Century Plus Crew: Coney Island Fireworks
Century Plus Crew is known for… you guessed it! Their century rides. I’ve never joined one of their rides because yes, I can do a century ride, but at their pace?! Heck no! But when a member of Girls Bike NYC posted about their Friday night “No Push” ride to watch the fireworks at Coney Island, I figured it would be a good one for me to check out.
We met at Grand Army Plaza at 7:30 before setting off south towards the beach, taking 4th Avenue down to connect to the Shore Road Greenway and the Belt Parkway Bike Path.
Somehow, I wound up riding 23 mph on the flats on this “no push” ride. While it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting, I surprised myself by keeping up without issue. I have to acknowledge that it is good to put myself into new/potentially challenging situations because I would never push myself like this on my own; I wound up finding out that I’m much stronger and faster than I think I am!
We got to the PACKED boardwalk around 9PM, and that’s when I was reminded that most people do not go to bed at 8:30PM like me. We hung out waiting for the fireworks, which finally began at 9:45, and indulged in boardwalk treats like gelato, french fries, and fountain sodas, but of course I got a Fanta from a vending machine…
Around 10:30PM was when we started heading back to Prospect Park. There were cops who had nothing better to do than chase some of our riders, but for the most part, it was an easy ride back to Grand Army Plaza, where we all regrouped before calling it and heading home.
A big thanks to Julienne and Merli for chatting about this in the Girls Bike NYC group text, because I definitely would not have tried a ride with this group without their comradery! Another big thanks to Century Plus Crew for being so welcoming and encouraging on my first ride. And let this be a lesson to myself and the rest of you that it’s good to put yourself in uncomfortable situations every once in a while - you never know what you’ll learn or discover! I learned it is possible for me to stay out past 9PM on a Friday night…
