We pedal one-way out to Montauk, NY. That means that no matter which route you choose, at the end of the ride you are going to be in Montauk, and you will need a way to get home again! You have several delicious choices:
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1. Move to Montauk for the rest of your life. (Not a bad idea...)
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2. Get picked up by a friend.
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3. Sign up for our transportation home for your bike and you.
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If You Are Getting Home on Your Own
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Thanks for coming along! Enjoy a free hot shower, free massage, free Blue Point Brewery beer, and free all-you-can-eat post-ride meal, then leave whenever you are ready.
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The rest of this page is only for those who are taking our optional transportation home from Montauk.
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If You Are Taking Our Optional Transportation Home
VITAL INFO -- HONEST!
Don’t forget -- there are no bikes allowed on the Long Island Rail Road between NYC and Montauk on Saturday June 21, 2008 (ride day) or the day after, Sunday June 22nd! (Details below).
The LIRR has gone out of its way to help us by providing more service for this event and switching around schedules just for you, and we'll have more trucks than ever before to carry all those bikes. Not to worry -- we have you covered!
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If you are headed home with us right after the ride on Saturday, keep reading right here. If you are staying overnight in Montauk and want transportation home on Sunday, skip down to the end of this page for details.
Here’s all the information you need to get home quickly and safely:
Do I Need to Sign Up for Return Transportation in Advance?
YES. Return transportation does sell out. If you don’t sign up for it in advance, you might be stuck in Montauk overnight.
You can sign up for return transportation during on-line registration for the ride.
I Already Registered and Said That I Did NOT Want Return Transportation, but Now I Want it After All
No problem-o! If you already registered for the ride with no return transportation, and decide later that you want it after all, not to worry! Just drop us an email by clicking here.
If you are headed home on Saturday -- right after the ride -- the price for your bike and you is $35.
If you are staying overnight in Montauk and want transportation home the next day -- Sunday -- the price is $30. That price does NOT include the price of your return train ticket, which you will buy on your own on Sunday like any other LIRR customer.
If you want a padded blanket for your bike in transit, that is available for an additional $12.00.
Just tell us which services you want and we’ll bill them to the credit card you used during on-line registration. Somewhere in your note be sure to state something such as, “I give you authorization to bill my credit card for return transportation.”
If I Can’t Bring My Bike on the Train After the Ride, How is it Getting Home?
We have our own private trucks. Your bike goes in the truck; you take the train, charter bus, or van. (Which one will you be on -- train, bus, or van? That depends on what time you want to go home and how many other people want to leave at the same time).
You meet up with your bike in Manhattan or Babylon -- your choice. You can decide right at the finish line which destination is best for you. (We ask you during on-line registration where you want to go just so we can estimate, but you can change your mind at any time -- no need to tell us if you switch your return destination.)
What Time Are the Trips Home from Montauk?
New for 2008 -- we have DOUBLED the number of trips going home:
12:30 p.m. (new for 2008!)
1:30 p.m. (new for 2008!)
2:30 p.m. (new for 2008!)
3:30 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
These are estimated times -- actual times will be posted on ride day.
ALL cyclists will be at the finish line no later than 6:00 p.m. (either by pedaling or by being driven there by our S.A.G. bike rescue team) so you’ll have plenty of time to catch the last trip home.
Where Does the Return Transportation Leave From?
Right from our Montauk finish line.
For those of you who have been riding with me to Montauk for ages, you no longer have to pedal from Ruschmeyer’s to the train station! Our new finish line at the Old Harbor House restaurant is just 150 feet from the train station. You can relax right until departure time.
After I Get to the Montauk Finish Line, What Should I Do?
Before you do ANYTHING else, give your bike to one of our staff members, who will carefully put it in one of our bike trucks. It doesn’t matter what time you decide to go home -- get your bike on the truck ASAP!
Why?
As soon as we fill up each truck, we will send it on its way.
The bike trucks are always slower than the buses and trains, so we like to give each bike truck as much of a head start as we can -- we want the truck with your bike to leave Montauk before you do!
If you load your bike early, it will be waiting for you when you get to Babylon or Manhattan, carefully guarded by our staff. It doesn’t matter what time you leave Montauk, we’ll be there guarding your bike in Manhattan or Babylon.
HOWEVER... you KNOW that if you hand us your bike at 3:29 p.m., skip the shower, skip the meal, and dash for the 3:30 p.m. train, you’re going to get back just a bit before your bike. Not to worry -- it’s on the way in the next truck.
(So please don't call us 10 seconds after you arrive: "I'M AT THE STATION AND MY BIKE ISN’T HERE -- MY GOD, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BIKE!"). We're pretty tired by this time of day, and if you call us ranting and raving, we'll only laugh at you, which we'll feel sorry about later.
Maybe.
SO... loading your bike on the truck as soon as you arrive in Montauk means less waiting for you when you get home!
Where Do the Trains, Vans, and Charter Buses Go?
Whether you head home on a train, charter bus, or van, we offer return transportation to two locations ONLY -- Penn Station in Manhattan and the Babylon LIRR station (the same two places where the ride started!) This means that you can NOT park in the middle of the route and get a lift back there after the ride.
Where Do I Pick Up My Bike When I Get Home?
If you started in Manhattan, your bike will be at 31st Street & 8th Avenue, across the street from Penn Station next to the big post office.
If you started in Babylon, your bike will be at the Babylon start line at the LIRR station.
If your bike arrives before you do, our staff will keep a careful eye on it until you arrive. However we can NOT hold your bike for you later than 9:45 p.m. in Babylon or 10:30 p.m. in Manhattan -- you must pick it up right away after the ride. (These are the times that our last transportation home from Montauk arrives. If you are on that last run, not to worry -- we know that you’re on the way, and we’ll wait for you.)
If you miss the pick up, your bike will be taken back to the truck warehouse in Brooklyn, and it will be up to you to retrieve it there -- we can not deliver it. Contact us after the ride for painful details.
Which Trip Home Will I Be On? 1:30 p.m.? 5:30 p.m.?
READ THIS CAREFULLY
Who knows which trip home you’ll be on? It depends on when you get to Montauk, and that depends on how fast you pedal a bicycle! As soon as you arrive at the finish line, check in and we’ll do our best to get you on the trip of your choice.
Please understand that even if you have pre-paid for return transportation, each scheduled trip home can sell out!
Huh? What’s that mean? Here’s the dirt. Read carefully:
Just as an example, let’s pretend that for the 2:30 p.m. run home we have two charter buses available.
Those two buses hold about 108 people total.
If fewer than 108 people want to leave at 2:30 p.m., no problem -- you’re on your way!
In fact, even if ONLY ONE PERSON wants to leave at 2:30 p.m., we’ll leave on time! (We’ll probably put them in one of our lovely 15-passenger vans instead of an entire 54-passenger bus, but we WILL take just one person home on time if that’s what they want!)
HOWEVER... suppose that 109 people want to leave at 2:30 p.m -- one more person than we have room for on those buses.
That 109th person will have to wait for the next trip. We just can’t afford to send out a THIRD vehicle with only one person on it. (Remember those old ads for the NYC to DC shuttle flights where they promised to add another jet if the flight was full, even for just one additional passenger? Yeah... we can’t afford that).
If you miss a trip home, there’s another one right behind it! Relax, have a free Blue Point Brewery beer, and enjoy a beautiful day in Montauk.
Will My Bike Be Safe in Your Truck?
Yes.
We are cyclists too and we all own expensive bikes. We do our absolute best to handle every single bike VERY carefully.
We will also have soft padded moving blankets available for rent for $12 for the day in which we will wrap your bike. (One-way or round-trip; same price). You can order it during on-line registration, on the day of the ride at morning-check-in, or at the finish line. Blanket supplies are limited, so we STRONGLY recommend signing up in advance during on-line registration to reserve a blanket for your bike. If you don’t order in advance, we can not guarantee that a blanket will be available for your bike. (If we DO have any extras at the last minute, you can make the arrangements at the finish line).
If you want to bring your own materials and wrap your own bike, that’s fine. No charge, of course.
We are gentle with all of the bikes, whether you pay for bike wrapping or not. However, even under the best circumstances, and even with a padded blanket, nicks and scratches are always possible. This may be the wrong day to bring your one-of-a-kind, Dura Ace 25th Anniversary Edition, custom-painted-by-Ernesto Colnago-himself-bicycle.
We are loving and caring, but you have been warned. (Hey, reminds me of my old girlfriend from college! Once... never mind.)
I have a monthly LIRR pass. Can I use it to get home from Montauk on ride day?
On Saturday you can NOT use your LIRR monthly pass, and you can NOT buy a ticket at the train station ticket window in Montauk on ride day. This is LIRR policy, and we support that policy.
If you are headed home on Sunday your bike will travel in our truck. You can use your LIRR pass if you have one, or you can buy a regular return ticket at the Montauk LIRR station right before you hop on the train home.
I Want to Stay in Montauk Saturday night. How do I get my bike home on Sunday?
NEW! Because I have absolutely no common sense, I have decided to offer transportation home from Montauk for those who are staying overnight after the ride and want to return on Sunday. We will offer ONLY one run home on Sunday -- meet at the Montauk train station at 3:00 p.m.
We will put your bike in our private truck and you will take the LIRR. (Remember, no bikes allowed on the train on Saturday or Sunday). You will have a choice of returning to Babylon or Penn Station in Manhattan.
Here’s what to do:
During on-line registration it will ask you if you want transportation home on Saturday or Sunday. Be sure to pick Sunday.
Note that the price of transportation home on Saturday includes your return train ticket. The price of transportation home on Sunday does NOT include your return train ticket, for reasons far too dull to explain here.
If you are headed home on Sunday you will buy a train ticket home at the Montauk station on Sunday like any other LIRR customer, or use your LIRR monthly pass if you have one.
When you arrive in Montauk after the ride, our friendly staff will be anxious to load your bike in to one of our trucks headed home. If you are headed home on Sunday, do NOT load your bike on Saturday! Just tell the staff that you are headed home on Sunday, and take your bike with you.
On Sunday we will meet at the Montauk LIRR station at 3:00 p.m. We will load your bike in our truck and you will buy your own ticket and hop on the train.
Vital! Urgent! Read this carefully! -- While you are taking a relaxing train trip home on Sunday, the truck with the bikes will be wrassling with the usual insane traffic jam that occurs every Sunday in the summer as people head home from the Hamptons.
That means that for those of you taking the train to Babylon, we will probably arrive there with the bikes close to the same time that you do. We could arrive up to 45 minutes after you do, due to the traffic.
But if you are taking the train to Manhattan, we will be late. Figure AT LEAST an extra 60 - 90 minutes after you arrive at Penn Station before we show up. (This is exactly the reason we are hesitant to offer this service, but what the hell...)
That means that you should plan on arriving at Penn Station via train and then going to get dinner and MANY drinks while you wait for us to show up. We’ll give you a cell phone number you can call to check on our stuck-in-traffic progress, but the first person who calls to complain about how long this is taking while they are sipping a margarita and we are stuck in a smelly truck in bumper-to-bumper traffic is in way big trouble.
You MUST be at Penn Station when we arrive. If you are not there, we will have no choice but to take your bike back to our world headquarters, located a convenient 10,000 miles from where you are now, and it will be up to you to arrange pick up.
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Confused about return transportation? Unsure? DON’T WORRY! The bottom line is that we will get your bike and you home as quickly and safely as possible! As I like to say, “Just stand there and smile and let us take good care of you.” There are really only two things you need to know about return transportation:
1. Sign up for it in advance if you need it.
2. During on-line registration be sure to let us know if you are headed home on Saturday (right after the ride) or if you are staying overnight in Montauk and want to head home on Sunday.
Glen
Your tour director and humble servant
Getting Home
Photo By Catherine Van Dyke
NOTE -- Registration for the 2008 Ride to Montauk is CLOSED. (It opened in December ’07, and closed June 18th).
If you already registered for transportation home, that’s fine.
If you are trying to add transportation home it is VERY full, and we can NOT guarantee you a ride home from Montauk. We will do our best.
Day of transportation is $40 for your bike and you -- CASH ONLY.
If you have your own ride home after the ride from Montauk, NY (NO BIKES ON THE TRAIN!) there wil be unlimited day-of sign-up at the start line of your choice. Click here for the times and places.
If you want to buy our optional return transportation, there wil be VERY LIMITED Day-Of Sign up -- we are very near capacity. First come, first served. No advance reservations.
Day-of sign up is $140, and is CASH ONLY.
