zacster

Having done the 5BBT countless times over the years I decided to volunteer this year instead. On Thursday I manned the packet pickup table for about 5 hours and that was long but OK. Not much to say about it really.

Today I was a marshal on the ride, stationed on the BQE where it starts to rise out of the trench by the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, and then goes into a big climb. What I observed is every idiot that ever rode a bike. I'm at an exit and the surface between the exit and the roadway is really rough so I stand right in front of it where it starts and flag people to keep left onto the roadway. I don't know how many people went around me from the exit lane and swerved back onto the road over the gravelly patch. I can't tell you how many people almost ran over my toes too. It rained too, lightly at first and then stopped. 5 riders went down right in front of me on the road. Now this ride is a lot of people that never get on a bike, but it wasn't those types that went down. It was always a roadie in full gear with an expensive bike. On the wet road going up the hill they'd stomp on the pedals to show off and instead the added power would cause the wheel to slip and they'd go down. Mostly they were ok, but one broken spoke on an expensive wheel that couldn't be fixed. He rode off with a band aid holding it down!

When the first big wave of riders came through they were all happy and smiling, waving at me as I encouraged them and warned them of the big climb ahead. The middle group wasn't so happy and the end group had a lot of people walking. I was at the 30 mile mark and the first uphill in a long while, and that would be enough to discourage a non-rider. The rain started getting pretty steady and the flow of people was slowing down so I decided I had enough after about 7 hours outside in the miserable weather just standing. I know if I'd been riding I'd have been warm enough but just standing there I got cold.

The most asked question was how far had we gone, and how much further. The next most was "can I get off here and call it a day?" We were supposed to say no but I did it myself a few years ago, and if people are done, they're done.

I would do it again though, but maybe do a post with a few other people would be better. I was by myself except when people stopped.

indyfabz

Heh. I did it once. IIRC, it was in 1999. I was so excited about it, then the head of the bike advocacy organization in Philly told me I was going to hate it. That it wasn’t going to be the big love fest that I was imagining. She told me about the craziness and the people who buy bikes for the first time just to do the ride. She was right. I particularly remember the people who would just give up, especially on the Verrazano bridge near the end, and the kids weaving all over the place. The entire experience was both frustrating and nerve wracking.

When it was over, the three of us rode straight to the car, loaded the bikes and took off for home. I’ve never considered going back.

howaboutme

Thanks for the post. It brings back memories of doing this w/ my wife about a decade ago. It was tons of fun and super exciting to ride on closed streets. I didn't remember it being too hard, though Verrazano was a tough last climb for sure. I do recall lots of weaving in and out and going at speeds that were too fast for how crowded it was. Glad you volunteered! I heard the PA wants to bill the race for the bridge closure. How sad.

Steve B.

32,000 people is way too many for my comfort zone. I’ve done the NYC Century a number of times with 1500, had a bad crash at the start of one of those, idiot went left in front of me. I broke a rib on that crash but was able to finish. But I hate crowds and crowded rides so will never do 5 Borough, no matter how much fun friends say it can be.

john m flores 

Good of you to volunteer - events like the Five Boro Bike tour can only happen thanks to volunteers that love cycling and want to see events like this continue. Must have been a long day stationed by yourself. On Saturday, my girlfriend volunteered at the Great Saunter (a ~31 mile walk around the perimeter of Manhattan) and at least had another volunteer to chat with.

The weather report earlier in the week had called for rain all day, so I'd say that most of the participants dodged a bullet with just partial rain. It was unseasonably chilly though. I was in Queens and we walked along part of the route to see the riders. We caught the tail end and there were folks clearly new to riding and struggling at the halfway point. I hope that many of them managed to get you and finish but I'm sure that many didn't.

I'd done the ride a number of times in the 90s, including one time riding just behind the pace vehicle (a Saturn if I remember correctly). That was good fun being up near the front and not having to wait for the traffic jams on the bridges and other bottlenecks. And last year I bumped into the ride while on a CitiBike in Central Park. .

Is it crazy? Yes. Are there folks not prepared for the day? Yes. Are there folks doing stupid stuff? Also yes. But that's inevitable when you get 30,000 people together; there are bound to be dull knives in the drawer. Like in the NYC Marathon where I saw people already struggling at mile 10.

All in all, it's a run way for folks to see the city and ride in areas that are normally off limits to bikes. I may do it again some day.

zacster

I was just glad that the riders that went down in front of me were all basically OK and eventually got on their bikes and rode off. I helped fix a few flats too, but was told to not do that because it takes you away from your post.

And again, the first group looked to be having fun, the second wave not so much, and the third wave was basically spent, especially with the rain. I did it once in the rain and when it started to come down steadily my daughter, maybe 13 at the time, just wanted to quit and we did. And today, the following day, it was sunny and warm.

indyfabz

From what people have told me, it is fun if you are way up front. Unfortunately, we were not. We skateboarded for nearly 5 blocks where things narrowed down at the entrance to Central Park.

blacknbluebikes 

much better looking helmet covers this year.