billm45s

I did the NYC Century ride yesterday and as usual it was an exhilarating experience. I did the full century despite the weather being less than stellar. It is one of my favorite rides, and love seeing all the people who come to NYC for this ride. But that said this year there were a few things that made the ride somewhat less pleasant than past rides. I wonder about others experiences.

Unfortunately, the weather was not great. The drizzle that occurred periodically during the early parts of the ride was fine and even pleasant compared to blazing sun. The only heavy and steady rain occurred later in the ride while I was in the Bronx. the real weather annoyance was the strong headwind in the Rockaways from Riis Park to the Cross Bay Blvd Bridge. The wind, which was much stronger than usual in the Rockaways, felt like you were climbing a mountain for 4 or 5 miles even though you were on a flat road.

TA has not control over the weather and I have always been impressed with how they run their ride. Yet this year the rest stops felt like they were not nearly as strong as in the past. Where was the hommus or energy bars or the little extras? And both Marine Park and Kissena ran out of peanut butter very early - that's not acceptable. People were eating plain bread or a little jelly. Thank goodness for the bananas and orange slices, which was the the only thing you could count on for each rest stop.

Overall, it was a bit of a misstep for TA. A few people I had talked into doing the ride for the first time, were disappointed in the rest stop. That said, it is still one of my favorite events and I will eb back again next year.

Bacciagalupe

I liked this ride better the first time I did it, a few years ago. Now that I've been to some of those neighborhoods a few times, I vastly prefer trees and farms to wondering why a spider on LSD designed the streets of Queens.

I was a bit bummed that the Velodrome was not available and that the 75 route (and maybe the 100, not sure) didn't go past the tennis center / Unisphere.

Plus, it's like taking a ride through Flat City. I feel like I need both Gatorskins and Tuffy's to make it through this ride without glass shredding my tires.

On the plus side, a plane nearly landed on my head as I went past LGA.

I don't expect much from rest stops, and I thought the volunteers did a pretty good job overall.

Next year I might marshall or something, otherwise I don't think I'll do this ride next year.

bikegummo

Totally agree about the less-than-stellar rest stops. Really disappointing. Glad I'd brought my own snacks as a backup.

oboeguy

Mods, can you move this to the main thread?

chipg5

Another century rider here. Yeah I was bummed at not having the Velodrome too, I got my 16 year old son to do the tour with me this year and he was really looking forward to it.

I also think the rest stops were a bit less well-stocked than in 2008 when I did the ride, the hummus in particular was good last time. But the apples this time were really great, I must have eaten about 8 or 9 of them!!

There were headwinds but the terrain was so flat, and the winds were pretty constant, so it didn't really bother me the way winds sometimes can. Around here there's no such thing as flat, so this course was a nice change for me.

We managed to get only one flat between us, but the streets are tough on tires!

And yeah, riding under landing planes is pretty cool.

Overall, even with the negatives, this is definitely the coolest century route I've done, and will probably be doing it again sometime.

cappuccino911

My first one so nothing to compare it to but to me I could.care.less about the rest stops, how many bodegas did ride go past? Honestly I'd rather pay 3 bucks for a pbj at a deli on the route than wait in the lines I saw at the rest stops! The wind was BRUTAL, in the rockaways but I enjoyed it in a sick sort of way. I did the 75 miler and didbt notice how bad the streets were cuz I live here and that's just part of the reality every day we ride. I have ridden the bx extensively plus there was football on so that kept.me from doing the 100 but this was a nice challenge for.me as it was 20 miles longer than anything else I've done.

fusilierdan

This was my 2nd time doing this ride. It's a shame about the rest areas not having the variety of food I was expecting but the real disappointment was not being able to do a lap around the velodrome. There was a bad accident in Queens along the Cross Island I think with the rider being taken away by ambulance. I hope they get well soon and back to riding.

On the positive side I rode with some great people I had never met before. Saw parts of the city I'd never been in, found some paths to come down and do the touristy rides on.

All in all I had a great time and will do this again.

cappuccino911

I saw the aftermath of a crash in Prospect park, less than a half mile from the rest stop, no idea how it could happen there, it was a nice wide stretch of road, though high speed downhill in that area. Rider was on a stretcher about to go into the ambulance, wasn't able to see the bike and only saw the one rider down.

pgoat

Apparently one rider in Prospect hit one of those orange barrier things as they neared the rest stop, and flipped over his bars (his bike was messed up) - then the woman behind him hit him. She must have flown off her bike because it looked okay, while she did not. She was responsive at least, so hoping she is recovering quickly.

The wet ground made for lots of flats and at least a few accidents. I saw at least one other accident aftermath where a guy's AL frame was toast.

Note to folks wanting to do this ride - there are spots you can hammer a bit (especially on the longer routes), but this is not a race or a really FAST ride. It's awful to see folks getting hurt when they should be having a fun day instead. There's just too many riders, too much traffic, etc. It's all about seeing the city and and chilling with friends, making new friends etc. I've met really nice people on every one I've done, many who come in from out of town to do it and see NYC.

Oh - re: the Peanut Butter and Hummus disappointments. Yeah, that stunk. But Fwiw, TA does their best. They're a non-profit, of course,and the recession has hit them hard in the wallet, just like most Non-profits. I expected a drop in provisions this year, but overall I think they did okay all things considered.

julesray

This was my first ride that was organized and I thought it was great!. I did the 55 and I can't find anything that was bad. The T.A. had ample food at Prospect Park. Marine Park was good also. The rest area at Astoria Park was so cool. Everyone was friendly............I look for people who smile.......I did feel bad for the woman rider who was ready to go up the Pulaski..we were taking a break and it seemed to annoy her that we were kinda blocking the path......I apologize...........I will defintly do the ride and recommend it to anyone who wants to do a group ride...It drizzled along the Belt Parkway all the way to Nathan's...........then it stopped.................Ride safe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Air

I was the first marshal on the scene, one rider hit the barrel and then slammed into her. Based on her injuries her helmet saved her life - no question about it.

My biggest complaint this year was the dark red paint for markings - blended in perfectly with all the other cable spray paint and disappeared completely when it rained. And yeah, it would be nice if they at least sent out someone to a bodega to buy a few more jars of PB for all the mid-ride stops.

oboeguy

At the Riverdale stop they *did* eventually send someone to get more PB.

I agree about the red markings. They disappeared in the rain and sun glare (early on) and were very similar to other red markings.

cc_rider

The old, green markers had the same problem. Even when you did spot them, you weren't always sure if it was this year's mark of last year's.

pgoat

I never made it to the Astoria stop, but I know they were extremely short on volunteers this year, and I imagine the same was true for other stops as well...which probably made it that much harder to restock on food as they run out. Good to know they could do it at some stops though.

+1 on the red paint - at some points the previous year's yellow marker was just as visible as the new red ones, if not more so!

cappuccino911

the markings were so bad that I didn't even know they were there until I got over 50 miles in and someone mentioned them to me! A few small signs on telephone poles would have been helpful but its a pretty daunting task trying to get out and setup 100 miles in a city that never sleeps so kudos to them.

Again, I think the food issue is being blown out of proportion a bit simply because it is a ride within the boroughs with a gazillion places to stop along the way and they advise you as such in all of the literature.

fusilierdan

As for the rest stops I think of it more in terms of once I've stopped at a planned rest stop I didn't want to have to stop again. I survived on the food that was provided next time I'll carry alittle extra of my own. Thanks to the volunteers who had to deal with this.

The markings seemed OK to me. The big challenges were when the road was resurfaced and the marker was removed and in one park where the color changed to yellow just for the park. I blew past a few markers but that was rider inattention and that's why you ride with others.

Just think how hard making this route was pre mapping software.

Again thanks to TA for putting on the ride I look forward to doing it again and again.

jag6780

I had an awesome time. Did 121 miles when counting my ride to/from Central Park.

Food: I was just happy that almost everything there was kosher.
Route Markings: I am colorblind, and last years markings were much more visible to me. The pink was terrible for me, especially in the rain.

Go TEAM TA!!