Had to work today but saw the ride heading down Flatbush and had to comment.
When I heard that the route had been detoured up Knapp and Gerittsen to Ave. U and down Flatbush, I had to wonder if they were closing a lane on Flatbush for the tour. I used to ride, as part of my LI - Brooklyn bike commute, the lower section of Flatbush between Ave. V and the Belt and found it to be one of the most dangerous roads you can bike on anywhere in the city, with cars doing 50-55 on a 3 lane road, no shoulder, and a dangerous interchange at the Belt. I no longer ride this section of Flatbush and head down the bike path to Plum Beach and Knapp St instead.
This morning I saw no lane closure and bikes both on the sidewalk (which is also in terrible shape) and on the road. This was at 10:30AM and there was a fair amount of car traffic on the road. So maybe I'm being overly cautious, but I have to ask - What were they thinking using this portion of a very unfriendly to bikes section of road ?. Why did they not use the bike path past Plum Beach ?. Granted that the sand there can be annoying, but a broom and shovel cleans it right up for a day. All 3 of the prior NY Centuries I've done used this section of the bike path with no issues I was aware of. What made them choose Flatbush ?.
Steve B.