NYC to BOS
Thanks for your interest in Join the Cycle!
We’ve been riding across the US (over 2,500 miles and counting…) to inspire people to bike for transportation and now we want YOU to JOIN! We’ll be riding from NYC to Boston for a week and we want people to join in the fun with us, so we’re organizing an easy ride that anyone who’s relatively fit can participate in! Remember… we’re not professional athletes (or particularly athletic at all…) So if we can ride all the way across the US, you can do this little trip!
So here’s everything you need to know:
We’ll all meet at a coffee shop in Brooklyn at 9AM sharp on Saturday morning. (September 19th) We’ll be biking out Long Island, and then taking the ferry out to Bridgeport, CT. From there we’ll head into New Haven and take a day off to enjoy the city. (or recover if you haven’t been biking in a while!) After that we’ll head north-east through Connecticut towards Worcester. Finally we’ll finish in Boston on Friday evening just in time to join up with hundreds of other riders for Critical Mass! Then Saturday we can all hang out at Ben & Jerry’s on Newbury Street for a great Finale Party! (Invite ALL your friends who were afraid to bike with us!)
Now for the Details…
You are responsible for your own safety!!! We may even make you sign something to that effect… we’ll have to figure that out. YOU MUST WEAR A HELMET! You may be photographed for the news while on this trip, and helmet advocacy is very important to Join the Cycle!
You will also be responsible for you own transportation to and from NYC and Boston.
We are arranging the trip so anyone who’s fit can easily participate. This means we’ll be doing 50 miles or less every day, so if you’re looking for a race this isn’t the ride for you! On the other hand, if you don’t bike regularly right now, you should start… or you’ll be sore!
Costs:
We’ll be arranging places to stay along the way. It surely won’t be The Plaza Hotel, but it’ll be dry, and we’ll try to make sure there are showers available every night. We’ll be staying in places like community centers and maybe people’s basements, so this will be free.
We’ll also be contacting some restaurants to try for a few free meals along the way. Who knows how this will work out… but we’ll hand out some info about grocery stores and restaurants along the way, so how much you spend on food (or bars!) is up to you. You’ll be on your own to decide about that.
The ferry will cost you $17 dollars, so the week on the whole will be pretty in-expensive!
What to Bring:
We’ll be arranging the trip so that we don’t need tents! But you will probably be sleeping on the floor every night, so I’d suggest a good sleeping pad and comfy sleeping bag. We’ve got a schedule to keep, and in New England Autumn, that could very well mean riding in the rain! So, rain gear is a definite must-have. The rest is up to you, depending on how light or heavy you wish to travel. We’ll find laundry facilities on route, so you only need a few days worth of clothes. There is more info at the bottom for first-time-bike-touring, so check that out if you need other advice. Oh, and don’t forget to make sure you carry enough water bottles!
This trip is all about having fun, and inspiring others to bike for transportation… So don’t forget your smile at home! We want everyone to bring a fun and friendly attitude!
What we do for you:
We’d like everyone on this trip to be pretty independent and self-sufficient, but aside from arranging sleeping quarters we’ll be organizing a few other things for you. We are currently hard at work to find the most bike-friendly route through this area, and we’ll hand out all the route info to each rider so you know how to find your way. (Use the buddy system! We won’t all be riding together all the time.)
We’ll try to arrange for as many free meals as we can, maybe even one a day or more! And our route info will include groceries and restaurants along the way. (You will be responsible for feeding yourself when we can’t find a free meal)
For our day off in New Haven, we’ll give you some suggestions of interesting things to do, or you can hang out with us for a day in the life of Join the Cycle.
Do you want to get more involved?
We three ladies have organized an entire cross-country tour, but not without important help from our friends. If you would like to get a little more involved and give us your time and resources, we would be very thankful! First and foremost we need places to stay and food for our riders. If you would like to house 10-20 sweaty bicyclists for a night or give them a meal, that would be fantastic! If you would like to make phone calls to businesses and organizations to see if they would donate shelter or food to the project, great as well. We’re also hoping to find people to contact the media in the towns we’ll be passing through so that they can check out the riders and interview us about the trip. Contact us if you think you could lend a hand!
The Schedule:
Saturday Sept. 19 meet in Brooklyn, NY 9 am. Ride to Long Island
Sun. 20 ride to Port Jefferson, ferry to Bridgeport ($17), ride to New Haven
Mon 21 day off in New Haven
Tue 22 ride to Middletown for lunch, on to Glastonbury
Wed 23 ride to Our Acres Farm for Lunch, on to Chaplin area
Thur 24 ride to Worcester area
Fri 25 ride to Boston, Meet in Copley Square at 5:30 for Critical Mass
Saturday 26 Party! (hosted by Ben & Jerry’s)
Tips for first time riders:
Never done a bike tour before? No Problem! This is the ride for you! It’ll be easy, fun, cheap, provide the safety of a group, and we might even see some nice fall colors! But there are definitely some things you need to know!
I would highly suggest heading to your local library and picking up a book on bike touring. I like The Essential Touring Cyclist by Richard Lovett, but I imagine any book on bike touring will have even more info than you’ll need. Here’s some websites with great info too:
So first thing’s first… you’ll need a bike! (well, and a helmet too if you want to ride with us!) This tour is definitely one you can do on any old bike, but the most important thing is that your bike fits you, and you feel comfortable riding it. Definitely visit your local bike shop for advice, and look for a non-profit community bike shop in your area, they’ll be sure to give you some great tips!
Many bike companies make Touring specific bikes, and they are GREAT! But also very expensive… so don’t go out and buy one for this trip, but maybe you can try borrowing one?
The next best thing is a Hybrid. These are a cross between road and mountain bikes, and a lot of folks use them for commuting.
A road bike will definitely work, but you should know that those tiny tires make for a slightly less than comfortable ride. You also might not have low enough gears to make it up the big hills. So if this is what you’ve got, consider customizing it with hybrid tires, a taller stem to raise your handlebars a little, and a new cassette with some extra gears.
A mountain bike will be fine too, but you should know that those wide tires will slow you down a bit more than the rest of the group! Be prepared to work a little harder to keep up, or consider getting some slick tires that’ll let you roll a little faster.
A cruiser would certainly be the most stylish option, and we’d love to see people tour with us on them! But they’re heavy and will definitely slow you down.
This guy rode across America on one!
Second thing’s second… YOU NEED A HELMET.
You’ll also need a way to carry your stuff, cause a backpack’s going to get pretty uncomfortable after a few hours, never mind a few days. For bike travel that means a trailer or panniers, and there’s a never ending debate over what’s better… but really, they both work great. So start hunting thrift stores or craigslist for anything that’s compatible with your bike. Or simply grab a rear-rack and some kitty litter buckets and make your own panniers! Or try following these complicated directions to sew your own!
Got some more serious construction skills? Make your own bike trailer!
Now for attire… I had never worn bike shorts before this trip started, and frankly, I thought they were a bit silly. By the end of day 2 I was convinced, and by now I LOVE bike shorts. You will too, I promise. So just go out and invest in a pair or two. Don’t worry, almost everyone will be wearing them so you won’t look funny.
Also clothing that’s not cotton is all around great for travel, so choose wool or synthetics when you can. It dries faster, is lighter weight, feels cooler when you sweat, and doesn’t stink as much. Autumn weather is very unpredictable, so think in layers, but don’t over pack! You’ll be carrying it all!
Tools… basic travel tools are always essential. A cell phone and charger, pocket knife, bandana, etc…
For bike tools you should carry a small pump and spare tubes or patch kit, flat tires are a part of life when bike touring. Other than that, we’ll have some basic bike tools and will do our best to help you out if you have a problem.
Sounds like you’re ready to go… So we’ll see you in New York!