Folding Bikes - Folding Bike Race in NYC this Saturday

Just want to spread the word that Hannah from Bike New York (http://www.bikenewyork.org/) is leading a folding bike ride this Saturday!

There will be Festival after that and hosted by Swift so I'm sure there will be some Swift demos to test out but BFold (David - a foldie fanatic who runs bfold.com) will bring some other bikes (Brompton, Swift Folder, Dahon, Strida, Moulton, Think, Bike Friday).

Unfortunately I can't make it (because I'm such a goof ball and already committed to something else for that day!)
Abio riders please represent!

Hannah tells me last year's turn out was about 100.

More info
http://times-up.org/index.php?page=folds-up-ride

There is also a small wheeled race... http://times-up.org/calendar/detail.php?calendarid=1233

Next year folks next year!

TC

Now why wasn't it last weekend?

I'd have loved an excuse to give the Friday a trip down south.

I went! Woot! Had a blast. Meet some very nice folks. I'd say about 50-70 ppl showed up. It was great fun. :)

Oh I went too. I think I saw one Citizen bike. Were you the one with the red helmet? It was great fun, but getting up the 2 bridges were torturous for me. Going down was a blast though. I was sad they didn't have any Bike Friday demostration at the end of the ride as I really wanted to see that.

But woah, so many Bromptons. More than Dahons I think.

Hi Betty. Which bike were you riding?

I was there on my silver Citizen but my helmet was a bright (and kinda ugly) neon green. (I had just picked it up on 136st-- the free DOT helmet giveaway I mentioned in the other thread.)

I was up in the front. About 2-6 people in back of the event leader. I made sure that I ate a Clif bar and had 4 Glucose pills to make sure my blood sugar stayed at proper levels so I was able to ride the whole trip in my highest gear except the steepest part of the bridges which I dipped down into 4th gear then back up to 6th the rest of the way.

All you have to do is make sure you have enough fuel, are properly hydrated and just make crossing the bridge(s) part of your routine at least 3 times a week. Just pace yourself and don't get discouraged. Within about 2 weeks you'll start seeing improvement. :)

Yep, there were a ton of Bromptons and Dahons. I do believe the Bromptons slightly outnumbered the Dahons by a few.

Hi KitN, I don't think I recall seeing anyone with the lime green dot hat. oh well I guess we missed each other. I was almost towards the back though. I was riding the red flying pigeon bike. Most people paid big money for their bikes it seemed. Even the bike with the tiniest wheel (was it a carry me?) was about $800.

Hi Betty. Sorry we missed each other. There were a couple of inexpensive entry-level Dahons and two rusty Raleigh Twentys so don't feel bad. LOL.

Ride what you love. If your bike makes you happy and you have fun riding it, how cares what it cost? :)

I won the small-wheeled bike race last year, 2008. Bicycling magazine was there covering the event, not sure if it made copy.
I held a solid second place in the last lap but the guy in the lead a cat 3 racer from RI nephew of Mr. Peter Swift himself on a super tricked out fixie-swift got lost on the last turn (!) so I crossed the line first.
It was a Saturday the park is kinda crowded then, actually its a bit crazy, so I am not sure if I will defend my 'title' ever again.
But oh yeah, I was riding a 1970's Raleigh Twenty single speed, tricked out a bit but still 28 lbs.+
Everyone was super nice and I basked in the glory all day, actually I am still basking a bit...
Small wheeled community is good people.
Who won in 2009?

I missed the race; I think it's the only Times Up! event I've ever attended which started on the dot (giving a whole new meaning to Times Up!). I was told afterward that the winners included a Brompton, Bike Friday, and Swift, but there were only five riders. Well, maybe next year I'll be on time.

There were a LOT of Bromptons represented, and I was personally delighted to see three other Downtube Minis besides mine. I thought I was the only person riding one in NYC!

The most intriguing bikes shown off at the festival were the Pacific Cycles CarryMe (with 8" wheels), a KHS i-ped (with a rear 16" wheel, front 12" wheel, and a pedal-forward position that was very comfortable to ride), and a vintage British folder from the 1960's that had all the original parts and handlebars in a gigantic U (like bull horns) extending all the way down to the tube, i.e., no handlebar stem.

There were also Dahons, of course, and a couple of Raleigh 20s.

Here's a shot from the ride. (Notice that there is a full sized bike in the shot. There were about 3 full sized bikes. I think two were TU! admins and one was accompanying a friend who was on a folder.)

Please post more pics please!