I recently visited the Empire State for the first time to
ride a century. I’ve been a part of a small email group of vintage cycling nuts
like myself for a couple of years now and when the group began planning a
century tour of the eastern part of Long Island (where one group member spends
his summers) I took the opportunity to see a part of the US I hadn’t yet
visited and to finally meet, face to face, many of these guys with whom I’ve
traded parts, sought wrenching advice and discussed the finer points of all
things cycling.
I flew into JFK and traveled to Penn Station to meet up with
one member where we enjoyed several Belgian beers while waiting for another to
finish up his day at the office. Then three of us took a cab to the Meat Packing
District and enjoyed the beers and food offerings at the Standard Hotel
Biergarten before taking a rental car to our host’s home in central Long
Island.
Much of Friday was spent preparing our bikes for Saturday’s
ride and "talking shop" as various guys trickled in by car or train and set up tents in yard. I didn’t travel with my bike. Since our host rides the same size frames as I do he offered to loan me a bike, a Dutch made Cera 531 frame with a mixed drivetrain that just plain works. As was to be expected, all of the bikes were vintage (or at least classic) bikes with lots of character. Present were a 1972 Mercian, a 70s Wes Mason, a modified Lambert with homemade LED lights and an SX3 hub, an 853 Lemond, an early 70s Olympia, an ’83 Waterford Paramount, ’79 Peugeot PK-10, 80s Univega Gran Turismo, the 650b Bilenky Constructeur tandem built for the 2010 NAHBS and reviewed by Bicycle Quarterly in Volume 9, No. 2, among others.
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| Wes Mason and Lambert by sommervillebikes |
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| Early 70s Olympia by sommervillebikes |
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| Bilenky Constructeur tandem by sommervillebikes |
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| Cera |
Our host had
thoroughly planned a 116 mile route of the eastern half of the island, taking
us through small beach communities, the Hamptons, farms, wineries, historic
points of interests and the like. The
terrain was relatively flat (~2,700 ft of climbing) as compared to most of the
riding we do here in Louisville and the surrounding area, but it’s not
“pancake” flat like you’ll find in south Florida or the like. The roads are
generally in very good condition and bike lanes are plentiful.
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| Our route |
We set out just before 6am on Saturday and traveled a few
miles to a diner to fuel up. One of the riders had traveled from New Hampshire
and had brought a jug of New Hampshire Grade B (darker and richer) maple syrup,
which is rarely, if ever shipped out of state. That beats colored corn syrup on
your flapjacks for sure. We headed east around the south shore of the island,
took two ferries to navigate the eastern tip of the island and back along the
north shore of the island.
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| photo by sommervillebikes
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| Dune Rd by sommervillebikes
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It was a great ride, with a high in the low 90s and high
humidity, to which we here are accustomed. The riding was great, but the camaraderie,
conversation and new terrain and things to see made it special for me. Perhaps
the most interesting part of the ride was what we referred to as The Great
Portage, a 400 yard traverse of a beach to connect with another road. Ah, shoes
full of sand!
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| photo by sommervillebikes
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| The Great Sand Purge by sommervillebikes |
It was a great weekend for me and I’m thankful to have had
the opportunity to have done it. Many thanks to our gracious host and family
for the detailed planning and a fantastic ride!
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| photo by sommervillebikes
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| photo by sommervillebikes
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| photo by sommervillebikes
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| photo by sommervillebikes
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| photo by sommervillebikes
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by Justin
