pasopia

I'm in. This is the most fun organized ride in NYC, in my opinion. Plus its free! Its a bit slow at the 10am, start, but you can cut through that fairly quickly.

mattyknacks

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?

stevesurf

...from last year's thread; have a good time:

vincentnyc

who's pump??? tour is about to start in 12 hours from now...who is riding what so if we see each other...we know that we are from this forum!

jyossarian

I'm riding w/ a couple friends (I think) and I'll be on a blue IRO Rob Roy w/ rack and fenders. Say hi if you see me.

jyossarian

My friends bailed so I rode by myself and took it easy. Chilly, but nice day for a ride.

Jrather

It was cool overall but man, oh man was it disorganized. I don't think TA had planned on having so many riders show up. The ride started an hour late, and what was up with those detours about 15 miles into the ride? We must have gone in circles a few times, then ended up just stopping for like 15 minutes because (from what I overheard) the road chosen for that part of the 40 mile route couldn't accomodate so many cyclists. I did see some motorist animosity rear its ugly head, but that just serves as a reminder that the event's purposes are activism/outreach in addition to an enjoyable tour.

Avatar

I needed to dress more warmly but I was pretty cold for some of the ride. Saw Matty at the end. It was fun, but I did 25 miles and therefore missed out on City Island.

The late start froze us. There were no bagels served this year. Food was scarce. Must be a sign of the times? There was no mention that this year was more attended than previous years. The first cemetery once again was understaffed. I went the same way last year -- the wrong way -- and luckily I didn't flip my bike over this time. The exit from the cemetery didn't have many markings either.

I had fun nonetheless. Looking forward to next year.

Must plan bathroom breaks strategically for the ladies.

joblue

Matty...Joe here, how was your ride. Although it was supposed to be a 40 miles, I clocked in at 45 miles...and the last few miles were hell if you didn't take the shortcut in Riverdale!

Stacy

I was registered but when I woke up this morning it was 42 degrees!! I haven't even begun to think about how to dress or that kind of weather. So I got a little more sleep and rode over to Williamsburg once the day warmed up a bit.

Catnap 

just got home... i'm pretty worn out! the Bronx has some serious hills. i loved the waterfront views too. i rode a while with the Iron Riders guys, they are hilarious. the dudes were capping on each other in jamaican patois. i swear i heard one of them call another guy a "bumbaclot" all in all i think i did close to 75 miles today, since i rode all the way up to the Grand Concourse meeting point from Canal St. and then all the way back home from Fordham. time for some beers and bbq. :bigsmile:

MrCrassic 

What a mess!

The ride itself was a lot of fun. I don't know how many miles we did exactly, but people kept saying that it was 40 miles from Grand Concourse.

We got lost and wasted epic amounts of time re-grouping and taking alternate routes. It was nice that the police were escorting us, but if they knew where they were going...that would have been great! Also, what the heck was TA thinking trying to squeeze HUNDREDS of cyclists in single car lane streets?! They also had to have traffic in the opposite direction stopped to compensate for the bad leading out they did! Though we did get what we paid for

The hills were pretty rough. Someone a few years ago warned me about that, but I forgot. Surprisingly enough, I climbed them really well! I held a steady pace, which was fast enough to not be the slow guy up the hill, and I still had enough energy to keep going at a nice speed on the flats! I did get worn out a few miles near the Botanical Garden, though.

Had I done this last year, I would have had a tough time up those hills. Now I know for sure I got stronger

When I was done, I felt more wiped out than I ever had on long rides like these. I'm not sure if it was because of the climbing, but I landed up eating four slices of crappy Domino's pizza (that tasted SO good, since I was hungry then) and still being tired as f---. I don't think I ate right, since I had cereal for breakfast, then had a Chewy bar at the first stop and an apple at the second. I was surprised I didn't even get close to bonking, though I felt my performance seeping away.

On top of that, I got to meet a few guys from Major Taylor, one of them which I met while commuting to work! They are truly awesome guys, and they can ride their bikes. They are also pretty colorful with their jerseys and bikes, and they have a nice Wednesday ride that I hear delivers the pain. No time to do it, though.
Great ride!

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MrCrassic 

Oh, and I was the dude with the North Face fleece, Ridgewood Cycle shorts and yellow Trek 1000 with blue bartape/tires. Some guy was filming me (wtf) and I got two (hopefully) nice pictures taken by a photographer at the end.

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zacster

Yea, the ride was very disorganized this year, and there was no food at the first rest stop and only a nut bar at the second. I also was taken down when we were slowing to a stop nearing the Maritime College when someone stopped and flipped their bike right into my path. That hurt my hip, but not seriously enough to stop riding, but between that, the crowds, the fact that we kept stopping, I decided to bag it so I took the turn for the 25mi riders in Pelham Bay Park. At that point though the rest area in the park had just opened and I was among the first riders to get there which really surprised me.

The day started out bad when my partner bailed on me so I did it solo.

The route that they take really needs to be changed away from some of the small streets. I checked the map and Maritime College is out on a peninsula with only the one street leading in and out. It just can't accommodate two way bike traffic. There were also a few places with speed bumps that should be avoided. They're just asking for trouble.

When I got to the gardens, I was the first rider there, I WON!!!!! I actually don't know how that happened, although once I left PBP with a group, I lost them behind me and only encountered a few other riders the rest of the way.

I was the guy on the black Kuota Kredo in the red jacket. i

I've done this ride twice before and it was always fun in the past. It just wasn't this time.

Avatar

You....... "won?"

zacster

Yes I WON!!!!!!! the non-race. Maybe I need a few more exclamation points to get the humor across.

zacster

There was one other thing that happened, when I went down, my cleat twisted out of position, not so much that I couldn't ride it, but enough to make it less than comfortable. Also, the shifting wasn't as precise afterward.

Avatar

Please do post the pictures of you on the podium holding flowers and getting kissed by 2 gals. You know, something like:

vincentnyc

great ride today..i did the 25 miles..when i got to the park near orchard beach...i was looking for the 40 miles rider cuz i wanted to visit city island...didn't see them and i was in rush for time anyway..so just join back with the 25 miles. i look at the queue sheet for the 40 miles and didn't see any stops at city island...so my question is did the 40 miles did city island or not?

jyossarian

I saw the 40 milers coming back from City Island. They were across the street when we were riding along the Hutch (I think). I recognized it from when I did the 40 a couple years ago. They peeled off right and we stayed left.

Stacy

Past years when I've done the 40 miler, there were no stops on City Island. It just goes about half the length of the island, around Minnieford Avenue and past Pelham Cemetery, and then it works its way back up to the Orchard beach rest stop. Of course you can make your own stop. Maybe stop in for some fried shrimp and beer

pgoat

I was sorry to miss this. The wife is still healing from her crash last weekend. I stuck around the house this weekend.

Pics?

mattyknacks

Actually, I feel like I won.

Last year I was on a strict diet and bonked coming out of City Island and limped backed to the subway at Pellam Bay Park and went home.

This year I was very confident in my riding, so I biked up to the start from my home in Sheepshead Bay. It was a 21 mile warm-up that took and hour and a half. Got to the start at 9:00am and waited almost 2 hours for the start wearing only my shorts and shirt. The ride was very disorganized and we had to stop and wait several times. Riders were getting mad and started taking short-cuts to avoid all the circles (like City Island) but I was on a mission to complete the course as marked (and I did). All the while I was riding, I was thinking about riding home afterwards, making almost a century, but the hills in Riverdale changed my mind. Luckily, I had touring gears, or I would have been walking up some of them.

I met another BF'er at the start (Joblue) and had a great time chatting with him. He was on a beautiful yellow SS/FS and I wonder how he did on the hills. I also saw Avatar at the end and he was all smiles, so he must have done well. I wonder if he was on his folding bike.

I got to the gardens around 4:00pm and had my pizza and got my shirt. I thought about riding home for about 2/10ths of a nanosecond, and after I came to my senses, I rode my final hill of the day: Bedford Park Blvd to the "D" train.

All in all, I felt like I took care of some unfinished business by finishing this tour. I can see the improvements I have made since last years ride.

FrankieV

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.

joblue

matty, how was your ride?

Joe