JOHN J

well did everyone have fun??

almost as bad of weather as was possible short of snow or hurricane. I wasnt too bad as I brought rain gear but left my warm stuff in the car ,(thermal tights and fleece) I was getting the shivers on the ferry.

I wanted to hang on staten island for awhile take the ferry back across to downtown and ride through the hamlets but I was wet enough so straight to the car.

didnt talk to many people as everyone was freezing and just trying to finish the ride without hypothermia setting in.

a few interesting things

1) the guy doing the ride on the unicycle WOW I saw him out of brooklyn

2) one deceased person covered up by NYFD out of brooklyn (wasnt one of the cyclists)

3) the gent riding a bent that was ARM powered (very cool) he was cruising pretty good

4) One roadie that was in Full kit had a very interesting camera setup on his bike he had one camera in a waterproof case pointing backwards (under his seat) and another same Style/housing on top of his bars .
Ill bet he does the photos of his club rides.

one thing I didn.t see lots of were FENDERS [B] I spent much time avoiding rear wheel spray !!! I felt like I was in a living video game.

all in all it worked ok as thats the way the weather ball falls somtimes.

so Please Check in How were your rides??
final note August would be a great time for this event early spring is always iffy???

have a great day STAY Dry

"John"

sedanman

It was my first, and I'll do it again. I'm a clyde, 275 lbs and didn't have to walk any hills. Only walked when riding was impossible due to traffic. Had a good jacket but not so good pants, froze waiting for the ferry. Saw several arm powered bents. Chose to ride my Cannondale Bad Boy (fenderless) rather than my 9 speed Schwinn Panther (fenders,alloy frame) due to the bull bars on the Bad Boy, more hand positions. I crashed once attempting to stop, I didn't realize I clicked back into the left pedal. My cell phone drowned inside my rack pack and could not be saved.....RIP. For me this wasa relatively long ride, to get one in so early in the season gives me hope that I could do a century by the end of the summer.

pgoat

congrats to all who braved the weather and did it.

sedanman, you can def. do the century when you are ready. the first year my wife and I did the 5 boro we both fell asleep on the subway from the ferry back to Queens and we could barely move once we got home. The following year we did it in much less time and rode home to Queens, with energy to spare.

Keep riding and have fun out there!

noteon 

Time to get that new one you couldn't afford!

After seeing my phone get soaked on a long ride, I started putting it inside snack-size Ziplocs. FWIW...

pgoat

/\word! I did that with my wallet and cell on last Friday's moonlight ride.

sedanman

After seeing my phone get soaked on a long ride, I started putting it inside snack-size Ziplocs. FWIW"

I wasn't expecting it to rain.........what can I say, I'm an optomist. Zip lock baggies will be at the ready from now on. My wallet, glocometer (I'm type 2 diabetic) and food all did ok, the touch screen on my phone ingested a few drops of water and fried. The phone was a month old. I got a reconditioned one for $50. can't tell it from new so not too terrible.

pgoat

It's a bit bulky but I got the Casio waterproof phone. I've dropped it and whatnot, no probs. Supposedy you can stick it underwater and it will be fine. I still use a baggie if I know I'll be in the wet, though.

Avatar

I enjoyed riding in the rain. It got cold at 11:30, but by that time I had already finished. It was cold riding to the ferry, though and that wasn't so nice. I've learned to enjoy riding in the rain. I wouldn't prefer it, but it was nice.

DCwom

The rain wasn't so bad until the wife's flat, then my bike fell over in the mud, while I fixed the flat, at that point the fun ran out... I'll admit we bailed at the Brooklyn Bridge and headed back south to the ferry, as we were parked in Statten Island. We're thinking of taking the tandem next year, but don't want to drive the "truck" in the start mess, maybe we'll join in at the park.

cc_rider

Joining in the park worked well. I stayed a short distance behind the pace cars, often within sight of them, and the ride was relatively uncrowded. I was crossing the Verrazano around 11:30 and was back in Manhattan by 1:00.

Stacy

My new Canon G10 got pretty wet so I put it in a plastic bag at the Harlem Rest stop just before the FDR. My Blackberry made it through just find but by the time I got to the foot of the Verazzano my Polar Cyclocomputer wasn't changing screens and my derailleur was getting very difficult to shift. By the time I got home the Polar battery was dead and my derailleur cable snapped the following day while I was lubing the chain and shifting gears.

Two days to dry my shoes after I removed the inserts and opened up the slots where the cleats are supposed to go. Two days before my Brooks saddle was dry and another day for proofhide.

dendawg

You can get waterproof pouches for phones. I have one I use when kayaking. You can even flip the phone open while its in the pouch and talk on it.

FrankieV

I put both my phone and my camera in zip-lock bags and never took them out until i got back home.
Disappointing since I wanted to take some pictures but happy that i didn't drown another camera and cell phone.

My tail light developed a mind of it's own. I guess the water got in it and it flashed whenever it wanted to.
Sittin on my roof rack blinking all the way home.

I got tired of waiting for my shoes to dry.
I put them in a mesh bag and let them bang around inside the dryer for a while.

Stacy

Yeah I think if there was one disappointment it was that I didn't get to take more photos. Maybe if I had started closer to the front and spent less time in the rain I would've been drier and more motivated to shoot.

I saw lots of people with blinking lights but I presumed that was intentional.

I read on another board that stuffing your wet shoes with newspaper is supposed to help them dry out. I'll have to remember that for the next time.

jyossarian

I made a DIY handlebar camera mount that I was gonna use on this ride. The rain put the kibosh on that.

FrankieV

I was right up front (front riding marshal) and it wasn't any drier.

I realize that being up front, you lose most of the photo ops because all of the intersting stuff is behind you.
One year I'll just concentrate more on shooting and less on riding.

FrankieV

This is a great camera mount for a bike (i have one).
https://www.amazon.com/Flip-Action-Mo...ref=pd_sim_e_6

It's for one of those mini camcorders but the mount fits any camera.
It would be better if it had a quick realease like they have on tripods.

Stacy

Maybe we should have a forum devoted to bike cameras and video

I just made a variation on the Bicycle Camera Mount for Under $1 using an old Cateye Reflector Mount and a 1/4 x 2 inch stove bolt, with washers and wing nuts I picked up at the hardware store. I was hoping to shoot some video during the 5 Boro Bike Tour but it's taking a bit more tweaking than I expected. First problem was that the mount wasn't attached firmly enough to my handlebars to support the G10 which weighs about 450 grams.

I finally added some "Gorilla Tape" to help keep the bracket in place only to discovered it was pointed slight upwards. I guess it's time to get out the level or spend some real money on something more adjustable.

jyossarian

That's more than 10 times what mine cost! I'm not made out of money!

FrankieV

For under $1, it does the same that mine does.
Good deal!
Last camera related post..I promise