Houstonian wants to do Gran Fondo NYC

[e.maguran]

Howdy from Texas,

I've always wanted to come up to the Northeast and I found that there is a Gran Fondo in NYC the weekend before my 27th birthday, so what the hell? I was planning on staying a week in the city and doing the tourist things, but I don't know where to stay. The GFNY site names a few hotels that are pricey. Any recommendations?

I'm:
- Travelling solo... because my Houston friends are fat and can't ride bikes. I'm just kidding, they don't own bikes.
- Renting a bike, the website gave a company to use and I'll get a Trek 1.2
- travelling with gear (not sure if a hostel would be a good idea... but never been in one)
- May 16-May 23 are the dates I'm looking at

What are the rules about bringing a bike on a subway?

Thanks y'all.

[nigelsane]

You are allowed to bring your bike on the subway at any time. If you want to be courteous, try not to bring your bike on the train during rush hour, and try to be at the front or the rear of the train, and towards the either end of the car so you aren't blocking people. But NYC is getting bike-friendly enough that you're probably better off riding wherever it is you need to go (it's also the best way to explore the city) than taking the subway.

As for a place to stay, I've had a good experience renting an apartment from craigslist for a few days. It was considerably cheaper than a hotel. It was also illegal. (http://nymag.com/realestate/realesta...ntals-2011-12/)

Good luck, and enjoy our fair city!

[dendawg]

Hope your training now. Last years ride had almost 8400' of climbing according to my Garmin. There is a Youth Hostel at 103 and Amsterdam, and I know they are bike friendly since that is where Bike NY has their offices. Hotel rooms in the city are very expensive. You might try looking at hotels in Brooklyn, Queens or New Jersey.

[e.maguran]

You are allowed to bring your bike on the subway at any time. If you want to be courteous, try not to bring your bike on the train during rush hour, and try to be at the front or the rear of the train, and towards the either end of the car so you aren't blocking people. But NYC is getting bike-friendly enough that you're probably better off riding wherever it is you need to go (it's also the best way to explore the city) than taking the subway.

As for a place to stay, I've had a good experience renting an apartment from craigslist for a few days. It was considerably cheaper than a hotel. It was also illegal. (http://nymag.com/realestate/realesta...ntals-2011-12/)

Good luck, and enjoy our fair city!

Thanks Nigelsane! I suppose I'll take a gander at what I find on CList. My idea was to spend a couple nights close to the event and then spend the remaining time at a hotel closer to the CBD or known areas of town.

[e.maguran]

Hope your training now. Last years ride had almost 8400' of climbing according to my Garmin. There is a Youth Hostel at 103 and Amsterdam, and I know they are bike friendly since that is where Bike NY has their offices. Hotel rooms in the city are very expensive. You might try looking at hotels in Brooklyn, Queens or New Jersey.

I'm currently training for my second BP MS150 ride on April 20th, it's a 180 mile, two-day, ride from Houston to Austin. Uli (CEO of GFNYC) said I should be in reasonable shape from the MS150 to tackle the 60 Medio, but said to try the 100 with the hill climbs. The 8400' climb is very intimidating considering I'm from SE Texas where it's flat (Houston to Austin elevation climb is 100 to 521 ft). To train for the hills in Austin, I've been riding up and down 6-story parking garages.

[Stacy]

http://www.airbnb.com/new-york-city/...and-breakfasts also has a listing of short term rentals that are half the price of hotels but, as nigelsane pointed out, many of these are probably illegal.

Here's the website for Hosteling International on the Upper West Side.
http://hinewyork.org/

[dendawg]

Heres a link to last years route. Just ignore my miserably slow time. It was my first century.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84430450