Gothamist: Picture of the Day: Hundreds Ride the Tour de Brooklyn

MK

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 15:56:31 -0500

I went on the bike tour yesterday, and rode til the end but saw no BBQ or beer. Was there any? Aside from the cobblestone streets which gave me a serious *ss burn, the ride was fun! I'd do it again.

Ajit

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 12:43:23 -0500

I found the ride yesterday -- like the 5-borough "bike" ride -- involved a fair amount of walking your bike. That was definitely boring. I'm not a traffic engineer, but why is it that there are so many bottlenecks leading to so much walking? So ends the griping, because it was really cool to explore new areas of Brooklyn, see the beautiful old factories, etc.. My group just hung out and ate at the Red Hook ballfields for awhile instead of making the short trek to the AltTrans party.

Homer Fink

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 11:44:43 -0500

If you want to ride a bike...move to China.

DMo

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 10:17:22 -0500

It was fun, but as mentioned, S L O W. Still, it's tough to complain about a free organized ride that shuts down the streets for you and offers up some snacks and a free beer. Plus, it's always important to show up for an event like this--especially if you cycle in this city everyday. If nothing else, it increases the visibility and awareness of all of us trying to commute on bike.

J

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 09:51:09 -0500

I did the ride, and I agree that overall it was fun, but that it wasn't the best idea to take that large of a group through narrow, cobblestoned streets - that was where most people sustained injuries or had bike problems. And yeah, putting the rest stop near the end of the tour- not such a great idea, although the rest stop itself was lovely, and thank goodness they had plenty of porta-potties. Also the riders were all really cooperative and nice to each other - no one complained or acted like a jerk when things got congested, and people were friendly towards each other at the rest stop.

j

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 08:07:08 -0500

being from texas, here's a clarification. a barbecue is a grill. bbq is a style of sauce. big difference.

dalton

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 07:41:31 -0500

Considering that the feeder rides met up at 7:45, and the actual ride didn't start until after 9:30, that was almost two hours of waiting before we got started. And yes, the cobblestones sucked hard. I had to pee so bad by the time we got to Redhook, I just went home. On the other hand, it was a nice day out and I'm really grateful for Transportation Alternatives for organizing the event. I will definitely do it again next year. Hopefully with a little feedback, it will get better every year.

Aristocrat

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 06:22:33 -0500

Given that they have to close streets for it, they need to do them early in the day. Just don't be such a lazy bastard and get your ass up in the morning.

Toby

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 02:02:29 -0500

I'd have gone, but it was way too early. Can't they schedule these things for late morning or early afternoon?

eefers

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 20:48:37 -0500

I agree. Last year's was much smoother (and I do mean smoother, taking us over cobblestones wasn't the best idea). But if I recall, last year people complained that we didn't see enough neighborhoods, just down and up Ocean Parkway. I liked that there was only one rest stop this year, though. Last year, there were two, which was too much. Overall, I think the ride was was too slow and could have benefited from better mapping. But TransAlt will learn from the past two years and I'm sure next year's route will be better. Also, I agree that they're trying to gain support for the greenway, which was probably a big part of the mapping of the route.

jackblack

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 19:56:25 -0500

you should have just wizzed in Red Hook. Heck, the wizz actually might make Red Hook smell better. That place sucks.

Rocknrope

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 19:05:28 -0500

I rode it. Not very good. Last year's was much better, as the route took us down to Coney Island along some nice wide routes along Ocean Parkway. I don't know what genius planned the path, but it took us down narrow streets causing significant bottlenecks. Additionally, it took us around the butt-ugliest parts of Brooklyn - outskirts of Red Hook and the Navy Yards. Due to the remoteness of the route, there was also a lack of places to take a wizz, which I needed to do from mile 1 because they held us at the start so long. I had to duck into Fairway to use the head. Plus, the rest stop was three miles from the end, what's the point? The best part was when we passed Angel Bakery, as the smell was heavenly (npi) All in all, mucho suckiness. Perhaps they were trying to build support for that Brooklyn Greenway Initiative by routing us that way, but all it did was show me how fugly that area is.

a little disappointed

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 19:00:17 -0500

was it just me or did this ride seem a little unorganized? i rode the 1st one last year and it seemed to go smoother. from the late start to the construction on roads, to the many stops along the way - i was a little disappointed. on the plus, it was a good turnout for a rather grey day.

oh really?

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 18:52:30 -0500

"and a period goes inside quotation marks." so what?

u wasted our time doing this

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 17:58:43 -0500

you mean, as in a BBQ?

interlard

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 17:24:41 -0500

"BARBECUE" It's spelled "barbecue".