5BBC weekend trippers enjoy the "Ore Pit" pond in Copake Falls on Harlem Valley Rail Weekend 2007. So what are your plans for this summer? Check out our 5BBC weekend vacations!

Welcome to the website of New York's Five Borough Bicycle Club. We invite you to explore these pages, then get on your bike and explore the city and countryside with us. We offer day rides every weekend and many holidays. We also offer multi-day weekend trips, monthly meetings, and classes on bike repair. And, on May 18, 2008, the 5BBC will host New York's bicycling event of the year, the Montauk Century. Your membership keeps our day rides free. If you are a 5BBC member, thank you! If you are not a 5BBC member and enjoy our day rides, please give us your support. For only $20 per year, enjoy the benefits of membership in New York's friendliest bike club.

It's Summertime!

• Well, not quite yet. But our weekend vacation program is now underway, and we have some really good weekend trips coming up really soon.
• On Memorial Day weekend, we have both an old favorite – Penn Dutch Treat, and a new favorite – Amherst Weekend. Pick one (unfortunately, you can't pick both). And enjoy your weekend!

Montauk Century update

• Return transportation and merchandise are in limited supply!

  First of all, please be assured that we DO have room for all of you on the Montauk Century bicycle ride. (FYI, Long Island is a LONG island, and we use the entire length of it.) If you haven't registered yet for the ride, you can fix that here.

  However, we are running out of LIRR tickets for return transportation. That means if you've registered for the Montauk Century but did NOT purchase return transportation, you must either (1) buy your ticket now or (2) make sure you and your bike have another way of getting home.

  Similarly, we are close to running out of this year's special ride jersey. At present, we only have L and XL sizes available, and we expect them to sell out this week. T-shirts are still available in M, L and XL sizes.

• To buy return transportation and/or merchandise if you have not done so already:
  1. Go to our Active.com registration site.
  2. Click "register now". On the next screen, choose "guest access" and then "return transportation and merchandise". The instructions are clear from then on. If you can print out a copy of your return transportation or merchandise purchase, please bring it with you on the day of the ride.
  3. When you check in for the ride, remind us if you purchased return transportation.
  4. When you finish the ride (yay!), make sure you pick up your merchandise.

Bicycletter

• The May-June issue is now available!
• And, for members only, we have the PDF edition (broadband connection recommended), complete with weblinks and in living color!

This week at the 5BBC

Ride locations - where do we meet?
Subway service advisories - can I get there?
Bulletin board - is my ride cancelled?
Weather - from the National Weather Service

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Day Ride

TRAINING RIDE #13: EATON’S NECK

8:00 AM, Cunningham Park, 90 miles

OK, you’ve done the rest - now finish the job! The scenery of the North Shore expands on this beautiful trip and the main century event is just one week away. If you’re ready for this 90 miler you’ll have no problem with the full century coming up. Leaders: Dennis Griffin and Ira Najowitz

Day Ride

EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY FIRE ESCAPE RIDE (SECOND ALARM!)

10:00 AM, Kew Gardens, 20-25 miles

The weather extinguished our first “alarm” ride, but disasters still go on 8-10 times a day in our town. You guessed it! Fires top the list. This ride to “The Fire Zone,” in Midtown, will have you caught in the riveting drama of a real life simulated fire. And should the actual thing ever happen, you’ll feel much better prepared to save your life and the lives of friends and family. Hold on! It’s not all serious. You’ll have a chance to darn your turnout gear, get behind the wheel of an engine and shop for some official FDNY gadgets and toys. Bring $6 admission fee along with lock and money for lunch at a local eatery. (Anyone for 5 alarm chili?) Rain, snow or icy conditions at start cancels. Leaders: Richard Sanford and Julia Cohen

Sunday May 11, 2008

Day Ride

METRIC TRAINING RIDE #4: PIERMONT

9:00 AM, Columbus Circle, 50 miles

Our metric series concludes with an old standard - Piermont, NY. Enjoy the hills, green pastures and river views. We’ll visit the pier that extends nearly a mile into the mighty Hudson. Bring lunch dough and a camera. Leaders: Marina Bekkerman & Ed DeFreitas

Day Ride

LUNCH AT THE GREAT HUNGER MEMORIAL

9:30 AM, RING Garden in upper Manhattan; Take “A” train to Dyckman St / 200th St., 30 miles

The Great Hunger Memorial in Irvington commemorates the suffering of the millions of Irish who died from the 19th-century potato famine or were forced to leave their country. The location of this memorial, by the Saw Mill River near a cluster of picnic tables, also makes it an ideal spot for lunch. Much of our ride will be on the South County Trailway (the right-of-way of the defunct "Old Put" railroad) and will include a 2-mile unpaved (but very rideable) section. Bring lunch or $ for it. Leader: Jim Zisfein

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Bicycle Class

HOW TO FIX A FLAT

6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Hostelling International, 891 Amsterdam Avenue (at 103rd Street), Manhattan, in the back yard.
Learn to change a flat tire and feel confident on the road. This hands-on class will help you learn how to change your tube and what tools to carry. This course is FREE for 5BBC members and riders/volunteers on the Montauk Century 2008. (If you're not a club member, you can fix that here.) Registration for this course is NOT required, just show up with your bike and with a pump and tire levers (if you have them).

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Special Event
THE MONTAUK CENTURY 2008

Penn Station and Babylon NY. 65, 100, or 145 miles.
Registration required.
It doesn't get any more special than this.

Phooey on overpriced bicycling trips!

• We've put together a series of enjoyable and affordable weekend vacations exclusively for 5BBC members. We're going to Montréal, Cape Cod, Cape May, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Maryland's Eastern Shore, Coastal Long Island and Connecticut, the Berkshires, the Taconics, the Hudson Valley, and the Delaware Water Gap. Join your 5BBC friends for a weekend (or two weekends, or three) of bicycling bliss.
• Early-bird discounts apply, and if you find a weekend trip you like, you can register right now. Even if you're not ready to sign up, you can click here; there's no charge for looking. See you on a 5BBC weekend trip!

To our ex-members

• If you have not renewed your 5BBC membership for 2008, you are being dropped from our member list. You won't receive our newsletter or weekly email, or be eligible for our weekend trips, or get club discounts at your local bike shops. But you can fix that for the measly sum of $20.

We Have Pictures!

• Picture yourself on a 5BBC ride. Better yet, go on a 5BBC ride, and take a picture! These photographs are from recent rides and events. To add your own, email your photo to webmaster@5bbc.org.

5BBC sues the NYPD to keep group bicycling legal

• We have the details and current status here.
• Our parade permit lawsuit is attracting media attention. Here are links to articles in The Village Voice, NY Metro, Streetsblog, and AM New York.

The 5BBC Store

Our Five Icons of New York design shows the 5BBC logo cycling around icons representing each of the five boroughs: the SI Ferry, the Washington Square Arch, the NY Botanical Garden Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the Unisphere, and the Brooklyn Bridge. What better way to show off your favorite city, and your favorite bicycle club. Order it either online or by mail.

Our merchandise carries the 5BBC logo. Wear it with pride.

LOOK

• No one ever sees a cyclist before a crash.
• Half of the 110,000 cyclists in New York City have experienced accidents with cars. It seems that cyclists have almost become invisible to drivers.
• This is a serious problem. However, the solution is not complicated. It's simple.
• In order to stop the accidents, drivers need to see cyclists and cyclists must see drivers, before it's too late. Preventing accidents boils down to one simple action.
• Look.
• The NYC Bicycle Safety Coalition, in collaboration with the NYC Department of Transportation and other city agencies, has launched a public awareness campaign to remind all New Yorkers to take this one simple action.
• You will see ads on buses, bus shelters, taxi tops, and phone kiosks. Drivers of motor vehicles will see these ads too.
• 5BBC is proud to be a member of the NYC Bicycle Safety Coalition and a co-sponsor of this campaign.

Have a safe ride

• New York City has announced a plan of citywide bicycle safety improvements that will make your ride safer in the years to come. These include road improvements based on a 10-year study of NYC bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries, 200 miles of new bike paths and lanes, an advertising campaign to increase motorist and cyclist awareness of each other and make clear a cyclist's right to the road, increased enforcement of laws against motorists who endanger cyclists, and support for state legislation to require better visibility on large vehicles and increased fines for parking in bicycle lanes.
• This action by the city was no accident. Your bicycle club, along with Transportation Alternatives and other bicycling and advocacy groups, developed the Bicycle Safety Action Plan and has been working for the past year to get the city to recognize that cyclist deaths and serious injuries are preventable. We're glad the city now agrees.
• In the meantime, remember that safe bicycle riding begins with YOU. Here are some of our favorite tips for a safe ride.
• Of course, accidents will happen, and it's best to be prepared for them. Here are 5BBC ride leader Susan Rodetis's suggestions for some things you should carry with you when riding.

5BBC members stay informed

• Bicycletter, our bimonthly newsletter, keeps us informed with feature articles, details of all club rides, and much, much more. Read your online copy.
• 5BBC Weekly Update, our email newsletter, lists upcoming rides and other bicycling events. If you are a 5BBC member and would like to subscribe, drop a note to communications@5bbc.org.
• Is my ride cancelled? For late-breaking news, including weather-related cancellations, visit our bulletin board. Want messages to reach you on the road? Click here to enter your cell phone email address, and here to start bulletin board email delivery.
• Can't get to a computer? Information on 5BBC activities, including upcoming day rides, is as close as your phone. Call 212-932-2300 ext 115, or point your mobile phone browser to 5bbc.org/mobile.sht.

Who needs a folding bike?

• Arrive at your destination with your full-size bike and start pedaling. Borrow our bike case for free. It's another reason to be a 5BBC member!