Northeast - 2008 Tour de Bronx

I am starting at the courthouse and i am considering riding to the start from Brooklyn or Manhattan. If I do, could someone tell me which is the best bridge to ride over from manhattan to the bronx?

Wow!!! The Tour De Bronx. Isn't there an entire 5 borough ride?

Reading all these posts brings back fond memories for this transplanted New Yawkah.
Lived in Bklyn and Manhattan and worked in both Bklyn and the Bronx.

I live in Northern Maine now but would love to do a nostalgic ride through NYC or some of the boroughs. Maybe next year?

How do I get on the mailing list? Is there a city bike club website?

Finally, I'd like to make a shout out to a good friend from a long time ago (my training days)-Ed Fishkin.
Anyone has his contact info? Does he participate on this board?

This thread made my morning. Thanks. (Did get a laugh at what is considered cold - have you ever ridden in minus 20 deg F? That is cold). I do miss the city at times.

Peace,

Man, Riverdale and the Woodlawn cemetery almost did me in, . I opted to not take the "shortcut" late in the game, just to see if my 3:1 geared fixie (and me) could make it. I figured out why I saw hardly any fixed gears, because it was insane to go fixed for this ride! There were times that I was almost standing still, but I made a promise to myself not to stop, and I didn't. And how does a 40 mile route = 47 miles according to my computer?

Wow!!! The Tour De Bronx. Isn't there an entire 5 borough ride?

Yes, the Five Boro Bike Tour is held every year in May. Go to http://www.bikenewyork.org/ for details. It's a great ride.

Whats are the buzz about the hills in Riverdale? Which ones did you go up?

From a couple years ago, the hills that did me in were the ones leading up to Manhattan College. Those toasted my legs enough to make me take Metro North home. That was on the fixie. I took the fixie again this year, but did the 25 mi route to save the legs. I'll ride out to City Island and hit up Artie's or the Lobster Box some other time.

Yes, the Five Boro Bike Tour is held every year in May. Go to http://www.bikenewyork.org/ for details. It's a great ride.

Thanks. It is right around my wedding anniv.: 27years this coming May. We met in Bklyn. I am feeling quite nostalgic today about NYC........though just came back for a marvelous run in the woods with the dogs-we are at peak fall foliage just about now. crisp and in the mid 30's.........

Would be nice to come to NYC for us to see friends, family, celebrate our anniv. and I could do the ride.

Will check with my wife.

Please do post the pictures of you on the podium holding flowers and getting kissed by 2 gals. You know, something like: http://broadbandsports.com/athletesVoice/tfly/uploaded_images/landis_podium-713707.jpg

:D

Whaddya mean SOMEthing like this. That's me in the center.

A prior commitment meant I had to bag the ride; but after getting home I went down to VCP. The rest stop was packed. After grocery shopping I rode the Riverdale section, which I do every day anyway. :)

There seemed to be a lot more riders at that last rest stop than in former Years. There also seemed to be more hardcore city-type daily riders than in the past too.

One lady, walked her bike in to the rest stop. She asked if it was the 40. The last time I saw her she was walking up Manhattan College Parkway.

Who ever you are, I admire your commitment.

Two memories from yesterday that I'll probably forget soon:

1. Some woman turned her front wheel into my foot as I rode past her up a hill. She didn't fall down since she pretty much came to a stop at that point. On another short, but steep incline, I almost rear ended a bike when the woman in front of me got tired of going up hill and simply jumped off her bike. Conclusion: some people have no idea what's going on around them.

2. Another woman said, "Sir! Nice bike!" to me. She had to say it a couple times cuz I wasn't paying attention and didn't realize she was talking to me. "Oh, thanks!", I mumbled, then went back to spacing out. Conclusion: I don't pay much attention either.

man you guys are making me feel good; i can't imagine bonking on a short ride like that!

You're not trying hard enough. Try following Izumi around for the whole TdB.

man you guys are making me feel good; i can't imagine bonking on a short ride like that!Hey, what can I say?

I had a marathon weekend of working and family affairs and was on the fence about doing the ride.
A call that morning from my riding partner who lives in the bronx convinced me to go back to sleep.
He said it was freezing and that he was gonna pass.
Judging from most of the comments above, it was a good choice.

Matty..i knew that after all the riding you've done this summer, this was gonnna be a snap for you.
Not only did you finish but you rode to the event. That's gotta feel good.

I did feel good and had alot of fun. I don't consider it to be a "snap" though, but I'm getting better. :thumb:

I am sorry to sound a bit harsh, but the tour de bronx has to be the worst organized TA ride I've participated in.

Me, my GF, and another friend signed up for the 40mile ride initially but decided against it at the last min since I was still recovering from a bad cold. So we did the 25 mile ride instead. We were expecting an easy, enjoyable ride. Boy was I wrong.

At the beginning all was well. The ride started at 11AM. It started a little late, but thats expected. The ride was slow going since many of the streets were narrow. There were several parts where we had to walk our bikes. We didn't mind since the marshalls/NYPD had to go ahead to block off the roads anyways, we appreciate that.

I don't remember which part of the route it was, but there was a hill right after one of the elevated subway lines (2,5??). So I was in front of my GF climbing up the hill. The all of a sudden I hear this big crash sound from the back. At first I thought it was a car crashing into a cyclist since it was such a big bang. I looked back and saw you GF on the ground with two bikes, and a child that is maybe 10 yrs old on top of her. My GF was badly injuried. Her pants/jacket were ripped, her knee was badly bleeding and both her elbows were hurt when she was thrown from her bike. Luckily the kid wasn't hurt. Her parents came over, glared at me and my gf, quickly took the kid and her bike, and left without saying a word. Not even a sign of concern. We were both very shocked and in awe.

Then a marshall came, asked if my GF was okay, then told us we can't stand here....told us to move over to the side....and then road away like nothing happened while my GF was in serious pain. We were both very upset at this point. We weren't able to get any first aid until the YMCA pit stop and my GF rode in pain the whole way.

I didn't not witness the crash, however from what I was told from the people that saw the crash, my GF was climbing up the hill and the kid was riding next to her. The kid lost momentum as she started up the hill and then all of a sudden could not keep her bike straight and then rode her bike sideways into my GF's rear wheel causing the huge accident.

I cannot even explain how upset we are. Especially when the parents just walked away. We are sharing the road together and all of us are responsible for controlling their bikes in a safe matter. If her child cannot control her bike, then she should not be riding alone. I guess her parents think otherwise.

So a day has passed, my GF has a black/blue knee that has swollen quite a bit and her road rash are all red, swollen, and painful. Not to mention her biking pants/jacket are junk now and the rear wheel of her bike is very out of true.


I am sorry for the long post, but I really need to vent this out.

rpmk104- hope your gf has a fast and healthful recovery. This was my first, along with my brother riding in a TA event and I know what you mean when they need improvement in organization. I signed up for the Riverdale start and didn't even leave till almost 9am. Then the ride marshal of the group decided to stop at some local park before Grand Concourse for reasons unknown; I left and rode to GC on my own to meet up with family and friends. We decided on the 40 and I'm hoping by next year, the TA will have better bike routes for the event. Plenty of narrow streets with oncoming traffic, a ride marshal leading a group we were with onto a dead end street, and another ride marshal yelling at my brother and I because we we rode on the dividers or on the opposite side of traffic on the routes he was covering; ironically, the same marshal was doing the same thing after the second rest stop while riding with his Iron rider buddies. I guess you needed to ride in full team kit to avoid the traffic :rolleyes:
We were very surprised to see the hills in Riverdale. We rode thru them hard and being the rookies cyclists we are, I think we did pretty good. Exhausting.. without a doubt.. yes, but definitely a confidence booster since I was able to ride back and climb the route towards Manhattan College a 2nd time to get to my parked car at 231 and Independenc Ave in Riverdale.

Btw, the ride into City Island wasn't even that great. It didn't lead into the main strip with all the restaurants, but I sure regret not stopping by the Lobster Box :(

one good thing i like about is the apple they gave out on the 2nd stop...those were some delicious apples. does any1 know what is the name of those apples and where i can buy it?

Would be nice to come to NYC for us to see friends, family, celebrate our anniv. and I could do the ride. Will check with my wife.
FYI, the 5 Boro Ride is usually pretty huge (30,000 riders) and slow. There are a lot of choke points along the ride, where you will end up doing quite a bit of walking. They also shut down part of the route at a certain time.

If you find the idea of cycling with a huge crowd appealing, go for it. ;) Otherwise you might want to do the NY Century, which iirc goes through Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn and is done in the fall.

You're not trying hard enough. Try following Izumi around for the whole TdB.

...were you riding with Izumi? i did actually follow Izumi and another dude for about 45 minutes or so after the rest stop where they gave out apples. i even followed them onto the highway, which was exciting but also a "wtf am i doing?!" moment. eventually i had to give up and join the Iron Riders' group because i just couldn't keep up with Izumi.

...were you riding with Izumi? i did actually follow Izumi and another dude for about 45 minutes or so after the rest stop where they gave out apples. i even followed them onto the highway, which was exciting but also a "wtf am i doing?!" moment. eventually i had to give up and join the Iron Riders' group because i just couldn't keep up with Izumi.
No way I could keep up w/ Izumi. I read your other post in the other board so when I saw this one here, I thought it looked familiar. ;)

FYI, the 5 Boro Ride is usually pretty huge (30,000 riders) and slow. There are a lot of choke points along the ride, where you will end up doing quite a bit of walking. They also shut down part of the route at a certain time.

If you find the idea of cycling with a huge crowd appealing, go for it. ;) Otherwise you might want to do the NY Century, which iirc goes through Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn and is done in the fall.

Is the 30K riders NYer hyperbole or literal?
As you might guess, a huge crowd is NOT appealing.........NY century might be more interesting and less frustrating..........though from all the complaining I am now remembering why I left the city which, for me, is both the most wonderful and totally unlivable city..........


Thanks

No way I could keep up w/ Izumi. I read your other post in the other board so when I saw this one here, I thought it looked familiar. ;)


ah yeah, i didn't think people on this forum would know him, so i didn't mention it before.

Is the 30K riders NYer hyperbole or literal?
As you might guess, a huge crowd is NOT appealing.........NY century might be more interesting and less frustrating..........though from all the complaining I am now remembering why I left the city which, for me, is both the most wonderful and totally unlivable city..........


Thanks

30,000 is minimum.
Last year it reached 36,000.
It's quite slow and start-and-stop for the first 10 miles but it spreads out pretty well after that.
It's a ride you may want to experience at least once.

30,000 is minimum.
Last year it reached 36,000.

For the last 2 years, registration has been shut off at 30,000. No day-of registration permitted.

the tour was spent stopping and waiting more than riding. Poorly organized. Definitely my first and last time participating in this tour!

I did feel good and had alot of fun. I don't consider it to be a "snap" though, but I'm getting better. :thumb:

Glad you two had a great time and are getting better...you'll need to be the next time you see me, but I'll give a slight advantage up by riding the Ti MTB :D

Maybe it's me, but I go into crowded, urban rides like NYC Century & the TdB with the expectation that there will be lots of stopping and starting, newbies on bikes, etc. There are lots of people on these rides who have just been bitten by the riding bug. That is a good thing.

The 5 Boro is the extreme. It seems to be LOADED with people that ride once a year. During the 5 Boro. :D That doesn't stop thousands from enjoying it.

Do these rides to have fun & take them for what they are. Mildly chaotic urban events.

I'm w/ Lucky07 on this. If you want to ride fast, do the 40 miler and be prepared to do some extra miles if you miss a turn. They give you the cue sheets and mark the route so you can ride ahead of the marshals if you want. It's supposed to be a fun ride riding in a huge group w/ lots of people. Otherwise, it's just riding around the Bronx w/ your friends which is also cool since you can make up your own rest stops.

Maybe it's me, but I go into crowded, urban rides like NYC Century & the TdB with the expectation that there will be lots of stopping and starting, newbies on bikes, etc. There are lots of people on these rides who have just been bitten by the riding bug. That is a good thing.

The 5 Boro is the extreme. It seems to be LOADED with people that ride once a year. During the 5 Boro. :D That doesn't stop thousands from enjoying it.

Do these rides to have fun & take them for what they are. Mildly chaotic urban events.

Lucky wrote exactly what I would have written if I wasn't afraid of being ridiculed. I had alot of fun on this ride, even with all the stopping/starting and the marshals taking us the wrong way, etc.. Maybe part of the fun was the fact that the people on this ride were mostly ordinary Joes (and Janes) who were very friendly and didn't wrinkle their noses at me because I am not a skinny dude in a full "kit" or because my bike was not in the $3,000 or above category.

I have been on 8 or 10 different rides now, and after each one, people come on here to ***** about something: the route, the food, the organizer, the weather, etc.. I actually like the fact that each ride is different and that the food may or may not be gourmet, or if there is enough or not, or we stop, or go, or get lost. To me it adds to the excitement of the day.

I expected the ride to start late, but by the time we got to the first rest stop, I was in no mood to be penned in for who-knows-how-long. As people poured in, I doubled back out and did a short loop around the police barricade and continued the ride on my own.

And man, I'm glad I did. By the time I was returning from the Maritime College penninsula, I crossed not one, but two large lost groups of riders who were off the route. I saw the pack coming across the bridge to Orchard Beach/City Island again.

With that cold weather, this ride was definitely more enjoyable at my own pace.

Maybe it's me, but I go into crowded, urban rides like NYC Century & the TdB with the expectation that there will be lots of stopping and starting, newbies on bikes, etc. There are lots of people on these rides who have just been bitten by the riding bug. That is a good thing.

The 5 Boro is the extreme. It seems to be LOADED with people that ride once a year. During the 5 Boro. :D That doesn't stop thousands from enjoying it.

Do these rides to have fun & take them for what they are. Mildly chaotic urban events.

I agree, large group rides are lots of fun. Just came back from a 2 day exurban ride with 5000+ cyclists and had a blast. Definitely more fun than riding solo up to Nyack and back.