Did anyone do this event on a unicycle or know of someone who did? A bicyclist friend of mine says he did not see any unicyclists.
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ
AFAIK No Unatics participated. We had a great meeting though! Later in the summer, there are other NYC rides, I believe, that unicyclists (including a few Unatics) participate in.
All the times I rode in it (between 1985 and 1994), there were other unicyclists besides me and my friends. A lot of unicyclists start the ride, but don’t finish it. One year the Ringling Bros. Circus was in town, and a group of King Charles riders came down for the ride. I think this was a press showing more than anything else, because I think they ducked out after less than three blocks.
There were about 20,000 riders in the event, which used to be called the 5-Boro Bike Tour, which means it would be really easy to not see some of the other riders. Unicycles are going to be slow, and if you ride near the front of the group chances are you’ll never see them.
5-Boro/Bike New York unicyclists over the years:
- John Foss
- Bradley Bradley
- Ken Fuchs
- Harold Herzig
- King Charles Troupe (do they count?)
- David Ramos
- Various members of Big Apple Unicycle Club (I can’t remember all their names)
- Javier Ruiz
Those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. Can’t remember if Greg Milstein did it on a unicycle.
I highly recommend the ride as a great way to see lots of interesting cycles and people, and ride some cool places you’ll never get to ride otherwise, like up the middle of 6th Avenue, Down the FDR Drive, over the 59th St. Bridge, and the Verrazano Bridge. If you poop out, you can take shorter versions of the ride. One year, we cut out in Brooklyn and made our way over to the Brooklyn Bridge, and crossed back that way. That’s a very cool bridge to ride across, which you can do any day.
If you plan on riding a unicycle in the ride, let the organizers know. Back when it was sponsored by Citibank and American Youth Hostels, they always invited special cycles to the front of the pack, at the starting line. That’s how I got my unicycle pictured in the New York Post and the Daily News. Plus more people get to see you, and you get a slight jump on the pack.
Re: Bike New York - May 4th, 2003
johnfoss.myv50@timelimit.unicyclist.com writes:
>
>5-Boro/Bike New York unicyclists over the years:
>- John Foss
>- Bradley Bradley
>- Ken Fuchs
>- Harold Herzig
>- King Charles Troupe (do they count?)
>- David Ramos
>- Various members of Big Apple Unicycle Club (I can’t remember all their
>names)
>- Javier Ruiz
Recently there have been a few more from the NYUC (Unatics) who unicycled
the Bike NY ride.
David Stone (that’s me)
John Stone (of EUT fame)
Joe Merrill (NYUC co-founder)
Joe had to cab it over to a hospital after 14 miles or so for stitches
when his nasty pedals gave him a nastier gash after an otherwise mild
(S-2) UPD.
In 2001, John and I rode the whole thing. John started out in the front,
as Foss noted, but Joe and I caught up with him nearer to where we lived,
and by then the crowd had thinned out considerably. There are 30,000
riders nowadays, so the crush at the front is pretty awful (and slow
going, and boring). Once things open up, the riding isn’t too bad. It
winds up, after 45 miles of riding (tho they list it as 42) in Staten
Island, and then the ferry takes you back to Manhattan’s nether regions.
From there, I rode back home, finishing the long distance part of the day
at 52 or 53 miles. Then I got together with the Unatics (Joe even made it
over, bandages and all) for the rest of the afternoon. It was a great day.
David Stone