I'll be marshaling it - look for me on the 59th Street Bridge telling everyone that there's free beer up ahead ;)

damn...that means I'll have to attach to tow rope to Henri instead of you :D

LOL
tow rope to a keg of beer....
then Air an a few Hundred will be following me
hehehe..
henri

That's one way to slow you down!

Hahaha, that'll keep me motivated.

Pls add me to the list as well.
Cheers

OT: Five Boro ride with Ma + Pa Kettle & the kids- Directional advise Please ?

We live at the end of the road in Northern VT. Right now the road is covered with snow and hard pack ice, plus the wind chill is minus something or other. When it warms up later in the week, the roads will be a mix of mud, slop etc that challenges cyclocross riders. We get to an urban area two or three times a year- usually Boston or Montreal. However during the past couple of year the guys (our two kids) have expressed a lot of interest in seeing NYC. So this year we signed up for the Five Boro tour. Some advice or directions on how to get from the hotel to 5Boro start would be greatly appreciated. We will be staying on East 40 th street. From a .PDF of the NYC cycle map, it looks like there is a bike route east, along East 40 th -toward the East River Bike Greenway (think that is how it is labeled) south to Battery Park. We are country bumpkins; any advice, tips, directions would be very helpful. Have tried to get a NYC cycle map, phoned the 212-new-york #; if they sent it out, they must have sent it west by turtle, instead of northeast. Sorry to hi-jack this thread; but could not think of another better source of info. Thanks Very Much, in advance for your help- martianone

im in park slope brooklyn, heading out to the park as we speak! you may see me panting on the side of the road or trying to draft small children or pregnant mothers (sometimes horses if they are not pooping)

DAMN THE CIRCUS!!!!

newbie in Crooklyn - originally from Queens. Looking for a horse to ride.

Brooklyn, Prospect Heights specifically if that matters.

Please add me; located in Brooklyn.

New--from Queens--Forest Park area. 2004 Trek 1000 needs to be dusted off after winter hibernation.

I'm also from Forest Hills, Queens. I just realized that my commute to school on the west side in midtown is only 8 miles. The idea of saving MTA money, being environmentally friendly, and staying in shape by commuting by bike is pretty appealing.

Before I started biking recently I jogged about 4 or 5 miles or more a day and am generally in pretty good shape. Is this a reasonable bike commute, both ways considered? Does anyone have any tips for urban biking/safety? The quickest way to Manhattan distance wise would be Queens Boulevard, but with heavy pedestrian and motor traffic I'm not sure that's the best idea. Thanks for any advice, and sorry if this is the wrong thread to ask.

Sweet - another Forest Hill-er. Queens Blvd. is definitely the fastest way to the city - especially to Midtown, and it's definitely a reasonable commute. I've done it a bunch of times, an am going to probably start commuting to school again soon. Queens Blvd. can be a little nasty as there are tons of speeders, but i haven't gotten creamed - yet [knock on wood]. That said, I've definitely somewhat rear-ended cars who decide to turn right without a signal light on at the last second, so beware!
The other option is going down Metropolitan Ave. to the Williamsburg bridge and making your way to the west side and up the bike paths on the major avenues over there (8th Ave.) but that's probably more indirect, and will take more time.

Welcome.

Hey guys,
I'm in Manhattan, could you add me to the list?

Hi, I also rife in Forest Park and am new to this forum.............

I ride in Forest Park (not rife). Anyway, no coincedence I rode to the city and back. Not used to it and am paying the price for it, but riding in Forest Park seems so "beginners-like" I hope Im not offending anyone. Hey welcome as part of your crew fellas!...............

Extremely helpful. Thanks a lot. I'll probably give both ways a shot eventually.

First Day back in the saddle
 

OK, great day today right, so I broke out the bike, brought the daughter to school and started on a nice leisurely, great ride through Queens into Manhattan. In the 90s I rode everywhere, was an aggressive, but not careless rider. When people cut me off I would let 'em have it. Yell, scream, chase 'em down, etc. OK, so now it's 2008, I've got a child, I don't ride nearly as much as I used to, but...I still get crazy mad when I get cut off. It ruins a perfectly good ride. So, here's the million dollar question, how should I stop getting mad (understatement) when a cab cuts into the bike lane, when a van crosses two lanes and cuts me off, etc. I'm just getting to old for it. Thanks. By the way, it really felt great to ride today.

Hey there. I'm in Nolita, Manhattan. I used to race Cat 3 back in high school...but that was 17 years ago and I'm back on a bike this season for pretty much the first time since then. That is to say, I was fairly slow then and am slow as hell nowadays.

I'll be riding the 5Boro for the first time in two weeks. I even bought some nice vintage quill pedals to deal with the constant stopping and starting; I plan on taking it easy and just enjoying the sights this time around. I've never been to Staten Island!

Good freaking lord, I've been away for like 2 months, this thing really grew...

Brooklyn member here, currently riding a patchwork circa 1986 Quintana Roo outfitted for commuting (I am looking to get rid of it by the way).

Another from Brooklyn; I've also posted on the Brooklyn Members List.

+1 I'm from Clinton Hill and I ride a 61cm Tarmac (red) and a Jumbo gunmetal cannondale tourer.

new rider here from UWS manhattan. been cruising around with a MTB and I'm about to pick up a road bike.