Last weekend I hauled out to Rockaway Beach from downtown Brooklyn. The ride was hard when I had to negotiate with traffic and terrific when I hit the Belt Parkway. I thought I was going to do a longer loop (53 miles) but decided to cut it down to 43 miles because I still needed to deal with Brooklyn traffic on my way back. Not to mention night riding and fatigue.
The payoff was hanging out at Rockaway Beach around sunset and munching, refueling and just taking in the vast ocean. The endless waves crashing on the seashore erased everything instantaneously! Living in Brooklyn and riding to Manhattan can be a cluster craze commute and for the most part having to anticipate every possible stupid move everyone is constantly making. Including bikers riding down the wrong way.
The beach was mostly desolate except for a few diehards. One group was actually sunbathing and staying warm with what it looked like a nice picnic spread.
I have been reading the threads and it sounds like there are a variety of riders putting on a whole range of miles with their hybrid bike. The hybrid is a good bike to beat around the city and take for short 30 to 50 miles rides. But what might be short for me is a long distance for someone else. But suffering does play an important role in riding and as much as I hate to say it but that threshold is always a little further then what I think it is. On the other hand, anything more then 50 miles and over several days may require a touring bike.
Although I recently started reading It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins. Then when I’m finished with that book I will flip to the other side of the coin and read, It's All About the Bike by Robert Penn.
Best.
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