Cycling enthusiasts are gearing up for the return of the NYC Century Bike Tour, a 100-mile ride that has become a beloved tradition in the city. The event, which was last held in 2019, is making a comeback this fall, and organizers are expecting a strong turnout.
- Key to success: Preparation and planning
- Building endurance and stamina
- Getting the right gear
- Staying hydrated and fueled
The tour will take cyclists through every borough of New York City, including a family-friendly ride option. While some cyclists are taking their training seriously, others are finding that the urban environment can make the ride less daunting than expected.
“People are super excited that this is coming back,” said Bronxite Edmundo Martinez, who participated in multiple Century rides in the 2010s. “It was a way that you saw everyone in the cycling community,” he added. “It was almost like prom, graduation, homecoming.”
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To prepare for the ride, cyclists are advised to increase their mileage and incorporate longer rides into their training schedule. Martinez, who is planning to participate for the third time, said he is trying to regularly do rides of 20, 20 or 40 miles to prepare.
| Weeks 1-4 | 20-mile rides |
| Weeks 5-8 | 30-mile rides |
| Weeks 9-12 | 40-mile rides |
“For that’s what’s going to be used for the energy source amid an endurance activity,” said Dr. Hasan Swindell, an orthopedic surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian’s Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Comfortable bike
is also important. “What suffers is your ass,” said Dan Miller, who has ridden 100 miles before on his own but is doing the NYC Century Bike Tour for the first time this year.
| Reduced discomfort | Increased efficiency | Improved performance |
“It started pretty informally” in 1990 with about 200 riders who wanted to “show the possibilities of a city that is much more effortlessly bikeable,” said Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.
| Number of bike lanes | Over 150 miles |
| Number of bike-share programs | Over 10 |
Joshua Magpantay, a 26-year-old living in Park Slope, said he discovered his first “social” ride during the pandemic and added that in recent years, more of his friends have started biking, too.
| Distance | 12 hours |
“There’s this great hill that looks at City Island and Pelham Bay across the Eastchester Bay that’s just idyllic,” said Magpantay.
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