eyemkeith

The only all-urban century ride anywhere around at least these parts (northeast u.s.) was held yesterday. I'm proud to say I completed the entire 103 miles through the city -- my first century ride ever. Actually, the organizers said it was 103. I clocked just shy of 110, so i think their pants are on fire.

Did anyone else ride?

Pug

Congrats! How was the traffic? Were you segregated or just part of the flow?

eyemkeith

It was an "open course,'' they called it, which was a very polite way of saying "here's a map, please try to not get killed.'' I had trained for time and long distances prior, pretty much all summer. But city riding was whole different animal. All that pothole dodging, traffic weaving, stop and go and go and abrupt stop was very difficult. Oh, and bridges. And get off your bike and lug it over these stairs. Whew. It was slow-going. But HUGE fun. Until about mile 85, when it ceased to be fun, with the remaining miles just pure endurance.

Fortunately, I met some guy named Ryan on that last leg and he agreed to let me ride with him and he played navigator. I may not have made it without him.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who rode. Since this was my first century, I have nothing to compare it to.

njkayaker

I did the 100 miler with a few friends. Fortunately, the weather was fairly temperate and dry. We rode in from Fort Lee in the dark (ie, having lights is a good idea).

The longer ride is much more time-constrained (obviously) which means that some of the suggestions below can be relaxed for the shorter rides. Things were set up so riders could make a decision at about 62 miles to continue with the 100 miles or choose the 75 mile route.

A review and a list of suggestions of sorts.

* Given the frequency of stops, it is a slow century (it's not the place for "personal bests"). You should start early and not dally at rest stops. You should probably skip some rest stops (or hit them quick). If you are starting early (before 7:00AM), keep in mind that it will be dark. Rear flashers for every rider in your group is a good idea (even if you don't choose to run them all day).

* I thought the food was fine. The bananas, though, were not ripe (and I like them on the green side). The plums (a nice surprise) were great as were the oranges. They provided PB&J. And hummus and tabbouleh (at some stops). There was some other stuff provided (in packages) that I didn't pay attention to.

* There was ample supply of award-winning NYC water. There was some sport drinks available in jugs (GU brand, which, maybe because it wasn't full strength, I think I like).

* What little interaction our group had with the volunteers was all excellent.

* I'd say the road markings were very good but it's easy to miss some of them. Pay attention to where other riders are (even if they are behind you). The cue sheet was many pages. I'd suggest separating it, if you want to try to follow it. My suggestion is that you should follow the road markings and use the cue sheet for corrections (when you think you are lost). There were generally post-turn confirmations. The color of the markings is (apparently) quite a popular color for road markings in NYC.

* Riding with other people in a small cooperative group is a help because there are more eyes to see markings. A large group might make things more difficult. If people have cell phones, you might want to set things up so that group members can call each other. It might also make sense to pick a place to meet at rest stops.

* If there are bike lanes (in the roadway), that's where the course markings will tend to be. (Many of the bike lanes are in the door zone. So be careful.)

* They apparently try to use bike paths (separate from the road). This can be a hint as to were you should be.

* Some of the route is on sidewalks. You need to pay attention to transitions in/out of these. The route, at times, is a bit of a mental puzzle.

* There are a few places you have to carry your bike up stairs (on bridges) but these aren't long (they are not real short either).

* I'd say the TA took a lot of effort to run the course through interesting parts of the city on reasonable roads.

* The route through the Bronx is very underrated (people should not be discouraged from doing it). It went through a pretty park and pleasant neighborhoods with nice little houses. It did go through some less pleasant areas too but that's still "real". There was no "menace" that I saw. People were either politely curious or minding their own business.

* The hills are overrated. Though, it's possible that the route for prior years ran through hillier sections. That doesn't mean you won't notice the hills on this complicated ride.

* The 100 mile route might not be appropriate for persnickety followers of "rules" and "laws". (Interpret that anyway you like).

* The TA says you must do certain stuff (as they are obligated to do) but they aren't around to make sure you do them (interpret that anyway you like). (Some of this stuff include walking across certain bridges where most people rode.)

* The overall presence of NYC's finest, was, in certain places, huge. As far as I could tell, they couldn't have cared less about what cyclists were doing (interpret that anyway you like).

* Riding in the city is complicated. There are all sorts of other vehicle, people, and things that you have to avoid getting intimate with.

* The road quality was generally good. Some of it was even newly paved. Of course, you have to watch out for pot holes and such (which adds something to the complexity of the ride).

* The experience we had with drivers was generally very good. That was likely helped by the day being Sunday (when there is less traffic, really, in the city). Feel free to use crosswalks (walking your bike) for intersections that seem dicey to you.

* The experience we had with other cyclists was good. Sometimes, they tended to occupy more of the road than, maybe, they should have. You have to be somewhat assertive about passing (to make time, you have to pass people). A clear (without screaming) "on your left" repeated twice worked pretty well (I usually said "thank you" as I passed).

* Some of the route is on narrow/twisty paths requiring confident/precise handling or a lower speed.

* There was one spot (that I'm aware of) that they should have addressed a bit more proactively. This was a sand pit in an "on ramp" where the path (a sidewalk) dropped (crossed) into. This required looking for cars while making a turn in the sand pit.

* I would suggest the longer routes for experienced cyclists. It was a fun but not a relaxing century.

* The character of this ride is very different than the Five Boro Bike Tour (there are no road closures and less "micromanagement" of cyclists). There are no road closures (but that wasn't really any problem). Since the various distance rides appeared to mostly run on the same general course, I don't think that the difference in character was due to the 100 mile ride being longer (and selecting for more experienced riders). The number of participants of the TA NYC Century is much less than the "5 boro".

* They ran out of men's T-shirts at about 3:00PM (at the Central Park finish). The women's sizes ran (oddly) small.