jonTu

Did anyone else here ride North Fork yesterday? I'd be curious to hear some impressions. The three guys I rode with and I all walked away somewhere between dissapointed and infuriated with the organizers. They had run out of cue sheets when we lined up at the start, the route was barely adequately marked (often with only one paint mark 2 or 3 meters from the turn, then no further marks for miles), and we hit the 67 mile rest point at 2pm to find it closed-- no food or water of any kind, meaning we rode from mile 40 to mile 100 unsupported. I fully understand that a windy, chilly day of driving rain will destroy the best-laid century plans, but closing rest stops early when people are still out on the course, or poorly marking a route when you know it's going to rain, submerging some of the marks in puddles, and you know there's not enough cue sheets to go around? C'mon. That's beyond not cool, that's just unsafe. I left pretty frustrated that I'd paid $75 for that.

Anyhow, I was just wondering if our mistake was leaving at 8. The website said it was cool to start the hundred mile route anytime between 6 and 10, and we were moving at a brisk 17mph clip, so we figured we could enjoy the extra sleep. No one at the start told us otherwise. Was North Fork totally cool for people who left early, or did everyone encounter the same problems we did?

Hambone

Didn't ride it because of family stuff but I spoke wiht buddies who did and they had a good time.

I just checked https://www.nycbicycleshow.com/northf.../the_ride.html it says you should check in between 6 and 8:30am. (If they didn't give you a heads up when you checked in -- you could be pissed about that.) Keep in mind also that the rest areas are manned by volunteers. On a cold rainy day like yesterday, it is going to be on the early side that they loose staffing.

The only complaint I heard was that although the turns were all marked many were too close ot the turn and on one section where it was a long ride on one road and there were no inbetween (go straight) markings.

That's a shame you had a bad experience. The guy who organizes North Fork also does MOntauk and he usually does a great job.

I did hear some complaints about the weather. But the guy who is in charge of the weather...

Lucky07

Ooof, sorry to hear that. I couldn't do it because of family plans, but it seemed like a nice loop to ride. Email Glen, the organizer. He'll take any reasonable criticism & is very good about responding... If you don't have his email, PM me & I'll get it to you.

Stacy

No problem getting a cue sheet and I left as soon as my bike arrived. I was around mile 21, just past the first rest stop, when the rain began. They seemed largely unprepared for the weather. The only place out of the rain at Rest Stop #2 was the bathroom!! No table umbrellas, tarps, or even spare trashbags. EVERYONE wamted the SAG van.

Yeah the road marking could have been better expecially when you have to spot them in the rain but I think most people decided to call it a day once it became clear the rain wasn't going to let up. Roads were flooding. My cuesheet disintergrated from the rain. Anything beyond the shortcut back to the start really was 'at your own risk.'

All in all, I don't think I've even been that wet before and I don't think I've ever appreciated a hot shower more Was it a drag? Yeah.. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!!

jonTu

Yeah, the volunteers at the 40 mile rest area were awesome, everyone really appreciated them standing out in the cold rain. They even maintained a modicum of cheeriness. It was very, very cool of them. I just wish they could have parked someone in a car at rest area #3 to explain what was up and where to find water, or at least taken a pass through the course in a SAG van to warn people they were on their own for the last 60 miles. At first we figured that we had just messed up by starting at 8 instead of 6, but in retrospect we maintained such a good clip that even people who started at 6 and were planning leisurely-paced rides would have wound up at the third rest stop at about the same time my riding buddies and I did. It just felt like with everyone either turning back or SAG'ing out the organizers left anyone still on the course to fend for themselves at a certain point.

I guess it was just weather yesterday. Montauk was indeed awesome this year, the organizers did a killer job. In theory North Fork was set up just as well, but it seemed they just didn't have a rain plan in place.

jonTu

Totally. The people at that rest stop told us that every van on the course was completely full and making loops between the rest stops and the start/finish.

I agree completely, I had a great time and I'd totally do it again. I'd just never seen an organized ride fall apart like that-- especially such a pricey one. $75 is a lot to pay for a poorly marked route, two ill-equipped rest stops, and a school gym locker room shower.

Stacy

I was surprised they didn't bring out a bus for SAG considering the number of people requesting it. And I was surprised there wasn't more reststop-to-SAG communication since it's just a mater of cell phones. What would we have done had there been lightning?

When I left Rest Stop #2 ( trying in vane to keep up with the ladies from NYC Team N Training) all the talk was about whether to wait for SAG or ride hard for 15 miles back to the start. I don't think anyone really thought there were riders out there trying to complete the century.

But... Northfork probably had a third the number of riders who took part in Montauk this year and Glen did it without any real club support. It's probably a lot easier to attract volunteers and all sorts of donations and resources when you have club sponsorship.

Bob Ross

Not sure if leaving earlier would have helped; it just might have focussed your exasperation on a *different* aspect of the day!

We left at 7:00AM, rode from just past Rest Stop #2 (40 miles) to Rest Stop #3 (67 miles) in the rain before bailing. Got on the SAG bus that was idling at Rest Stop #3 at 12:30...and then proceeded to wait an hour while they packed up the entire Rest Stop operation. We were pissed for two reasons, one selfish & the other somewhat altruistic: if we'd known we were gonna have to wait an hour on a bus with no heat, we would've preferred to keep riding in the rain, at least as far as the 80 mile bail out shortcut. And the fact that they were shutting down the Rest Area while riders were clearly still on the course (and would be for quite some time) just seemed unconcionable.

In hindsight we all agreed that, while years from now we probably would all describe the experience as "funny", none of us found it "fun". But I'll bet if the weather had been beautiful we wouldn't find a single fault with the North Fork Century organizers.

zowie

Their one big mistake was not directing the 100 milers start during the early part of check in (like virtually every other ride). It did say on the cue sheet that stop #3 closes at 1:15 p.m., which only requires a little better than 10 mph pace if you left by 7.

I thought the route markings were fine.

For the future I wish they'd make the start/finish further west so it's not so long to drive there and back, and lower the price a bit.

Also, someone should have moved that deer near the beginning of the ride.