Rage

Hi streetstomper, you may be right. I haven’t been paying that much attention lately. But I am pretty sure they were still selling out of tickets as recently as three or four years ago. That was the last time I actually had a conversation about it with the tour organizers.
Just assumed sales were still healthy as I have not heard anything contrary.
This may also be attributable to the fact that I think it rained two or three times out of the last five years. I think, anyway. Rained last year, then 2017 and 2015?
Or it could be the pricing. As much as I love the 5boro and BikeNY, I actually personally think they are charging way too much. I thought sixty five bucks was about right. Maybe even a tad over. And they’ve gone way above that.
Maybe the reason the tour hasn’t sold out yet is six of one or a half a dozen of the other?
I don’t know. But if this drop in interest is due to price fatigue, hopefully the tour organizers respond appropriately.

Then again, it may be fears about/over the Coronavirus. The media is in overdrive reporting on its spread and repercussions.
I hope things will be okay enough that we can ride on tour day. But I don’t know for certain that will be the case.

Riveting

Don't worry, the Coronavirus may make this 5 Boro 2020 thread a moot point, which'll mean that's $440 bucks I won't get back.

streetstomper

Cancellation of the ride is looking more likely. The NYC Half Marathon this weekend has been cancelled. As the Bard wrote, "Discretion is the better part of valor. Caution is preferable to rash bravery." If a large event like the half marathon or 5BBT is held and a sudden surge of infections in participants results, it would be not only a massive legal liability, it would be a PR nightmare.

And as of now, it's officially a pandemic.

streetstomper

More bad omens. The city's St. Patrick's Day Parade has reportedly been cancelled by the organizers. With other communities banning assemblies larger than a thousand or even hundreds of people, it may be just a matter of time before the city or state do the same. If the 5BBT is cancelled, it will be only the second time in its history. The first was the year original sponsor Citibank pulled out and there wasn't enough time to find a replacement sponsor.

streetstomper

This might be the end for this year's ride. The state has just banned gatherings larger than 500 people for at least the next month. If that restriction continues past that, it would certainly apply to the tour in seven weeks.

ChiroVette

Given how things are escalating with this pandemic, I seriously doubt they will even have the 5 Borough Bike Tour this year. Aside from everything else, people are paranoid and avoiding big crowds. Even if they do actually host the ride, I suspect that very few people are going to show up for it.

streetstomper

If anybody has registered for this tour, just forget about it now. The state has prohibited gatherings of more than 50 people, never mind 32,000. Medical experts are projecting that the virus will peak in 45 days, almost exactly when the tour was supposed to be held. The mayor says a shelter-in-place order is a strong possibility within days. The odds that the city will be willing to allow tens of thousands of riders to enter the city, risk infection and take the virus home are absolutely zero. And without the city's permission and cooperation in closing down the streets, there's no way this is going to happen. The city economy is hemorrhaging money worse than after 9/11 or the 2008 recession. Projections are as many as 500,000 jobs may be lost in the hospitality and service industries. They have better things to worry about than some bike ride. The NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL are willing to shut down for the safety of the public, but apparently not Bike New York.

Bike New York is turning out to be a joke of a an organization. No communication from them other than that they're still considering their best course of action. They're completely destroying any credibility they had by dragging their feet.

csport

It may still be held at a later day: https://www.bike.nyc/blog/news/bike-...irus-covid-19/

streetstomper

Not gonna happen. Cuomo says to prepare for a 9-month outbreak. It will be next year at the earliest before the state allows such a large event to be held. Even if they could reschedule for October, a great many people will not show up in the city that's now considered the epicenter of the US outbreak. The smart money says that the Fourth of July fireworks display and the Thanksgiving Day Parade will be cancelled this year, and maybe even the ball drop on New Year's Eve.

ChiroVette

Especially the ball drop. Even if science, medicine, and government are successful in dealing with this virus, say in 9 months, I don't think there is a way in hell NY City will allow their normal Times Square New Years Eve party, particularly so soon. Not to mention, how many people would actually show up if they did?

I'm trying to imagine scenes like this, even a month or two post-Covid-19:

streetstomper

Closing in on 100,000 cases in NYC alone, and Bike New York's response? We're still considering our options. Fools and idiots. Do they really think many people will want to show up in the autumn and ride through droplets from the heavy-breathing riders in front of them?

john tanglewood

So true. Shame, but true!

HeyItsSara

such a shame. I've see it a few years and it looks like ppl were having fun.

zacster

It can be fun. It is certainly a lot of bikes.

streetstomper

They finally announced that the event has been cancelled for 2020. You have the option to donate your registration, defer it to any of the next three years or request a 50% refund. Deferral or refund isn't automatic and you must request either by June 1.

https://www.bike.nyc/blog/news/an-im...o-ken-podziba/

Of course, being the uncaring or incompetent organization that they are, they never bothered to send out an email to registrants notifying them of the options or the deadline. You basically had to find out yourself by visiting their blog or their Facebook page. I think there are going to be a lot of angry folks who didn't hear about these options and will miss the deadline and lose their entire registration fee.

arbee

From Bike New York's 2018 (the most recent year I could find) Form 990 filing:

Page 7

Part VII Compensation of Officers, Directors ....

-----------------name and title--------- compensation

KENNETH J PODZIBA PRESIDENT/CEO...268,062
ANDREW S GOULD COO.......................213,671

I don't begrudge these folks their no-doubt well-earned compensation. Perhaps they've taken a (socially distanced) haircut for 2020. And perhaps others interpret how this appears differently. Still....

zacster

That’s a lot for what the org is.

streetstomper

Bike New York has announced that the 5BBT won't be held in May 2021, either. There's an outside chance it will be run in the fall, but definitely not in the spring. I'm betting on 2022. Fall 2021 will probably still a little too "hot" in terms of the virus.

DynoD500_SR20-d

I really want to join in this year but at $112.00 I can see why it is not sold out yet. That's ridiculous. I much rather do Twin Lights or Tour De Staten Island. I even heard they are not giving out medals at the end. Naww...I'm good

streetstomper

Looks like it was probably nice this year. They held this August tour – unique for this event – after being delayed another week because of Henri. Temperature looks pleasant at 75 or so, with lots of cloud cover so riders shouldn't bake. A lower than normal limit of 20,000 riders this time may have meant fewer bottlenecks and stops. If anybody rode it, give us a ride report.

streetstomper

Hmm. Nobody from the forum rode this year? I did notice a couple of things about it, like an altered route. It went up Central Park West instead of going through the park this year, which makes sense as anyone can ride through the park normally, but you can't ride down the middle of CPW. They also moved the finish festival from Fort Wadsworth to near the ferry terminal, which makes sense so people can enjoy the festival as long as they need to until space opens up on the ferry. I wonder if they'll be keeping these changes for future tours. Hope so.

Thunderlips

I rode it for the first time this year. Perfect weather (overcast/cool). Seemed like a lower turnout, probably due to the hurricane delay. No bottlenecks or stops except for a forced stop/rest area around the mid-point in Queens. I started in the third wave and finished in a little over 2hrs. I've heard the ferry line was bad in past years, but I got on right away (with bike) and it was only about a third full when it left.

streetstomper

The turnout was lower at least in part because they capped registration this year at 20,000 rather than 32,000 as in previous years.