[Bent] No 5 boro bike ride for me

[Jules D. Zalon]

Here is one Marsian who will NOT be doing the 5-boro bike ride. The 
management has decided to no longer put recumbents up front, meaning 
that unless we want to get there at 5:00 AM, we will be way back in the 
pack. A friend did the ride once, and she told me she walked her bike 
almost up to Central Park. No thanks, that doesn't sound like fun; it 
sounds a bit like hell. I don't want to sound like a spoil-sport (but I 
am!), however, why on earth would anyone want to put themselves through 
that sort of unpleasantness.

If I were running the event, I would have at least 4 separate starts (I 
didn't say I was practical!), and then let everyone merge, say, at 
Central Park. By that time, there would have been a sufficient shake-out 
so the riders that get there will be with riders of like conditioning. 
The racers will get there first, followed by B-group riders, etc. Now 
that would be a nice way to ride through the City.

Instead of that ride, I plan on doing Glen Goldstein's Ride to Montauk 
on June 19th: 30 miles • 66 miles • 100 miles • 145 miles. I'm tempted 
to do the big enchilada, but it's easier said than done.
Jules