July - August 2005

A Great Time Was Had By All!

Here’s how I knew the gods were with us on the 2005 Montauk Century: at 5:30pm, laying down on the grass at Ruschmeyer’s to take a quick snooze, I felt about 10 raindrops. After a weekend of threatening weather, we actually had perfectly cool cycling weather that held all day.

We got just about everything right right this year. Fully-staffed rest stops, good food, free ice cream, smooth send-offs at Penn Station, Babylon and Mastic/Shirley. Efficient sweeping at 6pm, giving the last riders time to eat, shower and get on the last train.

As club members, you can be happy that the Montauk Century, the 5BBC’s largest source of income, appears to be a financial success. Final financial figures aren’t in yet, but with a record of over 1,700 registered riders, it looks like revenues for 2005 are up more than 30% over 2004.

There are always lots of stories coming out of Montauk, and you can see many for yourself. The most innovative technique for Montauk rider recruitment belongs to our Programs Coordinator, Barry Hartglass. Three weeks before Montauk, at the pre-ride for the Five Boro Bike Tour, Barry feel off his bike on slippery pavement at Battery Park and suffered injuries to his face and dental work. While in the Emergency Room at NYU Downtown Hospital, Barry still kept his cycling spirit and convinced the staff plastic surgeon to ride in Montauk. The good doctor writes:

“Hey Barry, I did the Montauk Century and I thought it was great. I did get a little winded around Southampton however as I had not trained for the ride. I'm glad I went and you were a good source of persuasion. I hope you are mending well. Dr. K. R.

PS, If there's any left over T-Shirts etc, let me know.”

With all the people and logistics involved in the Century, problems will crop up. The LIRR’s last-minute decision to limit train riders at Montauk was a heart-stopped, forcing us to put the SAG buses to work. Fortunately, we found ways to accommodate everyone and get them home.

Most handled the challenges with good humor. I drove one of the trucks to Penn Stations, and I was happy to see that even the ones who had the toughest day (lost wallet, mechanical problems, separated from friends) gave in to the spirit of the thing and helped their fellow cyclists.

A lesser problem was not enough T-shirts! The truth is that demand was so heavy this year we actually ran out of all merchandise two times before the event. Planning to have more merchandise is now definitely on the 2006 checklist.

If the stars were in alignment on May 15th, we can thank Special Events Coordinators Ed Pino and Liz Baum, the tireless energy and expertise of Tour Director Glen Goldstein, and the many volunteers who deal with long hours, tough logistics and unforeseen complications to make it all happen. But I’m sure you’ll appreciate it if I skip the rah-rah -- I’ll let the comments of the riders speak for themselves.

Peter Engel