NYC at 18MPH

Saturday in NYC was time to meet everyone and try to out drink them. If not for Thursday and Friday nights before I wudda taken the trophy. We took in the sights before meeting at Fraunces Tavern for $16 dollar burgers and $10 glasses of wine. The tab was only $305.00. The NY locals didn't bat an eye. Us Cape Cod "wash ashores" couldn 't help but wonder what 305 dollars could have gotten us at our local pub. But hey, we're on vacation and put money aside for this.

We spent the pre pub time walking around Manhattan and over the Brooklyn Bridge and back.





Five AM wakeup got us on the 7:15 ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan on Sunday morning. One of our gang, Dave, who came in from Seattle stayed at the Sheraton on 52nd and 6th. We disembarked the ferry at Battery Park and had a 60 block warmup ride to meet him. Five of us were just coasting along until we got onto 7th Ave. At 22nd St we decided to cut loose and went to after burners. Sunday morning gave us great vision and allowed us to blast through most of the lights. Steve was very spooked riding in traffic so we had to wait a couple of times for him. At 34th Street when he finally caught up, we considered it a miracle.



The start in front of Radio City Music Hall

At the starting line this crazy guy with a cane came out of the subway ready to take on the world. Straggly beard, trench coat, shoulder length scruffy hair, and no teeth. He slammed his cane on the trunk of the car and started calling people on. A NYC cop came up and we wondered how he was going to diffuse this. From behind the cop grabbed the cane out of the bums hand. When the guy turned, the cop held up a can of mace about a foot from his face and let loose a stream that looked like an exploding can of shaving cream. Problem solved in less than 10 seconds.
Blured, but the point is made.


A couple of places really got bogged down during the ride. Crossing the 59th St. Bridge and the Verrazano Pkwy.




A couple of our rest stops turned into photo ops. You know, the ones that seem so apropos at the time. Like these.

Queens rest area


The six of us in Brooklyn



One flat tire in our group of six. Actually it was the first in three years of riding the event. I almost said something to John when he was checking the pressure of his tires before the ride. Actually I said, "sheesh, how much air you puttin in".

In Queens we heard the bang like a "gunshot" and hoped it was not one of our group whose tire had blown. It was, but we got everything back to normal with good teamwork.

Team work


Brandon doing his part for the team


The last leg of the ride took us over the Verrazano Bridge from Brooklyn back to Staten Island. Before leaving that Boro it's a must, as you know, to sample authentic Brooklyn style pizza. The place never lets us down.

The reason why I seldom eat pizza at home


If you try authentic pizza in Brooklyn, it's close to impossible to find something comparable. Trust is needed on this. "It's the best you will ever have". Naturally I didn't. My plate was filled with potato sticks and garlic popers. (a tiny sandwich of pepperoni, mozzarella, sauce and garlic butter. Un-bee-leeeve- ible.


The ride ended after crossing the huge Verrazano Bridge into some fort or park. It was called the festival area for today. Coast down the bridge, speed around the corner then brake hard. The tour people tell you to keep riding into the festival grounds for a while then dismount at the white line. We got to the white line and syscokid fell. It looked pretty funny and harmless at the time, but within a half hour his knee turned an ugly shade of blue and began to swell. He also had a cut on the outside of his leg.(Thank goodness he wore his helmet).

Sysco has to fly back to Seattle today and when I called he told how his knee looked like a golf ball was embedded. Since he spent the evening bar hopping in Manhattan, he did not notice the stiffness till this morning. Five dollar cocktails on the six hour flight should keep the swelling to a minimum.

Made in Manhattan

Steve and I met Margie, our Canadian riding partner at the Staten Island Hotel. After a quick check in, we were on the 44 bus to the Mahattan ferry. We met our friend and guide for the day "Ticktack", in Battery Park. All of us were hungry and decided on a $14 burger at Fraunces Tavern on Broad St. in Manhattan. Mike who likes to ride his bike across the country, had to back out to finish his thesis. Those of us who decided to imbibe, celebrated cinco de mayo in fine fashion with some fruity French wine.



I mentioned that I would love to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge if it was close enough. It was, we did. That is a very sweet experience. A lane for walking and a lane for biking and no one violated the others space, so the flow stays smooth. It's also nice to look down on the cars.

"Most were bursting with rage. The road is packed with bat black cars, one person in each, going nowhere. Doubled up wherer there's only one lane, honking, fuming, stagnating and stupid". samuelkb

Also there were probably five times more people on the walkway as cars on the roads, but the road was were all the problems were. Nice.





We were closer to the starting line than I was last year, but we did not push to move ahead. I had previously been warned not to get stuck in the "family" secion as it is called, near the back of the pack.
Here is my gift to anyone who asks. "Don't get stuck in the family secion. Work hard to pass as many people as possible during the first 6 or 8 miles. Your ride will be much better.



By being stuck in the back section, we walked most of Central Park. We walked the 59th St. bridge and any little hill that happened our way. Last year I finished the ride around 1PM and got back to my car around 3. Home by 7:30. This year, because of our positioning. We finished the ride around 3. Walked out of the festival around 4:15 and got back to the car around five.

If I go back next year, I will be staying in Brooklyn. Meet the ride in Central Park after riding over the bridge, and leave the ride back in Brooklyn.


Crys heard that pizza in Toronto is not as good as in America. How about a Brooklyn style pizza? There were NYC police on every street for traffic contol in Brooklyn. We stopped and asked, and were sent to Russ Pizza, on Manhattan Ave in Brooklyn. It was the best I ever had by a long shot.

We hung around Manhattan on Saturday and did some sightseeing.

I Hate When That Happens

I went to my LBS today to get a pair of velcro pant leg straps, at lunchtime. They did not have any and instead of leaving I stayed to browse the store. I had a pair of $30 riding glasses in my hand, and decided to put them back on the shelf.

Just as I was about to leave I noticed bike carriers. Tomorrow, Steve and I will be driving to NYC with two bikes on my double carrier and one bike inside the car. It'a a Pontiac Vibe, which has good interior versatility. Now I spot this nice three bike carrier for $99.95 and my wheels start turning.

{{{{It sure would be nice to have the whole interior of the car available. I could bring a cooler with food and liquids. Three people would fit comfortably on Sunday.}}}}

Then the calculator in my head begins to operate.
If I go to Dick's Sporting Goods, it would be a lot cheaper.
But the LBS has been good to me.
But I need it before 4PM.
It's either this one, or none.

I bought it. $104 with tax. But I did save thirty two dollars by not buying the glasses and velcro for my pants. Which is about the price for the rack at Dick's. So I got a good deal right?

Speaking of Dick's. They just opened the new Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver. The home of the Rapids. My goodness, there are so many possibilities for abusing that name.

Lucky Me

I have seen lots of blogs with posts like this from The Reflector Collector in Roseville MN.

"The other day I took flack from the security guards that management doesn't want bikes in the building any more. Okay, I can deal with that. At least they had moved the bike rack (though small and not securely mounted to anything) to near the front door. Perhaps there might be enough traffic to discourage theft? This morning I arrived to find no bike rack?" The full story

When my office opened 15 years ago, it had a full sized track inside and ample shower facilities to accomodate those who wanted to excercise. The track has been swallowed by increased office space, but the unused warehouse and mail room are empty and available.

A group of workers turned part of the warehouse into a basketball court. The only other biker in the office of 800, stored his bike in the mailroom, which leaves the warehouse for me. He and I are the only two shower'ers in the mornings, but he arrives thirty to forty minutes after me. So, I get the warehouse and the hot water.