may be due to logistics)
route markings: good (but like any, you still need to pay attention)
fee: $25 on the day of
view: great harbor views, and lots of tree lined routes on the north part of the route
would I do it again: definitely yes
elevation: 6,000+ (for those of you that like challenges)
gps route: motionbased (http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6237272)
sag support: okay (base on comments, not first hand)

comments: This should go on your short list of rides to do. I think it's a big plus a bike club is running it, on the 70 and 100 route notice good quality riders w/ quality bikes. I was impressed with the quality of the group as a whole.

I did the 70 and I must say it was the most pleasant ride I've done so far.
Some short but steep climbs and some real nice long, winding downhills.
Seems to be mostly a long island crowd
(they wait for traffic lights even when the road is clear :))
I agree with all of your comments including the quality of the riders and their bikes.

I did the Harbor Ride (Bike NY) a few weeks before that and the Goldcoast beats it hands down.
For the price ($20 pre registered, $25 day of ride),
you get the ride, well stocked rest stops, a t-shirt and a free soft ice cream at the end of the ride.
For me it was worth the 1 hour drive.