Photo by Holly Ladd


Day-Before Check-In & Bike Loading


{We offer day-before check in and bike loading. This is optional -- you only do this if you want to. There is a $12 charge for this service.


What’s the advantage of checking in or loading my bike the day before?

Shorter check-in lines in a more relaxed setting compared to ride day.


Get some extra sleep on the morning of the ride -- you’re all ready to go!


We transport almost all of the bikes in the morning on ride day to get you to where you actually start to pedal. (If that makes no sense at all to you right now, just pretend I know what I’m talking about. We’ll explain it later.)


ANYWAY... If you load your bike on the day of the ride, we’ll unload it as quickly as we can in a safe manner, but you WILL have to wait for your bike.


But if you load your bike the day before we will unload it early on ride day, park it at a bike rack, and guard it for you until you arrive. When you get there just grab your bike and go! This is THE fastest way to get on the road on ride day.


Where and when does day-before check-in take place?


Two locations:


MANHATTAN

     W. 33rd Street

between 11th Avenue and 12th Avenue


Friday September 13, 2019

3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.


Who can check in here the day before?

Everyone.


Who can load their bike here the day before?

Everyone except those doing the 150-mile route out of Brooklyn. You should bring your bike to the Brooklyn 150-mile start on your own.



BABYLON

Behind the Babylon LIRR station

Sammis Avenue and Colt Avenue

Babylon, NY  11702


You can see a map here.


Friday September 13, 2019

3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.


Who can check in here the day before?

Everyone.


Who can load their bike here the day before?

Everyone except those doing any of the 150-mile routes.


Will registration be on sale at day-before check-in?

Yes, if the ride is not sold out yet. Cash or credit card only. No checks.


Note that if you register day-before you pay the full day-of registration price. (We don’t know what that price will be yet, but we promise that it will be so high that it will make us dizzy). If at all possible we recommend registering here before on-line registration closes on Wednesday September 12th at noon, which is much less expensive for you.


Can I check in the day before without loading my bike?

Yes. If you check-in the day before, do NOT get in the check-in line on ride day. Skip that line and go straight to the bike loading area.


Can I load my bike the day before without checking in the day before?

No.


Do I need to bring my registration receipt to day-before check-in?

No. But you should bring your rider I.D. wristbands if you already have them.


I already finished my homework -- can I go outside and play now?

Sure.


I’m checking in a bag that will be trucked to Montauk for me with a change of clothes so I can enjoy the free hot showers at the finish. Can I check in my bag the day before?

No.


Why?


Because what usually happens is that if someone checks in their bag early they inevitably come running back -- “I MUST get into my bag -- my [house keys, wallet, drugs, eyeglasses, pet ferret] are inside. It shouldn’t be hard to find in that pile of a thousand bags -- my bag is BLACK!”


This is why in most circumstances we have you hang on to your bag right until you’re ready to pedal.


Can I pick up my T-shirt or racing jersey the day before?

No. All clothing will be waiting for you at the Montauk finish line. There will be no clothing sales day-before. There will be clothing sales (subject to availability) at the finish line.


We DO offer our Express Lane service where we mail you your clothing before the ride. You can sign up for the Express Lane during on-line registration. If you’ve already registered and now decided that you want the Express Lane service after all just drop us a email here.


What if I signed up for the Express Lane pre-mail and already have my rider wristbands?

Cool!


You can skip day-before check-in if you wish.


If you would like to load your bike the day before that’s fine -- make make sure your wristband is already on your bike. When you get to day-before check-in do NOT get in the check-in line; go stragiht to the bike loading area.


Can I load my friend’s bike the day before? Can I pick up my friend’s registration day-before?

Yes.


Where and when do I get my bike back?

On ride day we will transport you at no charge to the place where you actually start pedaling. All the information on when and where to show up on ride day can be found here.


If you loaded your bike the day before, do NOT get in the line next to the trucks to retrieve your bike -- that’s for people who loaded their bike on ride day. We’ll have a separate area set up where your bike will already be unloaded and ready to ride, guarded by our staff.


WARNING!


Once your bike is in a truck, you can NOT change routes, or you will find that your bike is in one location while you are in another!


What if I load my bike the day before and then realize that I can’t attend the ride?

You are totally screwed. This presents some interesting challenges!


You will have three easy opportunities to get your bike back (and one hard one)!


     1.     Get to the place where you would actually start pedaling on ride day and retrieve your bike (even if you won’t be able to pedal that day). Those locations are:


108-mile riders:

The Babylon LIRR station

6:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.


73-mile riders

The Mastic-Shirley LIRR station

9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.


50-mile riders

The Hampton Bays LIRR station

8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.


25-mile riders

Living Waters Church

69 Industrial Road

Wainscott, NY

9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.


     1.     We will look at your registration form and see where you said you wanted to start your day -- Babylon, Brooklyn, Hampton Bays, Manhattan, or Mastic-Shirley. We will try to send your bike there at the end of the ride.


Babylon

The Babylon LIRR station.


Brooklyn
Bicycle Habitat - Vanderbilt


560 Vanderbilt Avenue

Brooklyn, NY  11238


Hampton Bays

The Local Bike Shop (yes, that's the name of the shop!)

39 W Montauk Hwy

Hampton Bays, NY 11946


Manhattan

W. 33rd Street between 11th Avenue and 12th Avenue


Mastic-Shirley

The Mastic-Shirley LIRR station


Your bike well be available in Manhattan, Babylon, Brooklyn, Hampton Bays, or Mastic-Shirley on Sunday between 9 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.


BUT... if you miss all of those opportunities your bike will go back to our office, located a convenient 200 miles from anything. We will make arrangements to ship your bike to you at an insane price. (So a note from your doctor explaining that you were unable to pedal on ride day will not sway us one bit. We’re just that mean and lazy.)


Bikes will be held for 30 days maximum and then something horrible will happen to them that we haven’t figured out yet.


Can I drop off my bike at a bike shop days in advance?

No.


We used to offer this service but stopped. (Why? Because only a handful of people did this, it was a huge amount of work, and it was costing us a fortune. And as a friend says, “If it’s not fun or profitable, why are you doing it?”)


A friendly suggestion -- if you want your bike loaded at day-before check-in but you are unable to be there yourself, check out one of the local errand-running services such as Task Rabbit. They are insured and using their service will cost you about the same as the old bike-shop drop off fee.


Just be sure that your rider I.D. wristband is already on your bike before they pick it up.


NOTE: We are not affiliated with Task Rabbit in any way, and we don’t get anything from them for mentioning their service. (That’s a long-winded way of saying, “If they screw up, don’t blame us!)