"I went on Peter O'Reilly's ""C"" ride that started nearly an hour (~ 8:20am) before the race began. Cyclists of all speeds (A, B, C) came, which included Jay, Carol, roadie, track, hybrid & mountain cyclists and a trio of PBP anciens.
The weather was great. We rode the marathon route from Bay Ridge (via Dunkin Donuts), Queens, Manhattan, Bronx and back to Manhattan.
Several of us were wondered how P. Diddy would do
better than Oprah. He did, by several minutes.
Along Bay Ridge, we saw a Metro Bike truck unloading
bikes and equipment for the official ride marshalls.
Except for intermittent traffic lights, we rode non-stop.
We just followed the blue dotted lines. Several
marathon support people & bands were cheering us on.
Once over the QBB, we got more cheers on First Ave.
NYPD officers along the way didn't stop us.
It took about 1:45 to ride 24+ miles, ending at
Columbus Circle reluctantly by the NYPD, who put their foot down. Pictures were taken for posterity by 10am.
Thanks again to Peter.
Alfredo
PS Congratulations to those of us who ran and completed
the marathon.
"
cycling before the marathon
And thank you to all who participated in this ride. It truly was a great bunch of people. The sights and sounds and weather were pretty cool, too.
I lost count at 34 or so at the start. I'm sure I missed a few and did not account for the few who joined us along the way. My apologies to those who showed up a the original start time of 9am. The NYRRC pushing back the marathon start time an hour earlier came as a late post-ride-submission surprise. The good news is fewer runners (err, check that walkers :-) finish the race in the dark.
It's worth noting how excellent the group was for returning the courtesy and being considerate road-wise in full view of the many good-spirited NYPDs attending the course. This is definitely a ride of delicate privledge. Kudos, as this will go a long way to ensure future marathon-day-route rides for sure.
Thanks again to all who particpated. I hope to see you again next year.
"..for all past and (potential) future marathoners. This ride brings back ""happy"" memories of past marathons or gives some insight into what it's like to run 26.2 miles through the streets of NY.
Of course, the star performer this year was the weather - thanks to Peter for ordering unusually perfect weather for this annual treat."
