Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Day Ride

CANCELLED : CONEY ISLAND WINTER SPLASH

9:45am, Donut Plant, 25 miles

Fun n' Surf. Join us for the annual Coney Island winter splash, as we head out from the Donut Plant at 10 am to join em' -- or, more likely, cheer them on -- as the Polar Bears race, run, march, and prance into the Atlantic Ocean. Festivities begin around noon, and we'll hang around for a few hours before heading back to Manhattan. 25 miles, easy post-New year's Eve pace. Meet up: 9:45am for a 10am departure! Leaders Lee Ann Van Wyck and Josh Gosciak

Saturday, January 5

Day Ride

FREEZER BURN TO ARTHUR AVE

10AM, Bridgemarket, 25 miles

The Bronx is really very close by, and so is the Belmont neighborhood, known affectionately as the Bronx’ own Little Italy. If the weather is warm we can make a detour to one of the new parks along the way. Bring a lock and lunch money. Leaders Danny Lieberman and John Chiarella.

Sunday, January 6

Day Ride

Street Memorial Project

MEMORIAL RIDE

10AM, City Hall, 20 miles

We will meet at the traditional Frostbite start point. From there, we'll proceed across the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn neighborhoods to a sad place where one of our fellow cyclists met with a fatal accident at the intersection of Fulton St. and Utica Ave. We will pay our respects to our fallen compatriot. After which, we will join up with other cyclists coming from other, similar locations. We'll combine forces and form a procession to City Hall for a ceremony honoring all the cyclists who lost their lives in 2007. Leaders Ed Defreitas and Alfredo Garcia.

Saturday, January 12

Day Ride

WHO WAS THAT GUY RIDE?

10:00 AM, Prospect Park Grand Army Plaza, approximately 25 leisurely miles.

Nearly every 5BBC ride passes a street or monument bearing his name. Whether it’s Lafayette Street, Lafayette Avenue or Lafayette High School, this guy is everywhere. Then there’s Lafayette, Louisiana, Lafayette Indiana, and Fayetteville North Carolina. Now meet one of George Washington’s favorites. You’d like the guy too if you found out what he did just to come to America. See why Americans gobbled up the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824 as much as Americans gobbled up french fries in 2007. Bring $10 New York Historical Society admission fee (a petit price to pay for such a grand exhibit) plus lock and money for lunch at a local mangerie. Rain, snow or icy streets cancels. Leaders Richard Sanford and TBA

Sunday, January 13

Day Ride

FROSTBITE RIDE #6: UNCLE GEORGE’S

10:00 AM, City Hall, 20 miles

It's Greek to me and I love it! The food is traditional and delicious! Where? Astoria, where else? As long as we're in the neighborhood, we'll visit an outdoors art exhibit along the east channel of the East River, a light house, the only tram ride in the city and more. So, come enjoy the warmth of your fellow cyclists. How cold can it be? Al Gore predicts a warm, sunny day. Leaders Ed DeFreitas and others

Saturday, January 19

Day Ride

AROUND QUEENS TO FILLMORE'S

10:00 AM, Kew Gardens (Statue of Virtue, Queens Blvd and Union Tpke), 25-30 miles

Join Ed & Liz on our Ride to Fillmore's for lunch. This will be an easy flat ride of 25-30 miles through the borough of Queens. We will circle the globe and eat in a pub like atmosphere. Join us on this warm winter journey for a trip and a great lunch at the end of the ride. Bring $10.00 for a real lunch. Bring bike lock, restaurant is bike friendly, and a good attitude. Leaders Ed Pino, Liz Baum

Sunday, January 20

Day Ride

FROSTBITE RIDE #7: CONEY ISLAND DREAMIN' ON SUCH A WINTERS DAY

10:00 AM, City Hall, 30 miles

To the Borough of Churches we will go. Ride to the serene waterfronts of the Verrazano and Coney Island. Have lunch at Totonno's, renowned for prized pizza. See http://id.essortment.com/historyofpizza_rmgf.htm for interesting mouth-watering facts about our standard cycling food staple. Some examples: pizza was first developed by the ancient Greeks and we consume nearly 4 acres of it a day. Get that mozzarella! Bring a lock, $ for food and a film camera. Leaders Ed DeFreitas & others

Day Ride

FREEDOM ON MY MIND

12:00 PM, Gandhi Statue, Union Square (15 & Union Sq. W), C12, 20-25 miles

MLK, whose birthday we celebrate tomorrow, might not have ridden a bike but he would have totally understood the erosion of freedoms we cyclists have endured of late, especially with regard to parade permits. It would be an issue worth defending, and he might have ridden a bike just to show his support of free assembly. So we'll respectfully reciprocate with a self-styled freedom ride, in honor of his many unpopular protests, as we pedal it to Harlem, via the Hudson Greenway, making stops at the Audubon Ballroom, Sugar Hill, the Cotton Club, Striver's Row, and Marcus Garvey Memorial Park. Of course, we'll end our little parade at Spoon Bread Too, for some corn bread, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, and the house specialty, Louisiana Beer-Battered Catfish. Bring front and back lights, for the ride back downtown after dinner, and an appetite. This is a joint NYCC/5BBC ride. Leaders: Josh Gosciak, joshgo@awild.com; Alfredo Garcia, cyclistxxiii@yahoo.com

Monday, January 21

Day Ride

THE HILLS OF PROSPECT PARK

10:15 AM, City Hall, 15 miles

We'll tour Brooklyn's finest park. It's the workmanship of Olmstead and Vaux and 1800 people. It was the site of Washington's greatest defeat in 1776. We'll tour the highest point of the park. Wide tires and walking shoes recommended. Leaders Terry Chin, James Zisfein

Saturday, January 26

Day Ride

TOUR DE ROOSEVELT ISLAND AND LONG ISLAND CITY

10:15 AM, Bridgemarket, E. 60th St & 1st Ave, 15 miles

Visit the "other island" next to Manhattan, which had an insane asylum and a smallpox lab. We'll also visit points of interest from Astoria to Hunter's Point. Leaders: Terry Chin, James Zisfein

Sunday, January 27

Day Ride

FROSTBITE RIDE #8: RIDE TO GARIBALDI/ALICE AUSTIN

10:00 AM, City Hall, 20 miles

Rescheduled from January 6, get transported again on the Staten Island Ferry for scenic riding. You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant-oops wrong song-it's Cargo's. Visit the home of famed photographer Alice Austen, with gleaming views of New York Bay. She won't be home, but appreciates you coming. Check the trip-related web www.aliceausten.org. Don't worry about Guisseppe Garibaldi, baby. Bring $ for lunch, a lock and a digital camera. Leaders Ed DeFreitas & others

Saturday, February 2

Day Ride

SINGING IN THE RAIN RIDE

9:15 AM, Plaza Hotel, approximately 20 leisurely miles

Can’t wait for your next Nor’easter? You’d be drooling too if you thought about all those broken and discarded umbrellas flying down 6th Avenue. Meet Melanie of AiAiGaSa in Brooklyn. Find out how this savvy and skillful Brooklyn Boutique owner turns those storm damaged eyesores into fashionable dresses and skirts. You see folks, while we “think green,” savvy Melanie also “thinks black.” Bring lock and money for lunch at a local eatery. Rain snow or icy streets cancels. Leaders: Richard Sanford and Jim Mallard

Day Ride

MERCHANT MARINE CONVOY

10AM, Cunningham Park, 35 moderately hilly miles

Warm up those dormant cycling muscles on a leisurely and scenic ride to the US Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point (www.usmma.edu) overlooking Long Island Sound. On the way back, there will be nice views of Little Neck Bay from Douglas Manor and the Joe Michaels Mile bike path. Bring a lock and $ for lunch at a diner. Temperature below 32 degrees one hour before the start or any ice or snow on the road cancels. Leaders Ira Najowitz and John Chiarella

Sunday, February 3

Day Ride

FROSTBITE RIDE #9: RIDE TO SHEEPSHEAD BAY AND BEYOND

10:00 AM, City Hall, 30 miles

Yet another excursion into the Borough of Churches. We'll check out the Shore Parkway greenway, a path frequented on Bicycle Bum Beach rides, with a glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean. Bring a lock, $ for lunch and a camera. You can look but you better not touch (bike) a pedestrian bridge in the area. See www.transalt.org/bridges/sheep.html to know why. Bring a lock, $ for lunch and a digital camera. Leaders Ed DeFreitas & others

Saturday, February 9

Day Ride

IN SEARCH OF SPRING

10:15 AM, City Hall, 15 miles

Get out of the winter's doldrums and get back on the bike. Join me for a ride to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, where admission is free on Saturday mornings. Snow, rain, or temperatures below 25 degrees F cancels. Bring lock, walking shoes, and $ for lunch. Leaders: Terry Chin, Ken Williams

Day Ride

RIVER ROAD IN WINTER

10AM, GWB Bus Terminal (Ft Washington Ave & W 178th St), 30 hilly miles

The leaves may be gone, but the beauty of Henry Hudson Drive (“River Road”) remains. In the winter you can enjoy unobstructed views of the cliffs and across the Hudson River. Best of all, most of the road will be closed to cars. There will be no road maintenance, so you do need to watch for rocks and branches, and the occasional massive landslide. Lunch and hot chocolate at State Line Lookout Inn. Bring bag lunch or $ for it, and a lock. Leaders Jim Zisfein and Rhonda Wittorf.

Sunday, February 10

Day Ride

FROSTBITE RIDE #10: UNDER & OVER THE HUDSON

10:00 AM, City Hall, 25 miles

We go to the WTC PATH station and take it to Hoboken. From there, we go straight north along the Hudson to the GWB and across to Manhattan. We pass Seinfeld's old haunt in favor of Italian, Indian eastern European cuisine. After refueling, we again follow the Hudson back to City Hall. Leaders Ed DeFreitas & others