Northeast - NYC: 2009 Tour de Queens - riders and Marshals needed!

Had some nice fun. The congestion wasn't bad at all and most of the time it was pretty quick moving. And I am thankful for the many stops we got to make due to traffic because gosh Queens sure has a lot of hills! The scenery was not too interesting nor pretty though. In Brooklyn, we got to see the Hasidic neighborhood and the greenwood cementary and Prospect Park and then the pretty houses from Avenues a to z. For Queens, the prettiest area was the Flushing Meadows Park itself and the Hall of Science.

I saw a lot of Marshalls and police. Thank you both for keeping the tour and its riders safe :)

first of all, +1,00000000 re: Marhsals and police - they all did an amazing job, and from what I saw (at the tail end) the ride went extremely smoothly.

Re: the route, that was not the originally intended route. The NYPD whittles it down for safety and other concerns, so some areas that were much prettier got excised in favor of Linden Blvd. and so forth, which visually were not as green or interesting....

Having said that, I was absolutely wowed by how awesome all the locals were in response to us - especially St. Albans. People were smiling, honking their horns (in support) cheering us and waving from balconies, churches and businesses. That was so nice, especially after the nastiness on the Brooklyn ride.:)

PM me if you want some of the original route

Came back around 9:15am and started the tour in the back third of the group. Average speed was like 7-8 mph, a little slow for my tastes. I noticed that in this part of the group, most of the riders were very recreational riders, very little signaling or calling out before position changes/passing and very shaky low speed riding skills. Bunch of people texting and riding at the same time and talking and wobbling at the same time.

After the rest stop, I rode in the first third of the group. Average speed was like 12-13 mph.

I thought it was okay, but could have been better. Too short, boring scenery -- which I sort of expected once I knew where we were riding to. I thought there were too many stops for the road blocks, though again I sort of expected it having done the Bronx and Brooklyn tours. If the day was cooler or had some shade/clouds, I might not have cared for the stops, but the sun was really beating down on us when we were standing around.

Pls see my post above, re: the route...and +1 bazillion on standing around in the sun - the wife and I were laughing about how exhausted we were afterward...only 18 miles and sub-10mph pace, and we were cooked the rest of the day:lol:

Having said that, pls know these types of rides are really aimed at/intended for slower recreational riders. I honestly was surprised to see people there in spandex and clipless pedals - definitely overkill on these rides. Even the NYC Century is a slow pootle with lots of slow riders, lights and so forth. They can still be fun, but they are not races or fast fitness rides by any means. One main goal is to get people who don't ride much inspired to ride more.

The maximum speed I reached on my pretty cheap basic folding bike was 25.5miles when going downhill. That was exhilarating!! I got a bit wimpy and braked a little b/c the road had bumps here and there and I didn't want to fly out of my bike hitting a bump. LOL.

wow - what hill was that?

the long ass hill where it seems like infiniti.

the long ass hill where it seems like infiniti.

you must mean climbing Booth Memorial to 164th street (right after we left the park and crossed College Point Blvd). I think Betty meant cruising downhill....not sure where you could hit 25 mph on that ride - but hat's off to you if you did it:lol:

you must mean climbing Booth Memorial to 164th street (right after we left the park and crossed College Point Blvd). I think Betty meant cruising downhill....not sure where you could hit 25 mph on that ride - but hat's off to you if you did it:lol:

yeah i know she meant downhill...i think the downhill lasted a good half a minute which seems like infiniti to me. i was coasting downhill like crazy.

Streetfilms rocks - Clarence already posted his usual awesome vid doc (http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/tour-de-queens-2009/)

yeah i know she meant downhill...i think the downhill lasted a good half a minute which seems like infiniti to me. i was coasting downhill like crazy.

ah, sorry - so where was it, exactly?

i think somehere in st. alban or jamaica? all i know it was the longest downhill from the tours.

I enjoyed the ride and agree that the route could have been MUCH better. A ride thru Flushing Marina, to College Point or Whitestone and then to Little Neck from Fort Toten (Great rest area) and across to Alley Pond (another great rest area) would have been great. A family version of the tour could have been done at the same time with a later start time and a shorter route that remained in the park but finished at the same time and place. That would have been enough for several of the riders and eliminated some of them on the main tour, easing congestion.
First time marshalling and I would do it again. The nature of the ride should also be explained better in advance publicity this will discourage some of the riders looking for a greater challenge. I myself rode in from Oceanside and back after the ride because I assumed it would be shorter and slower than I have experienced with privately run tours. As a first timer for a city ride I did not realize that it was a group ride until that morning. Police were fantastic!
Could have been better bike shop support. Maybe a tune up booth at the rest stop would have been good. We were only five blocks from Belite and I road over to get some tubes but they did not open until Noon and we were leaving the rest area before they opened. I believed that they missed a great chance at marketing their business. TA should consider listing bike shops on their bike trail maps. Knowing where local bike stores are can really bail you out of a jam.
Overall I thought the organizers did a great job with the event. The people and riders were great. The volunteers at York college were friendly and couldn't do enough for you. See you next year.

I enjoyed the ride and agree that the route could have been MUCH better. A ride thru Flushing Marina, to College Point or Whitestone and then to Little Neck from Fort Toten (Great rest area) and across to Alley Pond (another great rest area) would have been great. A family version of the tour could have been done at the same time with a later start time and a shorter route that remained in the park but finished at the same time and place. That would have been enough for several of the riders and eliminated some of them on the main tour, easing congestion.
First time marshalling and I would do it again. The nature of the ride should also be explained better in advance publicity this will discourage some of the riders looking for a greater challenge. I myself rode in from Oceanside and back after the ride because I assumed it would be shorter and slower than I have experienced with privately run tours. As a first timer for a city ride I did not realize that it was a group ride until that morning. Police were fantastic!
Could have been better bike shop support. Maybe a tune up booth at the rest stop would have been good. We were only five blocks from Belite and I road over to get some tubes but they did not open until Noon and we were leaving the rest area before they opened. I believed that they missed a great chance at marketing their business. TA should consider listing bike shops on their bike trail maps. Knowing where local bike stores are can really bail you out of a jam.
Overall I thought the organizers did a great job with the event. The people and riders were great. The volunteers at York college were friendly and couldn't do enough for you. See you next year.

Well it is a privately run ride. TA is a "private" Not For Profit Bicycle Advocacy group who produces the ride to promote cycling in the City. But it's also a free ride so you may not see the same kind of support you'd have with other rides where they charge $35 or more just to ride.

On the upside, TA always gets great support from NYPD and other local NFPs, like the Queens Museum of Art to lend their facilities for the ride. More often than not, their rest stops have real brick and mortar buildings with real toilets - something people like Heypaul can really appreciate :)

Also keep in mind this is only the second year. Last year we rode through Western Queens along the waterfront from Astoria Park down to Hunters Point and up through Masbeth, Douglaston, and Flushing. Temperature was 96º and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. TA's Queens Committee will probably have an entirely different route for next year and hopefully the kinks will work themselves out.

I would love to see a Family route that starts later than the main group. My grandkids live in Queens and we had a great day in Queensbridge Park on Saturday getting free helmets and riding our bikes. I would've loved to have brought them on the Tour de Queens, but at 6 and 3 years old, I can't imagine them hanging in there for 19 miles in the summer sun. Not even in a Burley.

good points, all - thank you for the feedback.

We discussed having two routes - it is a distinct possibility someday. As Stacy siad, this was only year two; I think it was a massive step up from last year in amont of riders and everything went so smoothly. I can't say enough about how well everyone conducted themselves - riders. locals, the NYPD, etc. It was great to see.

Just fyi, Stacy, I was surprised to see a good amount of very young kids on this ride. I think 7-8 at the youngest would have been the cut off and I saw at least 4-5 kids much younger than that...smaller than 18" wheel bikes. Hopefully they all made it through however much of the 18 miles unscathed.

I think 7-8 at the youngest would have been the cut off and I saw at least 4-5 kids much younger than that...smaller than 18" wheel bikes. Hopefully they all made it through however much of the 18 miles unscathed.

Did you see any on tricycles? :) Maybe by the time there's a shorter family route my grandson will be able to ride his new 10 inch two wheeler -- without training wheels!!

Stacy, I had no idea you were a grandma already. I somehow keep picturing you as a gal in her 20s. I saw the cutest little girl on her tiny bike pedaling like crazy. I think she got featured on the streetfilms video.

Speaking of, of what featured in the streetfilms video, I saw in real life the little girl pedaling hard, the big furry dog being carried in the yellow/blue back seat, and the group in green shirts.

Speaking of, of what featured in the streetfilms video, I saw in real life the little girl pedaling hard, the big furry dog being carried in the yellow/blue back seat, and the group in green shirts.

That was LaGuardia College folk - they're very supportive of cycling and have worked with TA's Queens Committee on things in the past. It was great to see them out there - they had about 35 riders in all!

Stacy, I had no idea you were a grandma already. I somehow keep picturing you as a gal in her 20s.

I think the median age in the Women's Forum is probably about 45 though you'd probably never know it by our words. Lots of Moms and Grandmas on bikes :p I think the oldest woman I've come across on Bikeforums was in her 70s!!!

bikes keep us all young at heart (and otherwise):thumb:

Who will be riding the 2010 Tour de Queens? This year's focus is eastern and northern Queens. Do you think this is the same route as last year or better scenery?

I haven't signed up for it, but trying to decide last minute if I want to go for day of registration tomorrow.

Just came back from tour de queens. Definately better scenery and rest stop at a farm this year than last year.

also heard a few complaints from riders saying that it is going too slow. hello? this is advertised as family ride....if u wanna race....do a group ride urself or join one of the club ride.