Big City Life – With the Rapha Cycle Club in NYC
New York, London, Tokyo, and Sydney – The idea of bright lights and big cities might conjure up starry-eyed visions but as a visitor it’s often hard to scratch the surface of these urban sprawls. Well aware of that going armed with a guidebook won’t help much these days, we headed to New York City on a tourist trip of a whole other kind – training included!
Riding 100 km on a road bike across a global metropolis isn’t something that many do every day. And, to put it bluntly, does the prospect of road riding in a mega city like New York, London, Tokyo or Sydney sound enticing? Perhaps not to all, but to us it definitely does – although we were a touch skeptical of New York’s suitability for two wheels. However, on our free day before the Campagnolo GFNY Championship, we were to find out just how unfounded our fears were.
Ride with the Locals
Being new in a sprawling urban environment isn’t easy, and it takes a period of orientation until you’re versed in the hippest bars, streets and riding routes. The Internet can dish up a shedload of tips, but local knowledge is the true panacea for any newbie to town. After all, the inhabitants are just as crucial as the architecture when it comes to defining the city – and who better than the members of the Rapha Cycle Club in New York? A city of 8.5 million condensed into a motley clan of like-minded riders.
The Cycle Club
As a warm-up ride for the following day’s 160 km Campagnolo GFNY Championship, we headed out from the Rapha Cycle Club in Soho, New York City. Nestled in the achingly-hip Prince Street on the corner of West Broadway, Rapha’s café-come-shop exceeds its clients wishes (with the prerequisite quality coffee, tasty snacks and hospitable lounge-style atmosphere). As one of the world’s most global cities, it isn’t surprising to see club riders from as far afield as the Netherlands, the UK and Colombia amongst others, start to gather. The Giro is being shown live – well timed for the morning meet-up and almost as if the time difference plays into Rapha’s hands – with some watching intently while others sip their espresso and tuck into fresh almond croissants. Not everyone turns up on their own bike due to travel constraints, but the Cycle Club fortunately has a stock of high-end Canyon whips that can be hired at very fair rates. We’d managed to lug ours over the ocean, as previous experience had blighted our expectations of renting a top-end bike in a big city – but on this occasion, it was nice to be proved wrong. Alternatives like ‘Spinlister’ primarily appeal to generation Uber.
At 9.30 am prompt, we rolled out of Downtown Manhattan towards the Hudson River, following its promenade along to the George Washington Bridge. This was the exit point for the city.
Half gas, full focus
Despite having chosen a pretty leisurely pace in light of the following day’s race that a number of the members (myself included) were going to do, the poor road surfaces and the sheer number of potholes meant undivided attention on where exactly your wheel was going. Joe, the ride leader, gave some clear guidelines on ride etiquette, how to deal with pedestrians and that stopping at red lights was mandatory – although this didn’t seem to apply to every vehicle in New York.
After we’d left Manhattan in our wake, we headed north past Yonkers and up to Tarrytown, where well-earned coffee was drunk before setting off back towards the city.
The stretch along Tarrytown’s reservoir didn’t just provide welcome respite from the fumes of the city, but it felt like it led us through genuine countryside, as we rode along virtually traffic-free roads flanked by greenery. The crowning moment of the ride had to be the small singletrack section just before Manhattan with roots, gravel and soft ground beneath our tires.
As a relatively new addition to the New York scene, the Cycle Club is still waiting on its drinks license so post-ride beers were out of the question. However, it shouldn’t come as any surprise to hear that those guys at Rapha know their coffee (even Stateside) and can whip up a mean sandwich to aid refueling. For club members, the offer of a free post-ride massage means they’re in no real rush to leave. Life could be worse, I guess. A rarity in such a short space of time in a foreign city, we were beginning to really enjoy the pace of life, culture and chat that you would rarely find in a tourist trap, and definitely wouldn’t be written about in your guidebooks.
Find out more about the Rapha Cycle Clubs around the world on the Rapha Website.
Discover the route on Strava.
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Words & Photos: Robin Schmitt
