Superstorm Sandy Damage Causes BK Waterfront Epic Ride To Roll Through Bensonhurst Streets

Look out, Bensonhurst! Nearly 1,000 bicyclists will roll through the neighborhood, as Superstorm Sandy-related construction to the seawall has forced one of the borough’s largest bike rides to detour through local streets.

Bicycle enthusiasts across the city are gearing up for the 5th annual “Brooklyn Waterfront Epic Ride.” The event, hosted by the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative (BGI), is a 40-mile jaunt along Brooklyn’s waterfront that takes riders from Williamsburg to Jamaica Bay.

The ride, which will take place on Saturday, July 27, has sold out, and will feature 750 riders. In previous years, after rolling through Gowanus, the route jutted over to the Bay Ridge seawall, following it around to its end at near Coney Island Creek, then dip down into Coney Island, cut across the peninsula, and end back up on the Greenway at Plumb Beach, just past Sheepshead Bay.

For the first time in its history, though, the route will be forced to turn away from the water’s edge. Because of ongoing repairs to the seawall along Bensonhurst and Bath Beach, bicyclists will have to hop off the greenway at 7th Avenue, following that to Cropsey Avenue, which they’ll stay on through their entire journey through Bensonhurst and Bath Beach. So if you plan on driving around Cropsey Avenue on July 27, be prepared to contend with a surge of bike riders.

The BGI press release describes the greater purpose of the event:

By riding in The Epic, participants will be supporting the planning and implementation of the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, a 14-mile long recreation and transportation facility that will connect four regional parks and numerous new waterfront open spaces, The Epic also supports the Jamaica Bay Greenway Coalition, a partnership of public and private agencies and local organizations committed to improving and expanding the Jamaica Bay Greenway to be a safe, cohesive, accessible, and user-friendly route around the bay.

BGI co-founder Milton Puryear described the spirit of the ride and why it is so appealing to registrants.

“The Epic is the quintessential mid-summer bike ride around the entire Brooklyn waterfront, ending up on the beach where many riders cool off with a plunge into the Atlantic. The feel of the ride is relaxed and collegial and ‘of the people. Riders get to move at their preferred pace with a fast and a moderate group starting sequentially at the beginning. This year the ride will highlight some of the effects of Sandy on Brooklyn’s waterfront and Rockaway Beach,” Puryear said.

As for us, we don’t really care – or believe – that the event will “highlight some of the effects of Sandy,” except that we hope those cyclists spend some of their moolah with Sandy-affected businesses as they roll through. You hear, me?

For more information on the event, you can visit BGI’s website by clicking here.