My first time, and it was great. A few notes:
1. I got there around 7:15 and it was pretty cold standing around for the next hour or so, despite the fact I was wearing full length mountain bike pants and a medium weight cycling jacket. By the BQE, though, I was definitely sweating and had to open up.
Whatever the temperature, once the ride started the weather was great.
2. Starting in the middle of the pack, there's always: A) a family with a kid, B) a pack of people on cruisers, or C) someone just plain slow, riding right in front of you...whether or not you've just made an effort to pass one or all of A, B, or C a few seconds before.
Don't get me wrong: this is great. Not only does it make you slow down and see the sights, but you feel like Eddie Merckx being able to drop lots of people with the flick of a brifter whenever you feel like it. Especially on hills.
3. Riding this thing alone is scary. Not because of the ride itself, but because you need to trust your bike to strangers when you need to relieve yourself. I brought my nice bike and found a friendly couple to watch over it at Fort Wadsworth; still, every second in the Porta Potty I felt like I had left thousands of dollars lying on the grass outside, waiting to be ridden away. Hey, more reason to recruit some of my friends for next year.
4. Yeah, I'll be back next year.
Last edited by bquine; 05-04-08 at 08:31 PM.