AJ wrote of the Five Borough Bike Tour: "Looks like my new plan is to sit off to side and wait for the majority of folks to start."
To which I reply: I've done the 5 Borough ride a few times. It's lots of fun and a great way to see the City. I would, however, recommend a different tact for dealing with the crowds. You want to be *in front* of the crowds, not behind them, lest you end up in the quagmire illustrated by Will's photo of the BQE. First, make sure you pre-register and get your pinny sent to you in the mail before the event. Then, on the day of the ride, go down early and have your bagel somewhere down on Church St. or the lower part of 6th Ave. ***Do not go down to Battery Park!*** Wait for the VIP group to go by (those people paid a hefty price to a good cause for the privilege of being in front) then when you see the first non-VIP riders start to pass, down the rest of your coffee and join in. I would also recommend skipping the first rest stop or two. If you need a drink, just stop at a deli. This will put you "tete de la course" for the majority of the ride. The congestion only intensifies as the day progresses. Another thing I would recommend is skipping the festival at the end and heading straight to the ferry (it's another mile or so) as soon as you get to Staten Island. I've heard horror stories of hours of waiting in line to get back to Manhattan. One last thing (if you've read this far...): Be super careful when you get back into Manhattan. An entire morning of not worrying about traffic gets you out of the mindset of riding around cars! It takes a few minutes before you start riding with the healthy paranoia and your self preservation instincts kick back in... Enjoy the ride! Cheers- Mike in So. Boston, Mass -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
