5BBC Montauk Century/Metric Century Report
I ended up doing the shorter version of this ride on May 16th which with the previous amount of riding I’ve gotten in this season was plenty for me. I rode with pals Karen Cohn and Maureen Davis. The three of us volunteered at the registration table which went very smoothly. We got to Babylon about 5:30. There was a table of coffee and breakfast bagels, bars, fruit, hummus and drinks setup also. By 8 we checked our bags on to one truck with the supplied number tag and our bikes onto another also tagged. The century riders left from Babylon while the shorter route took a train to Mastic/Shirley. There were also folks who rode all the way from NYC, I think that was 135?
By 8:30 we were on the train, by 9:30 we were on the road. The ride was not overly crowded and almost all the riders were cognizant of how to ride in large groups. Of course there are always a few but for the most part people called out on your left and only one single guy passed me on the right.
The first water stop was I believe at 15 miles for us, obviously longer for the other routes and the second was around 42. The usual stuff, cookies, granola bars, peanut butter, jelly, Nutella which was a nice addition, bananas, apples, oranges, water and Heed or Gatorade. Volunteers were friendly and porta potties were stocked with toilet paper. There were bike stores running repair tents at the rest stops and the start.
I thought the roads were well marked, however there are so many markings on the roads from various rides (including TOH) that you really need to pay attention to which markings you are following. The three of us missed a marker, our own fault. We realized our mistake when we were faced with 3 ways to go none of them marked in the middle of Southampton town. No biggie, we backtracked less then a mile and were back on the route. There was one other spot that was NOT marked with the dark pink M’s however it was marked with nearly every other club marking. A lot of folks turned off there, I don’t think it took them too far out of the way. It was Georgica Rd. in East Hampton, our route did not go that way but it just avoids Montauk Highway in a large loop.
The weather was absolutely perfect, wind at our backs and never too hot. We flew the 5+ mile stretch before Montauk, then one last hill and all down to the train station where we again loaded our bikes on the proper trucks for the destination. There was a shower truck, hot food (burgers, pasta, pasta salad, salad and veggie burgers) cookies and rugelach, a Mr Softie truck, drinks and the bar that was there allowed us to use their patio and sold beer or wine or alcoholic drinks. We were amazed at how fast we got our drop bags, a volunteer asked us our armband numbers and grabbed them right away. We made the 5:30 train, I can’t vouch for how the late folks made out. I heard the 3:30 train people got massages too.
On the way home on the train it was interesting to hear people’s opinions of the ride while I waited in line for the rest room. They complained a little about the road markings and said they wished there had been people at several points telling them which way to go. And someone wondered why they didn’t see a SAG wagon. Not really sure why you’d want to see one, I am sure if you called they would have shown up quickly.They seemed really surprised when I said that it was really a lot of work to run a ride like this. I guess they think the roads paint themselves and the volunteers just materialize! We got back and had our bikes off the trucks and were headed home in short order.
All in all it was a really well organized ride. We were very impressed with the whole truck loading/bag drop/bike transport which went very smoothly. I think were I to do it again though, I’d stay overnight out there. We never really spent anytime at all in Montauk, bypassing town to get to the finish and get changed etc. Shame to get all the way out east and not experience any of the charm of Montauk.
Don’t forget our club Montauk Century, the Ancient Mariner on June 12th!
Barb K
One Response “5BBC Montauk Century/Metric Century Report”
5BBC Montauk Century/Metric Century Report
I did the ride from Babylon and although the road did have several club markings on the roads, which I followed the wrong ones it only added a few extra miles to my route so I wound up with 112 miles. The rest stops were well organized and stocked, although tap water isnt my fav. I love this ride and especially when the weather was nice as it was. It is basically dead flat so its good for pacelines. Well done once again! thank you