jyossarian

Anyone see what happened to that jogger that pushed the police cadet and caused him to crash? I saw the push and the crash, but not the aftermath.

noteon 

Aha--no wonder my Bear Mountain jaunt was so bare of cyclists. I thought it was the weather, but it was the Five Borough.

bettybl

Who ended up going? I didn't go because it was raining all day. I even woke up at 5:30am and was just waiting for the rain to stop.

jag6780

No, where was that?

But did anyone see ME get knocked off my bike around mile 24? I was maybe 1/4 mile behind the police ******* at the front. Scraped my knee a bit, but otherwise ok...

jyossarian

It happened in CP. A jogger in the jogging path pushed a cyclist as he rode past. Turns out the cyclist was police cadet.

mattyknacks

I went and rode in the rain. I saw Air (George) on the 59th street bridge. I met and rode with BrooklynRider (Nelson) for awhile after the group I was with left me in the dust (mud). I was soaked by the time I got to Fort Hamilton, so I decided to ride home to Sheepshead Bay rather then go over the VZ bridge and then wait in long lines for the ferry back to manhattan coupled by a subway ride.

I was home by 12:30 and was finished with my first beer by 1:00

Jay68442

The weather sucked and the cold wet miserable ride back on the ferry sucked even more. Otherwise it was a great day.

bettybl

Around 12:30 at union square station, I saw a girl w/ her helmet number and her bike in the subway. Then at Herald Square around 12ish, I saw another tour person not on tour lane. I have a feeling quite a number of people cut their fun way short

But how was turnout overall anyway? Still a lot of people braving the wetness?

I really wish NYC would do the Summer Streets weekends again like they did last year, but with more weekends. That was what got me back into the interest of riding my bike. I need street closures since I don't dare ride on the streets at all.

Crast

I went today. It was good fun despite the rain. As long as we were moving, it wasn't too cold, so we just didn't stop (except where the traffic bottlenecks forced us to.)

At the last stretch the marshals were directing us around massive puddles; we rode through them intentionally, it simply wasn't possible to get more wet at a point where your shoes are essentially personal swimming pools for your socks.

The ferry ride wasn't bad on the lower deck, but getting back out into the cold again was horrid. We decided to just ride back instead of taking the subway.

zacster

I went with my daughter and she was a trooper. I figured she wouldn't want to go in the rain at all, but once we started she was OK with it. When we were heading into Brooklyn I asked her if she would mind not going over the Verrazano, since that is the highlight of the ride. She said OK. When we got to Williamsburg I asked her if she would want to just get on the Q train at Dekalb and she was more than willing.

It was OK as long as it was just a drizzle, but it started coming a little more steadily after Astoria. All in all we had fun, but it was a pretty miserable day for the ride. Aside from being wet and uncomfortable, the rain also makes for a slow ride.

hellothere

You didn't miss much if you skipped the Verrazano. Because of the weather you couldn't really see anything from the bridge (at least when I went over it) - it was just fog.

I found the whole thing really frustrating. Very slow, and during the first 20 miles I spent at least 1/3 of my time walking my bike. I may try again next year if the weather is nice, but I definitely won't hesitate to bail if the bottlenecks are as bad as they were this year.

noteon 

I bailed last year and didn't bother this year, but I'm told it's less annoying if you're at the front of the pack.

grunzster

Rob,

I did BikeMS last year. That sure was a cold miserable morning. As I was shivering at the starting line, it dawned on me that I had underamour with my dive gear in my car, but at that point my car was too far away and it was too close to starting time. Every time the announcer mentioned the weather it started to rain harder. Even after it warmed up, it was still a little too cold for just shorts and a jersey. I cooled off just enough at each stop, that I froze my butt for the first 5-10 minutes after getting back on the bike until I warmed up again.


Zac,

Glad you guys enjoyed the ride. Maybe next year, I'll finally make it.

Air

Saw a bunch of you guys on the 59th St Bridge - thanks for saying hi!

Started getting a little cold on the BQE but overall not too bad until getting off the ferry - man that was a rude awakening Bit of hammering and I was good to go again but man that shower was awesome!

Like the years before, waited for the SAG truck to come and then I was making up time. Skipped all the rest stops because I didn't want to cool down, wound up riding with another marshal who's place I can see from my window as it turns out. I loved the fact that the people were mostly all in good spirits - it was like playground time Also noticed there were a lot less stupid accidents this year - the hammerheads who weave in and out of traffic I guess didn't want to get wet and everyone rode fairly alertly - the other marshals noticed the same thing on the bridge. Usually there's something pretty bad as everyone tries to race down as fast as possible.

I had a moment of doubt about heading back at the Polaski and seeing the huge line of people but glad I stuck with it! The flask came in mighty handy on the ferry too

Not the Slowest

Long day for me and I had it when I got home, perhaps I caught my sons stomach bug.
My marshall duties were to prevent people from cutting into the starting line from Broadway to Church. My ciorner was at Bailey(?) across from J &R and the exit from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Most people were okay and listened but there was a mob of people riding on the sidewalk or Against traffic going uptown. Only had one guy mouth off as he was told to go towards the start area. I think he must have had some issues before he got there and was in a lousy mood.
Here's a cute story. Two hot Blond European College age girls had come over to ask a question as I was talking to this hipster dude on his fixie who had to go to work. The girls asked direction to a typical American Breakfast joint, pancakes, eggs, bacon the works. Well this was this guys luck day, he said I guess I'll be late for work and directed the girls to a local joint. This was like a scene from some movie. I guess every dog or dude has his day.

Flats were the call of the day. I had two people who lost their cranks when their bolts fell off. The usual lack of tubes or pumps with riders and too many people developing hypothermia.

Bad accident on the Van Wyck had us waiting and walking for almost 30 minutes.
Cyclist went down and ambulance took them to the hospital.

I road part of the way with some guy who had a bike for 3 people, but only himself. He had a Blue bear and Santa in front. Nice guy, drove up from PA in the am.

All in all a good time, but I may shelve the ride next year unless my kids go. They all had prior team commitments.

The best feeling was the heat on the Ferry, but getting off was brutal.

Rob

BrooklynRider

I enjoyed the ride immensely. I did cut off early, skipping the VZ Bridge. For once I wore the right amount of clothes! I was wet but warm the entire way. Fun my back was dry. Of course, this fred has fenders! I couldn't help giggling at the guys with no fenders and their backs covered with horse sh*t stripes from the path through Central Park! Fred's revenge! Cleaning the bike off at the end was really really gross. Especially the back wheel. The bucket of water was BLACK and the water stained my hand so bad I had to use Goju hand cleaner to get them clean. Not the most wonderful 5 BoroTour I've been on, but it's a great way to start the season! Nice seeing you on the bridge, Air. Matt and I rode to the BQE where I cut and went home.

Stacy

Wow there was a 'front' to all that? And with a police escort, no less?

When I did this ride in 2005 I started at Chambers Street. This time I started up at Rector. No wonder you guys like to jump in along the route. It's amazing how much difference your starting position makes. Last time I had time to fix a flat and grab a bite to eat. This time I got rerouted and never made it to Astoria Park but I was only one step ahead of the sag van. Maybe the trick is to find a Starbucks somewhere on Sixth Avenue and just sip your morning cup of joe till the ride finds you.

I took brooklyncyclist's advice and picked up a rain jacket at Paragon on Saturday. It was 30% off Gore and Showers Pass so how could I resist? What a difference when you have a good jacket.

Unfortunately my knickers got soaked with my chamois soaking up the rain like a sponge. The bottom of my t-shirt spread some moisture up under the jacket. Shoes got soaked too, and then covered in mud in that muddy field at the Festival. Good thing I brought an extra pair of shoes and an extra pair of socks that I changed into on the ferry ride home.

Lots of fun. I think the rain scared off many of the less experienced riders and the hammer heads but there were still plenty of families with kids in tow, on tamdems, tow-a-bikes, trailers, and even kids under their own power. One of the more amazing sites was coming down the FDR, from Harlem, and looking up to see the 59th Street Bridge covered with cyclists, from Manhattan to Queens! Sorry I missed you Air. My brain must've been soaked too. By the time I remembered you were doing the bridge I was halfway to Hamilton Park.

Anyway, I'm so glad I decided to do it this year and will definitely be back next year, rain or shine! Maybe by then I'll even remember to say hi if Air is still volunteering.

Air

On the bridge it was chains - I put on at least a dozen chains. Gotten really good at the foot swipe method

You mean BQE - cause if you got to ride the Van Wyck I'll be REALLY jealous

Saw him - that was awesome!

Totally agreed.

Saw many a stripe - yeach! I have to extend my rear fender *just* a wee bit.

You too! Always great to meet up with people I haven't seen in a while - come out for a few night rides!

Air

My favorite too - except looking down at the FDR

Ha, one of these days we'll run into each other I'll probably be there next year, really like marshaling the bridge and then riding the ride. If you were a tick in front of the SAG truck then by then my bull horn was out of juice (I have way too much fun with that ).

jag6780

This was my first time, and i had a free VIP pass. At the front we were cruising 15-20 mph most of the time. Got to the finish by 11:35am.

Stacy

Oh yeah I saw that guy several times. His bike was so long he needed extra room coming out one of the rest stops. I guess his blue bear and Santa didn't mind getting wet.

jyossarian

That the dude that ate it by the Prospect Expressway exit? Seemed like there might've been another bad accident on the Verazzano. Saw the EMTs tending to someone laying down and covered w/ a blanket.

Wool saved the day. A wool tee and socks kept me warm no matter how wet they got.

Anyone see that recumbent tandem w/ the trailer hauling a wheelchair? That looked like an awesome setup.

Air

I think I did - totally agreed.

Stacy

The BQE must've had partial flooding in the northbound lanes because at some point a car splashed water right over the divider soaking some cyclists just a little bit more. One woman asked her friend "Hope you didn't get a mouthful of that!"


Oh and lots of Canadians. Some even had little Canadian flags on their helmets.

Crast

I thought the same thing. We were moving pretty fast down FDR, and thought we had hit the head of the ride when we were made to stop just before heading up to the 59th street bridge entrance. But then I looked up and saw the throng of cyclist silhouettes crossing the bridge and realized it was just us being stopped for cross-traffic, and the front of the ride must be far far ahead. It was definitely a cool thing to see.