# 2017 gfny



## artie159

In again for another day of fun.
Any one else riding ??


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## boogermin

artie159 said:


> In again for another day of fun.
> Any one else riding ??


Disregard.


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## AlanE

$329 to register? Did I read that right?


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## MaxKatt

AlanE said:


> $329 to register? Did I read that right?


Almost. There's also a $16.45 registration fee, but that total includes a bottle of wine and a jersey.


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## mtrac

Imagine the "Eureka!" moment when someone realized people would fall over themselves to pay $345 for the same bike ride they could normally do free. And drop $189 on a souvenir jersey and pay $700 to rent a bike.


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## MaxKatt

mtrac said:


> Imagine the "Eureka!" moment when someone realized people would fall over themselves to pay $345 for the same bike ride they could normally do free. And drop $189 on a souvenir jersey and pay $700 to rent a bike.


Well, the $345 is for last minute sign ups. 

I've done it a couple times. It is a lot of fun, and despite my joking I did find it very much worth it. 

If you sign-up early...especially right after you do the ride...I think you can get in for like $200 or something. There's discounts. The longer you wait, the higher $ it climbs.


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## taodemon

I usually won't pay more than 50-60 to do a ride. I like the design and colors on the kit. but not enough to spend the amount of money required to get them.


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## D&MsDad

Thanks for the reminder, I put it in my calendar so I'll remember to ride West that day and avoid the ride.

GFNY seems to be worth it for many, many people - it is surely very popular. For me, however, it isn't worth it to pay that much to ride on roads I ride on all of the time. 

Have fun, though, the ride does take in some nice roads.

(Edit: getting less nice, however. They've cut down even MORE trees on Gate Hill Rd. between Blanchard and Willow Grove, to make room for those stupid mansions. That used to be a nice stretch of road, especially in the fall with all of the colors. Now half of it is pretty much a wasteland. Progress!!)

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## AlanE

$189 for a jersey? Did I read that right?


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## AlanE

All derision aside, I came to the conclusion a long time ago that lots of people are willing to pay a premium to participate in a "BIG EVENT !!!" like GFNY. It's not the ride so much that appeals to them, but to be part of the big crowd. It may seem justifiable to shell out a few Benjamins when you show up and see that there are thousands of other like-minded people. But imagine if you paid the same fee for exactly the same ride, but when you show up there are only a dozen or so other riders. You would probably think to yourself "What a rip off. Not much different than a typical club or shop ride."

The other thing about being "part of the crowd" is that it doesn't always last. I did an event last week with about 150 riders. It was a mass start, and after about 5 miles, most (if not all) of the faster riders were ahead of me, and the slower riders were behind me. So for most of the rest of the ride I hardly saw anyone else until I got to the finish.


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## taodemon

If I had a group of friends that were doing it I might consider it. I have a friend that did it a few years back.


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## Bee-an-key

I get the attraction of the ride, especially if you are not from the NYC area. Chance to ride the GWB, traffic control at intersections, etc. But... I don't want the jersey (and have to wear it) or the wine. Cut out the extra's and bring the price down and let the people wear what they want although it hurts the advertising aspect. If something comes up, sick/injury/family/weather, and I couldn't ride, I would miss that money and be pissed. If it was only $50-$60 I would be ok. Lastly, who wants to ride with a bunch of guys that are so serious about it that they dope to win?


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## tommybike

Bee-an-key said:


> I get the attraction of the ride, especially if you are not from the NYC area. Chance to ride the GWB, traffic control at intersections, etc. But... I don't want the jersey (and have to wear it) or the wine. Cut out the extra's and bring the price down and let the people wear what they want although it hurts the advertising aspect. If something comes up, sick/injury/family/weather, and I couldn't ride, I would miss that money and be pissed. If it was only $50-$60 I would be ok. Lastly, who wants to ride with a bunch of guys that are so serious about it that they dope to win?


Yeah the wine is nothing great. I have more than enough jerseys but honestly these are probably my favorite jerseys. It is overpriced but it is NY. Really my biggest criticism is the start is terrible. Who cares about the bridge start it someplace less congested and safer. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk


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## MaxKatt

It's also important to remember it's not a "ride," but really a race, and part of a global race series.

I think part of the high cost, elevated course, and early season (NE) schedule are designed to perhaps discourage the more casual $60 organized ride participants. 

Even if you can't win, place, or even be anywhere near the top, I think they're looking for more serious cyclists seeking to really push themselves and establish personal best times year-after-year and such. 

It's supposed to be fun, and it is, but it definitely has a different feel vs. Bloomin' Metric or SeaGull Century, etc. It's a race. You're supposed to be racing. ...Be a Pro for a Day.


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## lostPixels

You're paying a premium for the experience. I had a blast when I did a couple of years ago but now living in VT, getting up to the specs needed to do the full ride is very tough with such an early ride in the season. Otherwise I would definitely sign up again in a heartbeat.

You ever seen 25 cyclists pissing off the GW bridge at the same time? With a helicopter filming them?!


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## Mergetrio

That's a nice pair of carbon shoes!


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## 9W9W

AlanE said:


> $189 for a jersey? Did I read that right?


Alan, my man! 

Slow and methodical....first the chip about the reg fees.....lays low and hits 'em again with the jersey cost. 

Niiiiice. Respect the approach.


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## Solidjake

Expensive but some day I hope to do that event when I get more miles in and tackle that route many more times.


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## MMsRepBike

Bunch of blow hards.


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## cnardone

AlanE said:


> $329 to register? Did I read that right?


I think "Yikes!!!" when I see that as well. But I am wondering what it takes the organizers to get MTA to shut down the GW bridge. Do they have to pay for that? I assume it also costs to have towns support the ride? Safe intersections etc... This is the NY Metro area. Everything is more expensive here.

I'd love to do this ride some day. I am just not in shape to do it. However, last year I saw a guy so large his stomach completely covered the top tube (while standing, not riding) just before mile marker 62. So I've got to believe with a little work, I can get there.


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## Solidjake

Anyone recall the inital cost of the ride once registration opens? I'm down to do it next year. It will be tough but I will finish it.


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## FasterStronger

MMsRepBike said:


> Bunch of blow hards.


care to expand your thoughts?


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## 9W9W

I live in the area and put my baby in one of those baby harness things and went out for a walk. I was surprised at the relatively low turnout at the finish line "village". The weather was spectacular and better than it has been in years still people were only lined up single file with holes to duck into. Most seemed like they were family or riders too.


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## Solidjake

Registered for next year


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## dcorn

Me and a couple friends have done it twice and the experience is worth it. We make a full weekend out of it and have a grand old time. (We are in our early to mid 30s for reference, I guess I was 28 the first year...)

The first time we did it was 2013. A friend who was training for triathlons was like "let's do this big cool ride in NYC!". So we came up Thursday and crashed at his friend's place in downtown. Went out on the town a few times, rode our bikes all over the city and such, had a great time. Then came the day of the ride. They make you get there 1.5 hrs early for security purposes and we were a 30 minute ride from the start. So we left our place at like 4am in a slight drizzle and pitch dark to ride up the Hudson trail to the bridge. While we're waiting, the wind is howling and we're freezing our asses off. The weather was supposed to be mid 60s and clear, so we dressed for that. Finally we started and got out from under the bridge and hit a wall of rain. It never stopped raining the whole time and the temp hovered around low to mid 50s. We finished the ride, but I'm 100% positive I was borderline hypothermic for most of it. Thankfully the ferry dropped us off about a mile from the place we were staying so we could get inside and get warm again. Crazy experience that we'll never forget. 

Second time was in 2015, came back to conquer NY again and hope for better weather. Well, we got it in the form of sunny and probably mid 80s all day. Even though it appeared to be the same route as before, my Garmin recorded almost 10k feet of climbing instead of the 7k from 2013. Either way, it was nice to do the ride in better weather. We could see all the sights instead of clouds and rain everywhere. We could attack the descents instead of being terrified going down hill and around corners in the wet. Definitely better in these conditions. 


Overall, I enjoyed the time riding with my friends and the experiences we gained. I do think the start needs to be changed. The first year wasn't so bad because thousands of people bailed due to the rain. I think they had 2k or so instead of the 7k registered. In 2015 with the full amount of people, the start was scary. Wall to wall riders, many of them seemed to be unfamiliar with group riding. Then you're going around a bunch of corners, down off ramps, and into a narrow park road that is lined with huge rocks and the street is lined with tiny sharp rock shards. I got a flat the first year only a few miles in because of the rock shards in the park. We would pass people on the uphills only to have them come flying dangerously past us on the downhills. It took a while to get away from the pack and lose the novice riders. Just so many people unsafely passing others and not knowing riding etiquette. On the climb of Bear Mtn, I actually had to grab some dude's handlebars to stabilize us both after he knocked into me trying to push too hard up the hill. 

My friend wants to do it again for old time's sake, but I said twice is enough. I also thought we would get to ride around the city a bit more, but you don't at all, so that's kind of false advertisement. Oh, and the 'Expo' they hold when you sign up is terrible, having like 10 vendors selling really off the wall products. So dumb.


For all of you asking the price, since the 2017 ride was just last weekend, it's only $220 to sign up for next year. That includes the jersey which they are selling separately for $190.


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## Solidjake

^ Thanks for sharing! Next year I'll be 29 when I do the race.

I didn't know the jersey comes part of the fee... very nice. I assume you will have to pay for the bib separately and it's mandatory for the race, right?


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## MMsRepBike

FasterStronger said:


> care to expand your thoughts?


Post 25 sums it up well enough.


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## greg12666

Why not just ride the route with a couple of friends for free ??? It's worth the ride.


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## Bee-an-key

Not my thing, but scanned the results and was amazed to see how many international riders there were. Lot's of Euro, South American, Mexico, Canada. Looks like it has grown into more than the NY/NJ thing and really has become an international event. The fact that it is part of a larger series has made it a great trip for many people. Good for them. Look at Red Hook, what was a small group of friends celebrating a birthday in cool messenger style has evolved into a big movement with big sponsor names and multiple events.


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## merckxman

Today is last day for $219 registration.


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## PCM

dcorn said:


> I also thought we would get to ride around the city a bit more, but you don't at all, so that's kind of false advertisement.


If you're looking for a ride that goes around the city, check out Bike MS NYC in the fall. Traffic-free loop of Manhattan using the West Side Highway, FDR Drive, and Henry Hudson Pkwy.


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## chriscc63

God bless all of you ho are capable of riding the fondo


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## artie159

2018 GFNY on the way


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## FasterStronger

artie159 said:


> 2018 GFNY on the way


yup - going again too!
heres a summary and video of last year’s ride:
GFNY NYC - Cycling with Diabetes


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