Tour de Putnam – The weather looks great.
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- August
- 24
The coffee is brewing and breakfast is nearly ready as many others are doing the same for the start of the Tour de Putnam. This is a ride, not a race, it is about seeing the sites, meeting other members of the cycling community, and enjoying the safety of a large organized ride. But I’d guess some will put the peddle down a little harder on this ride just the same, it’s hard not being competitive during an athletic event.
The weather looks about perfect for the day. Lows in the 80’s and humidity is to drop through the morning into the mid-50’s.
If you’re driving today past riders today – throw a hand up and give a wave. It’s a day to celebrate cycling and the best way I know how is in the saddle.
This entry was posted
on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 at 6:29 AM by Randall Wolf. 
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Did the T de P today.
I’ve done the various annual rides in the NY Metro area numbers of times, but this was my first for the Putnam ride.
And, compared to rides like the Westchester Cycle Club’s “Golden Apple” or the New York Cycling Club’s “Escape From New York” or the CT Sound Cyclist’s “Bloomin’ Metric,” the Putnam ride comes in dead last.
Support was minimal.
For example on the the 50-mile route, there were no bathrooms at food stops until mile 30 or so.
Also, unlike the food stops at those other three rides, there were no sandwiches like peanut butter and jelly, unless you made you’re own—again, unlike the other three rides, where prepared food is awaiting the participants.
Then, at the end, while there were tasty sandwiches to eat, there were no sweets whatsoever. Compare that with, say, the Westchester club, which serves up cookies and wonderful scoops of Ben & Jerry’s.
All the rides charge participants $25-$35 or so. I s’pose the Putnam ride’s poor showing is the difference between rides run by volunteers at actual cycling clubs—as with the other three rides I mentioned—vs. the Putnam ride, which is run by the county or the visitor’s bureau.
Dave, who will say the roads were certainly excellent but that certainly wasn’t the T de P’s doing
I enjoyed the 50 (actually 46.5 according to my odo) mile ride. I found all of the volunteers to be very friendly and enthusiastic to help. I was disappointed that the energy drink was Tang rather than a “sport drink” such as Gatorade because the later also has vital electrolytes.
The road turn signs were lacking or very hard to spot at a few points. This is my first participation in an organized ride so I can’t compare it to others but I would do it again.
These are good, balanced views that will help me make decisions for what will be my next year’s rides.
Also, we were planning on registering for the T de P as a family, but this was not allowed. Definitely NOT a family ride.