Weekend Trips 2010

These were the weekend trips that are scheduled in 2010.

Fred Dieckamp
2009 Weekend Trips Coordinator
Weekends@5BBC.org

The 5th Annual Montauk Century Weekend!

The Weekend Twist on the 5BBC’s Springtime Classic
MONTAUK CENTURY WEEKEND
May 15-May 16, 2010 (depart Saturday morning, return Sunday evening)
Trip No. MCW
Space Available: 12 people
Deposit: $150
Trip Price: $250
Late registration effective May 4
Transportation: van
Lodging: motel, double accommodations
Trip Rating: A
Mileage/Terrain: Approximately 75 mostly flat miles per day
Leaders: Martial Henry and Wentworth Price

For years cyclists have come together to ride a springtime classic, the 5BBC Montauk Century. There’s no wonder why: the ride is flat, scenic and superbly supported. Though, not everyone is up for biking

145 miles from Manhattan to Montauk in one day. Now, you can do it in two days on our Montauk Century Weekend! You’ll start pedaling east from Manhattan Saturday morning, following the official Montauk Century route, with full SAG support. That evening we’ll gather for a nice dinner together and then retire for the evening at a business-class hotel. Sunday morning, we’ll have breakfast and join the throng for the rest of the route out to Montauk, enjoying all that the Montauk Century has to offer. After you arrive in Montauk, just hop in our van and we’ll bring you, your bike and gear, back to the city. Scenic, Simple, Convenient, and Comfortable.

• Click here for more information about 5BBC weekend trips.

Cancelled

A Step in to Amish Country
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH TREAT
May 28-31 (Friday morning to Monday evening)
Trip No. PDT
Deposit: $150
Regular price: $370
Early-bird discount price (Deadline April 28): $338
FINAL REGISTRATION DEADLINE: MAY 14
Transportation: Van or carpooling
Lodging: farmhouse; shared rooms, double or triple accommodations
Trip Rating: B
Mileage: Moderate, 40 per day on rolling hills |
Leaders: Andrea Mercado and Ted Kushner

On behalf of the 5BBC, I regret to inform you that the Club has decided to officially CANCEL the Penn Dutch weekend trip. While the cancellation may seem to be a bit early, we wanted to give the owners of our lodging sufficient time to seek other potential customers so that they would not lose money.

Our customers are entitled to either transfer to a different 5BBC weekend trip or a full refund of their payment. We are recommending the following two trips for purposes of transfer:

BIKE-BOAT-WINE-DINE
June 5-6 (Saturday morning to Sunday evening)
Trip No: BBWD
Early-bird discount price (Deadline May 5): $250 - Note the Club will waive this deadline if you wish to transfer to this trip.

or

COVERED BRIDGES RIDE - Note this trip goes to same general area as Penn Dutch
August 14-15 (Saturday morning to Sunday night)
Trip No. CB
Regular price: $240
Early-bird discount price (Deadline July 14): $216

Should you wish to transfer to the above trips, the differences in prices between these trips and Penn Dutch would be refunded to you in due course.

Step back to a simpler time during our trip to bucolic Lancaster County, the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. We’ll ride up and down rolling farmlands, through lush pastures, and over historic covered bridges, accompanied by the clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages and the friendly smiles of Amish farmers. We’ll visit a working gristmill, and picnic on the site of an early settlement village. We’ll lodge at local B&B, home to a working dairy farm, where we’ll experience the country life, first hand, including a chance to milk the cows. Dinner will be a unique experience every night. One evening, we’ll be guests at the home of an Amish family. We’ll also partake of a traditional Penn Dutch all-you-can-eat smorgasbord, and we’ll cap off the weekend with an elegant dinner at a historic colonial inn. Great for singles and couples.

Mountaintop Retreat!
BEAR MOUNTAIN - HARRIMAN STATE PARK
May 29-31 (Saturday morning to Monday evening)
Trip No. BM
Space available: 15 people
Deposit: Pay in Full
Regular price: $140
Early-bird discount price (Deadline April 29): $126
Transportation: Self-contained
Lodging: Cabins/dorm rooms
Trip Rating: A
Mileage: Hard, 50 each way with some very steep hills
Leaders: Manny Sanudo and Fred Dieckamp

Our host for this adventure-filled trek is the rustic Camp Thendara (www.thendaramountainclub.org), a 90-year-old mountaintop lodge, complete with stone fireplace, on Lake Tiorati in Harriman State Park. We will cycle 50 hilly miles from midtown Manhattan on Saturday, going “self-contained”, meaning we’ll carry all our gear on our bikes. A REAR RACK AND PANNIERS TO CARRY YOUR GEAR ARE REQUIRED. Sunday offers a variety of options: swimming, boating, hiking, biking in the park, or just relaxing. Home-cooked breakfasts and dinners, along with trail lunches, are all included in the price. Guests at Camp Thendara prepare their meals together and perform light clean-up chores. On Monday, we’ll bike home via a different route, with plenty of quiet back roads.

Vineyards of the North Fork
BIKE-BOAT-WINE-DINE
June 5-6 (Saturday morning to Sunday evening)
Trip No: BBWD
Deposit: $150
Regular price: $275
Early-bird discount price (Deadline May 5): $250
Transportation: Van or carpooling
Lodging: motel; double accommodations
Trip Rating: A/B/C
Mileage: Various, mostly flat but hillier on Shelter Island
Leaders: Ted Kushner and Fred Dieckamp

Join us for a weekend on Long Island's serenely beautiful North Fork. Our trip features mostly flat biking, lush vineyards, scenic coastlines, a lighthouse or two, and an optional excursion to Shelter Island. On Saturday, we'll tour some of the area’s finest wineries and sample their vintages. We’ll lodge near Mattituck, a short distance from town and the beach, and we’ll have an incomparable dinner experience at Connie’s Café, a charming “touch of France,” featuring cherry wood décor, homemade baked goods, and an herb garden out back. On Sunday, we’ll join our friends at the Suffolk Bike Riders Association for their annual Bike-Boat-Bike Century www.sbraweb.org, offering distances from 25-125 miles, rest stops, sag support, and ferries to Shelter Island for the longer routes.

A Self Contained Overnight Camping Experience – in Brooklyn!
EXPLORE JAMAICA BAY
June 19-20 (Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon)
Trip No. EJB
Regular Price: $25.00
FINAL REGISTRATION DEADLINE: JUNE 15
Transportation: Self-Contained
Lodging: Tents
Trip Rating: B
Mileage: 35, flat terrain
Leaders: Richard Sanford and Bob Castro

This is a combination day trip and weekend trip with the following itinerary:

Saturday – We’ll all start at 9:00 AM from Prospect Park’s Grand Army Plaza, ride to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, walk the trails and check out the flora and fauna. Bring binoculars. After a picnic lunch and a ride over the Marine Park Bridge, the day trip will officially end at Floyd Bennett Field. (But the cue sheet will include the route back to Prospect Park.) The overnighters will remain in Floyd Bennett Field.

Saturday Evening - At this point the overnighters will get ready for true grit survival. Floyd Bennett Field contains one of the National Park Service’s hidden campgrounds in the wilderness of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. We’ll pitch our tents, schlep our own water for cooking and washing, cook a communal dinner, sing songs around a campfire and sleep under the stars.

Sunday - After a rustic breakfast we’ll break camp and return to Prospect Park.

Important Note:

If you've never done any self-contained bike camping and would like to give it a try, this is an ideal opportunity because Eastern Mountain Sports has generously offered to lend tents, sleeping bags and pads to 5BBC members. If you're interested, you must reserve these items ASAP. To do so, contact Bob Castro at 516-378-1154 or at bobcastro@optonline.net.

See Franklin Roosevelt's Cottage!
SEEKIN' HYDE PARK
August 7-8 (Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon)
Trip No. SHP
Space available: 8 people
Deposit: $150
Regular price: $225
Early-bird discount price (Deadline July 7): $200
Transportation: Metro North Railroad and self-contained
Lodging: College campus
Trip rating: B/C
Mileage: 80 - 90 miles in 2 days, some hills
Leaders: Susan Levine and Brian Hoberman

This year’s trip to the beautiful Hudson Valley will take us to both sides of the river, thanks to the opening last fall of the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge, “The Walkway Over the Hudson.” Saturday morning departure from Grand Central station will take us to Poughkeepsie via MetroNorth. After briefly stopping at Vassar’s elegant Alumnae House to check in and drop off our luggage, we bike to New Paltz and a guided tour of historic Huguenot Street, which dates back to 1677 and boasts six original homes built by the first French-speaking Protestant settlers.Saturday evening, we dine in style at a restaurant owned and operated by a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.On Sunday morning, our destination is Top Cottage, Franklin Roosevelt’s private retreat in Hyde Park, which he designed to accommodate his need for wheelchair accessibility. After a tour of the house and grounds, we return to Alumnae House to pick up our gear, and bike to the Poughkeepsie train station for the return trip to Grand Central.

Cancelled

Lancaster's Crown Jewel
COVERED BRIDGES RIDE
August 14-15 (Saturday morning to Sunday night)
Trip No. CB
Deposit: $150
Regular price: $240
Early-bird discount price (Deadline July 14): $216
Transportation: Van or carpooling
Lodging: motel; double accommodations
Trip Rating: A/B/C
Mileage: Various, on rolling hills
Leaders: Sharon Behnke and Phil Goldberg

Discover some of Pennsylvania’s most famous rural scenery and best biking as we join 3,000 other riders in the annual Covered Bridge Metric Century. This major Northeast biking event, produced by the Lancaster Bicycle Club www.lancasterbikeclub.org, offers the choice of 62-, 31- and 15-mile routes, with a maximum of seven different historic covered bridges, followed by a post-ride party at a brook-side park. You’ll get a free T-shirt for doing the ride and will be rewarded with a traditional Lancaster County smorgasbord dinner on Saturday night.

A Taconic Treat
BASH BISH BASH
August 21-22 (depart Saturday morning, return Sunday night)
Trip No. BBB
Space available: 15 people
Deposit: Pay in Full
Regular price: $170
Early-bird discount price (Deadline July 21): $155
Transportation: Metro-North Railroad / self-contained
Lodging: budget lodge (semi-private rooms & communal bath)
Trip rating: A/B
Mileage: flat-to-hilly, 110 miles in 2 day
Leaders: Richard Brause and Jim Zisfein

This 2-day tour through Dutchess and Columbia Counties features spectacular mountain views and rolling country hills. On Day 1, Metro North takes us to the heart of the Harlem Valley where we will ride rail trails and rural roads alongside the Taconic mountain range. We will visit beautiful Bash Bish Falls, enjoy the view from Sunset Rock, and swim in a pond formed from an abandoned iron ore mine. On Day 2, the mountains give way to rolling hills. We will finish our ride in Poughkeepsie where we can check out the newly rehabbed "Walkway Over the Hudson" and savor the best chili you ever ate before catching the train home. Most of the ride will be level to moderately hilly; one steep mountain climb is optional. Our ride is self-contained so you should be comfortable traveling 50-60 miles per day carrying panniers or a backpack with your clothing and supplies.

Escape NYC for a Labor Day Weekend Caper
CAPE COD RETREAT
September 3-6 (depart Friday morning, return Monday evening)
Trip No. CCR
Deposit: $150
Regular price: $365
Early-bird discount price (Deadline Aug. 3): $330
Transportation: Van and/or carpooling
Lodging: hostels
Trip rating: B/C (mostly C)
Mileage: Easy to moderate, 25 to 35 miles per day
Leaders: Fred Dieckamp & Ted Kushner

Cape Cod's beaches and pine forests are easily accessible via gentle rail trails with occasional rolling hills. We plan to stay at the tranquil hostel in Truro, a short walk from the ocean. There’s whales in them thar’ waters! We will explore Provincetown and cycle out of town to hit the dune trails. Another day, we'll go kayaking or whale watching. There are also options to swim at either the national seashore beaches or at a freshwater lake. Don't miss the seafood! This is a good trip for first-time visitors and shore-lovers alike.

Full

Escape NYC for a Labor Day Weekend Caper
CAPE COD RETREAT
September 3-6 (depart Friday morning, return Monday evening)
Trip No. CCR
Deposit: $150
Regular price: $365
Early-bird discount price (Deadline Aug. 3): $330
Transportation: Van and/or carpooling
Lodging: hostels
Trip rating: B/C (mostly C)
Mileage: Easy to moderate, 25 to 35 miles per day
Leaders: Fred Dieckamp & Ted Kushner

Cape Cod's beaches and pine forests are easily accessible via gentle rail trails with occasional rolling hills. We plan to stay at the tranquil hostel in Truro, a short walk from the ocean. There’s whales in them thar’ waters! We will explore Provincetown and cycle out of town to hit the dune trails. Another day, we'll go kayaking or whale watching. There are also options to swim at either the national seashore beaches or at a freshwater lake. Don't miss the seafood! This is a good trip for first-time visitors and shore-lovers alike.

BIKE PHILLY FOR A DAY
Sunday, September 12 (one day only)
Trip No. BPD
Space available: 8 people
Deposit: Pay in full, must be received by 8/27
Price: $100
Transportation: Van
Mileage: 35

Easiest 100 miles in the East
SEA GULL CENTURY
October 8-10 (Friday afternoon to Sunday evening)
Trip No. SGC
Deposit: $200
Regular price: $425
Early bird discount price (Deadline Sept. 8): $383
Transportation: Van or carpool
Lodging: Motel, double accommodations
Trip Rating: A/B/C
Mileage: 65 miles or 100 miles, mostly flat
Leaders: Steve Sakson and Wentworth Price

This annual event is often rated the best century ride in the East, and the easiest! No wonder it attracts more than 6,000 riders every year. But, don’t worry about crowds. The Seagull features only quiet country roads through the Chesapeake Bay’s finest farmland. Sponsor Salisbury University offers top-notch support with plenty of rest stops loaded with goodies, including pie a la mode. By midday we’ll reach Assateague Island State Park, where the wild ponies roam, and where you can take a dip in the ocean before heading back. Saturday night features a hilarious karaoke scene with the finest local talent, or perhaps an extreme bowling excursion featuring dayglow pins and blacklights. Sunday we’ll take a shorter cool-down ride before heading home.

Summary of weekend trip rules

1. To go on a weekend trip you must be a member of the Five Borough Bicycle Club.

2. Our rides come in several varieties. In some cases we take vans or carpools to locations within 6-hour drives, and ride through the locale. In others, we go self-contained, meaning you carry most or all of your overnight gear with you. On these trips, we either bike from a specific meeting place in the metro area, or take commuter trains to nearby starting points.

3. You may sign up by mail, and pay using a check or money order, by using this form and mailing it to the 5BBC, 891 Amsterdam Ave., New York, 10025.  Or you can register online at www.active.com where registration fees apply.  When registering by mail, you may enclose just a deposit (exact amount listed with each trip), but must make full payment no less than 7 days before the trip.  We offer a 10% discount for early registration, more than 30 days prior to the trip.  To be eligible for the discount, you must make full payment by the early discount deadline, which is listed with each trip.  When registering online a small fee applies, and you must pay the full amount up front. 

4. Cancellations, or transfers between trips, are restricted by club rules, and subject to withholding costs based on non-refundable expenses incurred by the club, such as lodging and event fees.  Full refunds are available if you find a substitute to take your place.  No refunds for cancellations less than 14 days prior to a trip.

5. Your trip leaders will contact you a week or so before the trip to confirm your attendance, inform you of the details of the trip, answer your questions and tell you the meeting place and time.   Questions?  E-mail weekends@5bbc.org

6. Full recitation of weekend trip rules can be found here.

Click for archive of weekend trips from:2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004.