njkayaker

There are two (?) "Long Island centuries": one in May and one in June. I'm talking about the one in June.

https://5bbc.org/montauk/ 5/20

https://ridetomontauk.com/Ride_to_Mon...Home_Page.html 6/16

This ride starts at one place and ends at another (at the east end of Long Island).

The fee for the event has two parts: one for the ride and another for transport for you and your bike from the end point. If you can manage to get yourself and your bike from the end point, you don't need to pay the transportation fee.

Since the LIRR doesn't allow bikes on the train, the bikes are transported by truck back to your starting location (It looks like they take good care of the bikes).

I did the 108 mile ride, which started in Babylon, NY. There's a 152 mile option, which starts in Manhattan. There are shorter rides, which start further down the same route (part of the route for the 30 mile ride was different).

It's set-up so that you can sign up for one route and change it when you arrive.

Given the unusual transportation logistics, it seems that starting on the early side is a very good idea. This gives you more time to enjoy the ride and the stops and gets you at the end as earlier. When you get to the end, first get your bike on the appropriate truck so that it should be there before you get back to your starting point.

They will also transport a bag (with a change of clothes) to the end and there are hot showers there also (nice things to have for the long ride home).

The route was very well marked. It was mostly flat but there was some wind (head wind) in the second half. There are a few hills in the last 25 miles or so as you get to Montauk. The ride was pretty with some ocean views. You get to see Long Island (a lot of Long Island).

I have no idea how many total riders there were but when we started at 6:30 AM for the 108 miles, there weren't many riders at all (nothing like the large numbers I usually see at the start of a century).

The food at the rest stops was interesting and varied: what was provided was close to the best that I've ever seen on a ride. The Babylon start had coffee, bagels with various cream-cheese spreads, various pastries, lots of fruit, interesting bread, as well as the usual stuff you find. The rest stop after Babylon was at the Blue Point Brewery and the tasting taps were open (and free) for people who would consider drinking at 8:00AM. At the times we hit the rest stops, there weren't huge annoying lines for things. The later stops had tabbouleh and hummas. And lots of fruit. The penultimate rest stop had pie. They had the usual PB+J too.

The last stop was at the Montauk light house. The food here was very good too: hot dogs, chicken, veggie burgers, and hamburgers. There were also tuna and egg salad wraps and other stuff. The hamburgers were very popular and you had to wait for those. Keep in mind that they only served people with wrist bands.

The Blue Point Brewery had a tent set up and had a wide variety of different beer styles (their beer is very good).

There were massages: you got a numbered ticket and waited until your number was called. If you weren't there or you didn't hear your number being called, you were out-of-luck. The line for the hot showers wasn't too long (when I was there).

Leaving was a little bit complicated: if you left earlier, you took a bus back to your starting point, if you left later, you took a bus to the Montauk train station (6 miles away) and took the train to your starting point. There are options to have your bike kept until Sunday morning. I'm assuming that there are Sunday morning transportation options too. It's possible that the Sunday options are only for some of the start points.

Logistically, this ride is very complicated to organize and they did a very good job. If you get impatient or confused, take a breath and find some staff member to talk to (realize they've likely dealt with the problem before and given them time to deal with it). I expect that the staff will help you but, the later you are, the more likely they are going to be dealing with other people's problems. I suspect that the ride and logistics works better for earlier people than later people.

If you want to do the longer ride out of Manhattan, keep in mind that it's likely to be take 3 hours to get to Babylon.

Keep in mind that the route is due east into the sun in the morning. You might want to wear a cycling cap (with a bill) to block the sun so you can see the route markings. Keep in mind, too, that the same sun is blinding following drivers. Running a flashing light during the early morning might be a good idea.

There was a 10-15 mile head-wind for part of the ride. GRVR6 (below) says that this isn't usual and that the winds tend to blow from the south west (and would be tail-winds for east-bound riders).

Yel1owrice

nice write up and nice to see another on here who did this ride. I started at Penn and was the only rider at 4:45am. I did not see another rider until after the Lynbrook rest stop (which I missed cuz I was lost). The morning sunrise also made it difficult to see the markings on the floor. Got lost for a little bit but wound up on Sunrise eventually and followed it to Babylon instead of following their route. Ran into a few others who were also lost (probably cuz they followed me?)

The rest of the way was very well mark. I agree it could have been a little better logistically but overall a really great experience.

I think I would have enjoyed the 108 distance better. The last 50 was brutal because of the headwind and the largest hills were at the last 10miles. So at that point I barely crawled up the hill.

Looking forward to it again next year.

jimnolimit

njkayaker, that was a very good summary.

i must give many thumbs up to all the people that organized/put together and worked in/on this ride. it was a huge event, i could only imagine the craziness and logistics that went into making this awesome ride happen. by the way, my whole ride experience went without a hitch.

i did the 108 out of babylon. the day was great, the views were beautiful. the rest stops were nice and the food was good. i am looking forward to doing this ride next year, and if i keep up my riding and progress, i will probably tackle the 152 in 2013.

i interacted with, met and talked to a lot really cool people (both volunteers and riders). i don't know how many people who did the ride are on this forum and will be looking at this thread, but i wonder if any people i met are on here. just in case a few are, i was the guy ringing his bell and giving everyone a thumbs up, i was also shouting "GO TEAM" to people riding for charities.

GRVR6

Great ride. The organization was amazing.
A note on the headwind... the predominant wind for Long Island's south shore is from the south west.

jimnolimit

If i'm not mistaken, on Saturday the wind was 5-10mph coming directly out of the east.

GRVR6

Correct. What I was getting at is, don't write off this ride because of the head-wind. The wind is usually somewhat with you.

Stacy

I've done various incarnations of this ride and each time the wind was coming from the west, giving us a bit of a tailwind. Never did actually make it to the lighthouse though. Makes me want to do this ride again next year.

njkayaker

Another important point.

I need to get a cycling cap (with a bill) to wear under my helmet to shade the sun.

It would be interesting to see what you think could have been done better.

What time did you start rolling and what time did you reach the light house?

If you are smart, you should skip the first stop. Basically, riders capable of riding 152 miles in a day shouldn't need to stop after a mere 22 miles.

I've done a fair number of long rides this year (180+ miles) and opted not to do the 152 because it was a bit too tight. I also needed to meet up with another rider and would not have caught up until very late in the ride.

Yel1owrice

I need to get a cycling cap (with a bill) to wear under my helmet to shade the sun.
Good idea. I will have to invest in one as well. My nose was toast.

It would be interesting to see what you think could have been done better.
I don't think it was badly organized. Actually the opposite, I think it was much better than the NYC Century.
1. some stops ran out of PB or Bananas very quickly...
2. I called the help# when I was lost but no reply...
3. larger spraypaint directions on the street?

What time did you start rolling and what time did you reach the light house?
started rolling a little before 5am and ended at 5pm (not the best but I hope to improve. 1st time at 150+)

If you are smart, you should skip the first stop. Basically, riders capable of riding 152 miles in a day shouldn't need to stop after a mere 22 miles.
I did "skip" it. But I wouldn't have mind passing by just to see if anyone else was there or just to refill the bottle. Or store away a bagel or two snack while riding...

njkayaker

It should also be useful when riding at night to block the lights of cars in the opposite lane.


Ride organizers have all sorts of problems painting arrows on the streets (they are considered eyesores). Bigger ones would cause more problems. They were bigger than arrows on most other rides.

You started early (that was smart). Anyway, your time (with stops) is reasonable.
I realize you "skipped" it. I was suggesting you (and others) plan to skip it (or hit it quickly).

lambrettaDL

I was wearing a Team Fat bastard shirt. You may have been one of bell ringers I saw. My friend and I are planning on going back to NY and doing the ride again by ourselves. Hopefully I will improve my time and drop some weight by then. 154 miles is my longest ride so far.

jimnolimit

i don't think i saw you, unless i was passing you and just gave you a quick bell ring and thumbs up. if i did notice your shirt, i would have complimented you on it.

when you redo the ride again, will you be starting in manahttan or long island?

how much do you currently weigh? what's your target?

patoot

I ran into you during the last stretch but was too damned tired to take my hands off the handlebars to return the thumbs up. My buddy and I did the 152 and appreciated the encouragement.

patoot

I ran into you during the last stretch but was too damned tired to take my hands off the handlebars to return the thumbs up. My buddy and I did the 152 and appreciated the encouragement.

jimnolimit

thanks

152 is a big nut to crack, congrats to you and your friend (and all the others that tackled the whole ride).

lambrettaDL

We will start in Manahttan again. I am down to 198 from 235. I would like to get down to 175. I am only 5' 6". I will always be on the overweight scale if you look at the stupid BMI chart.

jimnolimit

training for and doing 150 miles rides is a great way to reach your goal.

don't let those charts get to you. im right around 5'11" and currently down to 199lbs (from a much, much heavier weight), and i'm classified as overweight. my current goal is to lose another 10 or so pounds, but i would still classify as overweight. don't worry we'll be overweight together lol.

lambrettaDL

I don't worry about the stupid classification. I always failed the weight test in the army and had to be taped. I just want to be healthier to keep up with my sons.

v70cat

I did the full ride it was great fun and well organized.