5 boro ride q's

4 replies [Last post]
Anonymous's picture
Anonymous

Any tips for a road rider doing this ride for the first time? I hear it's better to join the ride by central park to avoid the congestion by battery. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I also hear to bring lots of spares, as the road conditions suck...ie potholes, gapingholes, and such...

Anonymous's picture
josh (not verified)
road conditions

Based on the conditions I saw while on the pre-ride last weekend (there are a few cobblestoned sinkholed areas in Brooklyn), I'd recommend no clips (unless you are frontline), and a wide-tired bike (28 and up, 1 1/4). But you'll not be distracted by auto traffic, which will give you the reaction time to focus on potholes and gonzo kiddy cyclists (in the middle and rear) since the route is all free of auto congestion.

Anonymous's picture
April (not verified)

I usually ride it in my regular road bike, clipless pedal and all. No flats all these years.

And yes, there're potholes. So need to pay attention. And the other riders DON'T hold their line. So need to pay attention to them too.

The speed is quite low. So if you have a mountain bike with wider tires, it may not be such a bad idea to use that instead. Still, I prefer the lightness of the road bike (I have a mountain bike, but I don't like to push all those knobby tires for 40+ miles)

Anonymous's picture
PLee (not verified)
5 Boro Ride

I've ridden this lots of times on various road bikes, all with 23c tires with no problems. You can generally keep an eye out for the potholes, manhole covers, etc. I generally join the ride around 6th Avenue and Bleecker where I sit on a park bench with my morning capuccino and croissant while I wait for the first pack of riders to blow by.

Enjoy it. I'm going to be stuck in Pennsylvania this weekend.

Anonymous's picture
HARVEY MINSKY (not verified)
The 5Boro

For many years I did this ride as a Masi captain. That is the front guard. It is a wild and crazy position. It is akin to chariot racing. This year I have a 200k on Saturday, so I will be giving up my position. As a Masi rider I always used my road bike and clipless pedals.However, if you are not in the front,this is a slow moving ride. It will not open up until Brooklyn. I used a mountain bike the first time I did this ride. It is kind of a rolling party. It was the ride that got me into cycling. Have a good time.

Harvey

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