Martha and Friends on a 100 Mile Bike Ride

If any of you city girls and guys are looking for a great way to burn calories, see new places, spend time outside and meet new people, take up cycling! I have been into cycling for the past 6 years or so and usually spend at one weekend day doing a long ride. This past Saturday, my friends and I decided to sign up for the ride to Montauk. You had a choice of 30 miles, 66 miles, 100 miles or 145 miles. Since we weren’t completely insane, we bypassed the 145 mile ride and signed up for the 100 mile ride.

This ride started in Babylon, N.Y. The hardest part (aside from having a sore butt from sitting on the bike seat for 7 hours) was getting up at 4:45 am to make it to Babylon for the 7 am check in. This was tough for an insomniac like myself. Seems like I was just starting to fall asleep when my alarm went off!

Highlights of the Montauk ride:
1. Great food at the rest stops – especially the stop at the 70 mile mark where homemade pies were served. Delicious! (Pic is of Martha and John enjoying their second piece of pie)Here was some of the food that was served:
 – Homemade pie from legendary Briermere Farms, along with fresh whipped cream that is made on the spot
 – The famous Clovervale Bars — peanut butter and jelly spread on two graham crackers.  (It comes wrapped like an ice cream sandwich so you can put it in your pocket and ride!) 
 – Hummus with Pita (for those who want extra protein in the middle of the ride) 
 – Ice cream
– Artisan whole-grain breads from Balthazar Bakery 
 – Fresh fruit
– Larabars 
– Foccachia from Balthazar Bakery. Biscotti. Muffins from Yura Bakery. Pound cake in a half-dozen different flavors from La Bonne Boulangerie.
– Gatorade and water, of course

2. Very scenic ride
3. Ended the ride with more food and free beer.  Nothing better than having a few cold ones after 7 hours in the bike seat!
4. Biking 100 miles burns a ton of calories. My heart rate monitor said I burned 2150 calories. Quite a bit of these calories were consumed at the rest stops…
5. Last, but certainly not least, free massages after the ride. (Pic is of cyclist Tom C. getting a much needed massage in the “seat” area)