alanfleisig

I am considering producing a Giro live viewing event in the New York area.

It would be outdoors in a formal "Tuscan garden," easily accessible by bike from Manhattan and other boroughs.

Ideally, this would happen every Saturday and Sunday of the Giro. (But I might have to limit it to selected days.)

This is what I'm considering:
How many of you, especially you New Yorkers, think you would attend such an event?

How often would you come? Once? Every stage offered?

Which weekend days/stages do you think would be most popular?

Is the idea of having trainers/spinning cycles whack?

iab

I'd go.

But I live in Chicago.

MrCrassic 

Yes! I'm in Brooklyn.

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timmhaan

i'd definitely do it. not only for the giro but for the tdf as well. a safe place to keep the bike would be essential, however.

lukasz

I'd be thrilled to have a bar IN the city that would show these events, considering how spotty our television coverage is stateside. I'd probably be there drinking every day (yeah, I know they would be broadcasted in the morning!).

pilam99

I'd probably come for one stage.

torps

In

Jynx

I would probably stop down.

sprintr

sure, why not

alanfleisig

Not too bad. But still not yet the strong response I was hoping for. I'd hate to stage this thing and have like 20 people show up. Where are the rest of the NY'ers?

Exit.

If this happened in my city, I'd be all over it. Sounds like a great idea.

mr_tom

Sounds like fun, apart from the 6am start.

kimconyc

I would go; the trainer idea is indeed whack. Is someone going to watch the bikes?

alanfleisig

The venue has private security. I expect to have a roped-off area attended by a security guard the entire time. That's what I meant by "valet" bike parking.

Someone finally brought up what I consider to be one of the 2 potential downsides: the time of day. From what I understand, RAI television coverage (which is what I expect to provide, with probably Eurosport English via internet or satellite for audio, but don't know for sure yet) begins around 14:00 in Italy most days, which would be a "reasonable" 10:00 am in New York. Other feeds probably cover from the start, which indeed would some days be 6:30 or 7:00. Of course, you do have six hours, then, to watch, so if you got there at 9:30 or 10:00, you'd still get over four hours of watching.

The other downside I see in promoting to cyclists is that it is the middle of, and late, May, and people are going to be confronted with the choice of doing their usual weekend training ride or race, and attending this event. Anybody thinking, "yeah, I'd love to go, but that's a big ride day for me"?

timmhaan

you'll get less people with the giro. why not host a stage of the TdF if you're worried about attendance? (for the record, i still would attend a giro stage).

i don't think the 'big ride day' should be a problem, since you'll have opportunities for people to ride and keep their bikes there.

jeeves1984

I would definitely attend

Lucky07

In, if I'm in town. Post this in the Regional forum, if you haven't already. And on the NYCC.org board.

alanfleisig

If this goes forward, and is reasonably successful, doing TdF might be possible.

The rationale for the Giro is: This garden is actually a new museum, partly underwritten by the Italian government (one of the reasons I think I can get the tv feed and permission to show it). It is not exclusively, but first and foremost, an Italian cultural center and resource. Now, ciclismo, here there and everywhere, is very Italian, so there is a rationale to do TdF as well. But for now, to sell the idea to the parties that need to get on board to make it happen, I think I should concentrate on the Giro.

timmhaan

makes sense. very cool. please keep us all updated as the plans unfold.

alanfleisig

Yeah. I'm a NYCC member. IF this happens - and I have to emphasize that that is where the process stands right now, I will not only post to the board, but hopefully buy advertising on their site and e-newsletter. I would be planning on buying advertising from most of the major bike clubs and teams (like UCI) in the metro area, and possibly from TA as well.

I know this is going to have to move forward quickly. I thought this board would be a good way to judge interest before presenting the idea to the Board of Directors of the venue.

They way I figure it, I need to attract in the neighborhood of 100 to 200 paying customers for each day to call this a success. So I'm trying to gauge whether that's realistic.

BillyD

Yes, I'd definitely come down.

Probably a couple of days at least.

I don't race or train, I recreate, so the only "Big Ride" days are the ones I schedule for myself.

Good luck with this.

alanfleisig

Allright. I'll keep everybody posted. I'm guessing it will be a thumbs-up or thumbs-down by the end of this week.