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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Just can't stay away
 
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Lots of my bike racer friends have gotten LT tests done at EnduranceWerx in Manhattan:
http://endurancewerx.com/blood-lactate-threshold-test/ Have heard good things about the sports medicine dept. at NYU Langone. If your concern is more about determining if you're in shape to undertake a training regimen, rather than determining what your HR/power zones are for training, a place like that is a better bet. Probably $$$, tho. http://nyulangone.org/locations/sport ... ports-performance-testing
Posted on: 2017/8/6 1:33
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Home away from home
 
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I looked into this a few months ago (perhaps toward the end of last year?) and found a place over in Bergen County that came highly recommended. Approximate cost for a VO2 Max test battery was about $125, which seemed appropriate. I don't have the information with me, but I will try to dig it up.
Posted on: 2017/8/5 15:37
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Home away from home
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As part of a new running/biking challenge... looking for a sport medicine place with the equipment to do a fitness test measuring VO2 (VO2 max, lactate), EKG irregularities if seen. I would prefer not to spend an arm and a leg on this - otherwise I will need to do it abroad.. Thanks for any ref you may have.
Posted on: 2017/8/5 10:28
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Just can't stay away
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Can anyone recommend a location for some decent mountain bike trails within 30 minutes or so of JC by car?
Posted on: 2016/7/20 16:43
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Home away from home
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Since putting these on my bike have not gotten a flat in months, I ride hard jumping curbs and know all about pinch flats. http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tir ... tires/Marathon_Plus_HS440
Posted on: 2016/7/19 20:10
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Home away from home
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THIS. I am surprised that this is even an issue. The lanes are clearly labeled with stencils on the ground that indicate where riders and pedestrians should be, yet you still find lots of knuckleheads clogging up bike only lanes, sometimes erratically meandering while on their phones. I have even come across people pushing strollers on these bike-only lanes.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 19:12
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Home away from home
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Actually, the most likely culprit of recurrent, repeated flat tires on bikes is a need to install / replace the rim tape in your wheels. If your bike is new, stop by Grove Street Bikes and buy rim tape (you will need two rolls, at about 5 bucks each) and then go home and take apart your wheel and replace the thin elastic shit they put in at the factory. Replacing the rim tape is the absolute best thing you can do for ensuring you don't get flats from the tube digging into the spoke holes during rides.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 19:07
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Home away from home
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Are you sure that you?re getting flat tires from punctures? A couple decades ago when I was putting in around 200 miles a week, I had surprisingly few flat tires from punctures. The rest were all snakebite/pinch flats from bottoming-out on potholes, or not hopping far enough over railroad tracks and obstacles. Low inflation pressure will also result in more pinch flats. A habit I picked up early on from a more experienced rider was to frequently brush debris from the tires with my fingers?and immediately after riding through something that looked suspicious. The theory was that it gave sharp bits less time to work their way into the rubber. You just have to watch that you don?t get your hand stuck between the seat tube and rear tire, so a good practice is to hook your thumb around the seat stay. Good luck.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 17:57
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Home away from home
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Grove Street Bikes has resumed doing rides every Sunday morning, usually moderately fast (15-22 mph) road rides to the GWB and back, and sometimes beyond. No drop.
They meet 7:30 a.m. at their shop at 365 Grove St. (please note the shop is not open at this time), and leave at 8. They say they are now doing it every Sunday except for holidays and bad weather. Just show up with your bike! Grove St. Bikes, and the Bike JC nonprofit advocacy group, which I'm a part of, both also do occasional slow cruises, light-up rides, family-oriented rides, etc., but I don't think that's what you're talking about!
Posted on: 2016/7/19 17:22
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Home away from home
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While I agree completely that the West Side bike path isn't the place to try to reach VO2 max, you hit on another issue as well: pedestrians. In the areas of the path where things are most congested (from 58th street south and numerous other stretches to the north), there is a separate walkway for pedestrians. Pedestrians have no business on the bike path. Runners, sure. Roller bladers, fine. Adults on kiddie scooters - not the best look, but okay. But if you are just ambling along (probably either talking on your cell phone, texting and/or listening to music), for the love of god - please stay off the bikeway.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 16:43
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Home away from home
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Sort of off-topic but probably applies to at least some people on this thread: Could ya not be one of those people who pedals up the West Side bike path at 30 miles an hour screaming GET OUT OF THE WAY!! at pedestrians and slower bikers? We get that you're training for the Tour de France, but:
A. you look and sound like a tool B. eventually I will go totally insane and stick a broomstick in your wheel.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 15:59
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Sure with quick release hubs it's not an issue, just thin road bike tires and me are prone to flats and I'm thinking riding on the stretch of River Road in Weehawken up to cut in for 9w near Ft Lee is shit. I've tried GatorSkin Hardshells and still gotten flat tires and have since moved to hybrid bikes w/ a Gates belt drive and Schwabble marathon tires - it's not the long haul type setup by far but for aggressive city riding - perfect.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 15:41
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Home away from home
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Quote:
I do the same thing coming back. River road after about 8 or 9am on the weekends is too crazy.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 15:12
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Home away from home
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Quote:
Once you have done it a couple of times, changing a tire is super easy and can be accomplished in under 5 minutes: you flip the quick release, tap out the wheel, put in the first tire lever in, use the second to get the tire all the way out, pull the tube, fix tube (or, use a new one) and then do the reverse. If you have CO2 cartridges, you will be done even sooner, but lots of people ride with small pumps. Either way, you get used to it. Definitely lots of debris on the roads around here. I used to get flats ALL THE TIME in BK (usually when riding the BK bridge to MetroTech, where a client of mine is located) but I had a two year stretch without any flats. There are a bunch of YouTube videos on the subject that show you how to do it. In the end, the key thing is to have the right tools, which usually fit into a tiny little pouch that you can easily put in the back pocket of your jersey, or at least that's what I do.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 15:00
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A nice alternative to riding into Piermont & Nyack is to head a little further west and then take County Rte 501/Knickerbocker. Keep pedaling north, and you will reach the Old Tappan/Piermont border. The area will then look familiar to you.
Riding through River Rd, the main road below the palisades, is okay in the morning. Coming back though, cycling up top of the palisade is much nicer. Follow 9W south, passing through Fort Lee into Cliffside Park. From there I think the roads are by name Lemoine Avenue, then JFK Blvd East, the road that is furthest east up on the palisade. It is very intuitive, no map needed. Just keep heading south and you cannot go wrong. There's much less traffic, calmer roads, and you get unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 14:19
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9W by Piermont can be tricky. A 2-lane road with literally no shoulder in places, with bushes on both sides, steep descents, etc. I don't ride there, but I drive there every day to work. I try to give bikers a wide berth (crossing the double yellow line), but sometimes have to follow a biker or come to a full stop. I bet a lot of drivers are not as careful as am.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 13:59
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I've never gotten a flat on River Road. Yes, you can use fairly robust tires, and should always bring a spare tube, flat repair kit, etc on any ride more than, say, 30-60 minutes.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 13:37
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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Just can't stay away
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if you can work up to doing 3- or 4-hour rides, Jersey City is not a bad place at all to live as a cyclist.
Piermont via 9W and/or Henry Hudson Parkway (aka ?River Road?) is a very popular destination for NYC-area riders, about 50 miles round trip from JC. So that?s probably a couple hours up, coffee/muffin/pee break, then a couple hours back. If you?re leaving early (i.e., 7 - 8 am) on a weekend, traffic on the way up will be quite light. Traffic will be heavier on your return trip, but after you?ve done it a few times you?ll probably get used to it - or you can allow a little more time and jump on and off the completed sections of the Hudson River path to minimize your exposure to traffic. If you?re comfortable doing rides of that length, NYCC is a great option for group rides, at any speed / ability level. If you?re looking for places to do shorter rides locally, Lincoln Park is really good, with the new 2-way protected bike lane around the main 1.3-mile loop in the park, and the lovely and easy off-road trails in the western part of the park, and along the Hackensack River waterfront through the new golf course. Liberty State Park and the waterfront path south to Port Liberte is also excellent and very scenic. When the Bayonne Bridge was open for bike/foot traffic, I did quite a few rides to Staten Island. That bridge was about 2/3 the distance as GWB, and less traffic, but once you got to Staten Island, you had to ride a few less-pleasant miles before you got to the good stuff. So those ended up being 3+ hour trips - with the option to take the SI Ferry and PATH from WTC or ferry back to JC if you desired. Not sure what timing is now for Bayonne Bridge bike/ped facility to reopen - I?d guess a couple years & not holding my breath. iGreg - correct - it is beneficial to carry some simple tools and learn how to use them, so you don't have to call your mommy if you get a flat or a boo-boo on your ride. Also, after you've done a few rides, you quickly learn where the glass/crap tends to be in the road, and how to avoid it - lessening the likelihood of flats / boo-boos.
Posted on: 2016/7/19 2:39
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How do you deal with flats while on a long ride like that? Gatorskin hard-shells ? or just carry extra tubes and co2 inflaters and a small tool kit? The river road stretch is crap loaded with all sorts of road wash like glass and crap that cause flats.
Posted on: 2016/7/18 20:43
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There are more than a dozen. The thing is, they are all of different levels of ability, different availability, different interests, different schedules. To support a dozen people consistently every Saturday, you'd probably need 50-75 people or more. Plus, people willing to plan rides and lead on a regular basis. And if it's in JC, as noted, where do you go? Let's face it, Hudson County is not exactly superb cycling territory. I for one wouldn't be thrilled if every group ride, every Saturday, started with the same ride up to Palisades Park or 9W. Plus, lots of people in bike clubs drive or commute 30+ minutes to the start of a club ride. It's not that big of a deal.
Posted on: 2016/7/18 18:51
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I am unsure what the status of the Bayonne Bridge is of late. When I did ride over it, it was a fun trek. Sometimes the high cross winds can test your mettle cycling over the bridge. I've then ridden the northern perimeter of Staten Island up to Ft. Wadsworth park/Verrazano Bridge, and then catch the free Staten Island ferry into NYC and go from there.
I have not done the 1/9 truck route bridge through Newark by bike. By car, it is not a pretty area to drive to say the least, but then again it is a truck route. That area, Newark, Linden, Elizabeth, etc. is much like Hudson County - densely populated, traffic lights galore. I've done NYCC group rides whereby I take the PATH to Newark PENN, and then meetup with the group to ride NJ Transit to New Brunswick. From there we would ride nearby the D&R Canal, to New Hope, PA and vicinity. Ride down to Trenton, sometimes catch the train from there back to NYC/NWK/JC, or circle back through Princeton area to ride back to New Brunswick to catch the train. Another similar ride will do the covered bridges of that area of NJ. Other central/south NJ, unconventional NYCC club rides ride entails one like take the ferry from NYC (or Paulus hook) to Sandy Hook and ride around Monmouth County. I have also lead NYCC group rides out in Hunterdon County/PA border (accessible by car, only).
Posted on: 2016/7/18 15:13
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Newbie
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I was looking for a bike group out of JC, or even Hoboken, this past winter. I came up with nothing. I ended up joining the NYCC. It's affordable and there are plenty of options - I'm a B/B+ weekend warrior. It is a drag to haul my bike on the PATH Saturday and Sunday mornings, you'd be amazed how crowded those early morning trains can be! I have to leave my apt in downtown JC 1.5-2hrs before the ride is supposed to start. (Rides usually meet/start in Riverside Park.) I might start meeting them on the NJ side of the GWB, but River Rd. is treacherous south of the bridge, I'm not a huge fan of riding that stretch.
The more I've thought about a group in JC, the more I realize that it would be virtually impossible to ride anywhere around us. You really have to jump west of Newark, lord knows I don't want to ride those roads, north into Bergen county, or way south. We're just not located conveniently to bike routes.
Posted on: 2016/7/18 14:12
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Thanks, Ralph and Greg - but a century in LSP??? OMG - I'd probably shove a screwdriver in my eye after the seventh lap just to end the monotony... Impressive!
You are right about the options being extremely limited. I ride up over the GWB and down the west side path a couple of times a week on the way to work (did it this morning, in fact) and ride up that way on Saturdays to get up into Palisades park, so I guess I'm searching for a miracle - something different. I've ridden west a couple of times over the 1/9 truck route bridge through Newark and west, but at 6am on a Sunday. The idea of riding as a group going that way might make trips west more feasible, from a safety in numbers approach I've thought about going over the Bayonne bridge - I ran over it and back when training for marathons - and thought maybe riding around Staten Island might be something interesting, but haven't done it yet and am not sure of whether that is even an option right now with the big project going on.
Posted on: 2016/7/18 12:54
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Re: Organized local group bike rides
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PATH to WTC and pick up the bike lane that runs along West Side Hwy - it's not Ironman long but a decent ride up and back. http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/
Posted on: 2016/7/18 12:12
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I understand your sentiment, but the thing with JC is it s not geograhically ideal.
As much as I like riding in Liberty State park, to the point where I have done several 5 hour nonstop century rides, the options are very limited. A short trip south is Bayonne, then water. heading west is really not a pleasant option, east is the river, so it is 13 miles due north before the roads open up past the GWB. That is you are riding a bunch of junk miles in stop and go traffic...lots of traffic lights anywhere in the immediate area of densely packed Hudson and lower Bergen counties. That leaves you packing your bike in a car, taking a train, or .....riding with NYC folk to many places in the tristate area. I even did a ride where I covered ground in 4 states in one day NY/NJ/CT/MA on a club ride. A club that large you will find cyclists of the same fitness and ability that matches yours, as well as rides offered on a regular basis that match the same.
Posted on: 2016/7/18 2:28
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Quite a regular
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maybe check w/ Grove Strike Bicycles if they know of any? there is a bikejc group that does the ward tour but i dont think they do long organized rides fyi, i assume when you say 'ride 12 miles to the start' you are referring to going up past the GW to catch a ride up 9W. if so, i do that ride basically every saturday morning, never w/ a group though (i was also looking for a group). i just do it by myself or with a friend and sometimes ill catch on with a group of 3-4 additional riders
Posted on: 2016/7/17 19:38
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Thank, everyone.
Heights - BTCNJ is the club I belonged to for a couple of years. I think I may have met you on one of their rides. Good rides, nice group of people and I'll probably still ride with them occasionally, but I'd like to have something locally reliable that doesn't require me to pack up and drive at least 45 minutes to get to a ride - sometimes an hour. Boodipah - I had a bad experience with a bike that I bought at Gotham quite a while ago and don't intend to go back. Sids (19th between 6th and 7th) is far superior. But neither works for what I'm hoping to find - a local (i.e. in Jersey City) meet up for a ride. I've checked out NYCC in the past and will probably join but its far from the ideal JC answer. It would be great in a city of ~ 275,000 to be able to find a dozen or so people who regularly ride and not have to go through an ordeal to get to the start of a ride (whether its loading up a car, catching PATH/Ferry to get there or riding 12 miles to the start of a ride.)
Posted on: 2016/7/17 13:32
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New York Cycle Club
www.nycc.org. No car needed and the most frequent and variety of group rides by far in the area.
Posted on: 2016/7/17 11:52
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If you have a car you can meet up with this group based in Bergen County.
www.btcnj.com They have different levels from (A) to (D) riders. Depending on the speed, distance, and terrain, along with the departure time and location will determine the choice of rides offered. There are 30 different meeting places and their main staple is the Weekend warrior Saturday / Sunday rides. Travelling throughout suburban and rural Northern and Western New Jersey. Go on their website for further information.
Posted on: 2016/7/17 4:45
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Get on your bikes and ride !
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Not aware of any in JC, but every bike shop I have visited or patronized in NYC has group rides, or can point you to other local shops or clubs that do these rides. If you are looking for the closest such shop, check out Gotham Bikes (now owned by Toga) in TriBeCa. Cool shop with lots of bikes, and usually pretty helpful with stuff. It's a quick, short ride north from the WTC PATH station. If you want something closer to midtown, there is a shop on 14th St, right outside the PATH station there, but I can't remember the name at the moment.
Posted on: 2016/7/17 3:32
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