FrankieV

Quote:

Originally Posted by SourDieseL

I was part of one crash and witnessed another. I believe I was pace lining with another member here going from BK to Queens I think on cross bay blvd over a bridge when the lead tapped his brakes, the marshal behind him touched her front tire to his back and went down. The marshal infront of me swerved out and I swerved out into traffic and slowed down. We were coming over the apex of the bridge so it was quite dangerous to be in that spot since the descent was fairly even and curved so we'd be on the blind side of the drivers.

The bridge in BK was just wet, I slid out cuz others braked so my choice was to run them over or brake and swerve, choose the brake and swerve and my whole back end went out. Next time I'll proceed into that bridge with caution, it's a bad setup since there is cobble stones both at the entrance and exit of that bridge with a nice climb coming out so keeping speed would be the ideal thing to do.

I was the marshal that swerved in front of you.
That girl was really shook but not hurt. She ended up taking the train home shortly after that.
We actually had a great paceline going for a while in a failry quiet part of the ride.

hkboy313

i'd like to see you guys again this year, cc, pgoat, soul (rode with cc rider last year) we should all do the 100 mile together,and finish together! i'm already signed up and its too soon to be excited for this, i mean, i wish i could do it NOW!

Papa Tom

I was one of the volunteers preparing and distributing that "interesting" sports drink at Astoria Park last year. Although I've never done the ride, ALL the comments from people I spoke with (literally hundreds) were very positive. I'd hoped to actually ride this year, but I am going to be involved with a local street fair that same day. Bummer.

cc_rider

Now that BNY5B is over I can start making plans for the century. Looking forward to it.

noglider 

I did this in 2004 and 2005. I had a blast. I did the so-called 100 mile ride, which I measured to be 106 miles.

We got the best reception in the Bronx. You hear about how bad the South Bronx is, and maybe it is true (or used to be) but man, the people were so glad to see us! They cheered! One guy, who looked pretty poor, spontaneously bought a crate of bananas and handed them out as we passed.

I won't make it this year. I don't think I can do another century. I have a neurological problem which gives me painful numbness in my foot after cycling ten miles. It gets intolerable at about 30 miles. I plan to have it treated, eventually.

But if you haven't done this, you should. It's a blast. The route chooses some surprisingly scenic and interesting routes.

blazn420

Did this last year on a 88 Mountain Bike I finally got a zippy Hybrid and cant wait to flatten the Bronx this time around. I live in Brooklyn and I'm seriously considering starting in Prospect Park being that Im about 4.6 miles away, although I dont know how much further I want to ride after hitting the bronx. Any ideas on how the PP starting point will fair?

hkboy313

hey cc, are you in town any time? if so let me know, maybe we could meet up for a casual ride in central park. i was also planning to ride across george washington bridge and on to 9W...so i heard it was good for longer rides. maybe we could do that if you havent already. have you decided on which route you're doing yet? i know its still early hope you're doing well!

cc_rider

hey hkboy313
I was in town for NBY5B, but was visiting family so I didn't have a lot of free time. 5B was fun.
Next trip up will be for the NY Century. I'll see how much time outside the main ride I'll have. Never been up 9w, but I often do rides around the back roads of Bergen and Rockland counties. We can touch base closer to the weekend of the ride.

Otherwise doing ok. Work has picked up, both residential and commercial projects. Good to be busy, but it has cut into riding time.
Any luck on the job front? My sister was laid off from her architecture firm almost a year ago and only just got a job as a trainee project manager with a company that designs tele-conference facilities.
Good luck.

hkboy313

hey! ya i didnt sign up for the 5b because it was closed and because i did it before, maybe next year. i did end up going to central park that same day and was caught up in the traffic for quite some time it was so crowded!!! but i regret not signing up.

ya so let me know when you're up in the city to visit and have some extra time for a ride on the weekend. you have my cell? its the same as before.

works ok, after getting laid off in feb i rebounded back in 2 weeks. the firm works on a lot of schools in ny. im learning a lot more than i thought i would here. smaller firm, better benefits and pay. except its hard to get the office to hang out...im trying though. call me!

oboeguy

I'll probably ride it again this year. I rode the "75" in 2003 then the "100" from 2004-2008 then cut my ride short to the "75" route last year after narrowly missing being a part of three crashes, the last particularly unsettling (pretty sure I wrote about it in last year's thread). Those crashes left a bitter taste in my mouth, having had particularly uneventful rides for years.

Anyhow, it's a terrific event that is very well run, so I'll probably sign-up again. I'll likely be on my Scott CR1 wearing my bikeforums.net jersey. :-) Maybe I'll meet some fellow BFers this time. I didn't meet (m)any last year, IIRC. I'll try to be in the first group again like every year. See you there at the start?? (in Central Park, I see they have a PP start now too)

Edit (8/19): I may be wearing a different jersey. Also, I'm officially registered now, see you all there!

hkboy313

when should i expect info and # tag thats supposed to be sent to me? for me it feels like its just around the corner!

cc_rider

Last year mine arrived on the Thursday before the ride.
If I hadn't had to delay my trip up to NY by a day I wouldn't have gotten it in time.

zacster

I'm planning on doing this again this year, having skipped last year, and maybe the year before? I don't remember. This year I'm going to start in Prospect Park since that is now an official starting point. I'll stop in CP for the festivities briefly and then ride the rest back to Brooklyn, on whatever route I choose, not necessarily the century route. That last bit is unescorted anyway. I'll make sure my computer says 100m before I stop in any case. I live about a mile from the PP start.

cc_rider

I sent an email to the organizers suggesting that they send the packets out a little earlier than they did last year.
Got a reply saying the packets are getting mailed out this week.

oboeguy

Where's the BF buzz for this ride? It's less than two weeks away. After riding the Northfork Century this weekend, I'm pumped again for the NYC ride, last year's (near) mishaps notwithstanding.

fusilierdan

I got my packet today. I plan on doing the 100.

Lamabb

This looks like fun. How fast are the guys on the 100 miler? since it's through the city with all the peds, lights and cars, it probably will be slower than other events... that's what I'm thinking atleast. I pull 24 avg on flats, 19ish with lots of hills.
If they ride very slow, stopping alot, I'll probably just ride my surly LHT for the urban pavement and enjoyment factor

zacster

You ride your Surly at 24mph on the flats??? Let's get real here. 24mph is hard to maintain without a pack on a real road bike. I can do 24mph in bursts of adrenaline(or a tailwind), but maybe that's my limit because I'm 55, not 21.

As for the ride, you can ride as fast as you want, but I'd caution anybody that thinks that the road is a closed route. It isn't.

Lamabb

The 24mph is on complete flat rural roads, and yeah, with a group. I do 22ish solo on flats. and that's on my Caad9. I was just thinking of taking the LHT if it wasn't a fast ride.

cc_rider

Old and slow as I am, last year I finished in 9 1/2 hours, which included most stop signs, traffic lights, stops for photos and generous time at the rest stops.
Packet arrived yesterday.

oboeguy

24mph with a group on a flat road? That's probably going to put you in front. I ride my fancy Scott CR1 so I say stick to the Cannondale. There's a lot of starting and stopping but a number of opportunities to hammer too. See my write-up from last year about the paceline crash that nearly took me out...

BTW, I got my ride packet last week, woohoo! So what's the deal, we roll up to the start line without a check-in this year? Great! for once riding to the start will be a real warm-up.

Air

@Lamabb - it's not a race and it's at your own pace, take whatever you'll be comfortable with. Plenty of people stop and take pictures all along the route.

I'll be marshaling the 100 this year - are we doing the annual BF meetup in the triangle again?

Hey CC!

Woot!

oboeguy

Tell me again what is this meet-up that I keep missing? Do you guys meet before the ride? It would be easier this year with the no-check-in policy.

cc_rider

hkboy313 and I met up and rode together last year. Someone else was going to join us (wasn't it you oboeguy ), but they were stuck in the pick-up line 30 minutes behind us.

The only problem with meeting at the triangle is how to get the cue sheets. Our meet up last year was on 110th st where the path goes down to the cue pickup and start, and early enough to get a good place in line. I had a balloon attached to my bike for identification. That area wasn't too crowded so I was easy to spot.

Hey, Air. Are you a roving marshal or do you have a post this year?

oboeguy

Ha! I wonder if that was me. I made it to the front though without a problem. I've found it pretty easy to maneuver my way up to the front every year no matter how late I arrive. Last year I had to do a day-of registration because of a toothache that nearly kept me out of the ride. Are you doing the balloon trick again in line?