The Longest Day
208 miles in one Day
(Last updated: Fri. Apr. 4, 2010)
208 miles in one Day
(Last updated: Fri. Apr. 4, 2010)
CJBC presents:
The Longest Day, 30th Annual event
Saturday, June 12th 2010 (tentative)
Frequently Asked Question!
An event of this size has a lot of questions and some get asked a lot. So I've provided that list here so everyone can easily find them.
Questions
- What is the CJBC Longest Day event?
- Why isn't the event on June 21st, you know the longest day of the year?
- Why do I need to be a member CJBC to do the ride?
- Does each team member need to register?
- Can't I do this ride without paying for anything?
- Is this the High Point ride?
- What time do I have to start?
- What time do I have to finish by?
- Do I need to have a light for my bicycle?
- Are the meetings mandatory?
- Will we find a team for you?
- Are SAG vehicles mandatory?
- Can I ride solo?
- Can I ride solo and skip the SAG vehicle?
- Is there a shorter version of this event?
- What is the slowest average speed/time anyone has ever completed this ride with?
- What is the fastest average speed/time anyone has ever completed this ride with?
- How acurate is your cue sheet/route map/gpx file?
- XXX says your cue sheet/route map/gpx file is wrong. Who is correct?
- Can I get updates about the Longest Day?
- What if my question is not answered here?
- Do you need volunteers?
Answers
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A: The CJBC Longest Day event is a self supported bicycle ride that starts in Port Jervis, NY and continues to the Cape May Lighthouse in Cape May NJ. The route is currently around 208 mile long. The event usually occurs the weekend before the longest day of the year, June 21, hence it's name. As our former club President, Mike Kruimer, is fond of saying: "It's the easiest double century around, it's all downhill" (see Hills for more information). In addition to the double century, there is a double metric, and a century. Return to the top
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A: Yes, I know the longest day of the year is June 21st, the start of summer. :-) Despite the fact that the Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of the summer tourism season in NJ, the real start of summer and heavy tourism is still June 21st and prices go up accordingly. Also the number of bookings do also. So if we waited until June 21st everything would be much more expensive. Additionally we avoid heavier 'shore traffic' (traffic heading to the shore) once we reach the last 25 miles of the ride. These advantages further outweigh the loss of about about 7 minutes of daylight. Return to the top
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A: I get this question from folks trying to figure out why they have to pay twice. I'll try to work this into the registration so that there is one cost for both. Hey, I understand we're all trying to be a bit frugal. Sorry, we did this so existing members aren't paying twice. The overall price (membership + event fees) is lower than most Double Centuries. Hopefully once I get this into Active.com registration we'll have an easier way to register for the event. Return to the top
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A: Yes, each team member must send in a registration form with their payment. The only exception is the SAG driver who doesn't need to register or be a club member. They still need a meal ticket so don't forget to feed you SAG driver!Return to the top
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A: No! You can follow the route, the roads are public, but that doesn't mean you are participating in the event. You will not get the club discounts at either hotel, you can not participate in the 'Morning After' breakfast, you will not receive the goodie bag (last year we had included a fall vest with the Longest Day logo on it). Also membership in the club brings with it the normal rides, dinners and lunches the club performs each year. You do get some value for your money. Besides the 2010 event cost $40 and the club membership costs as little as $15 for electronic membership (see CJBC Membership for further details). Most of the cost for the event is the commemorative vest and the 'Morning After' breakfast. Return to the top
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A: Not really, the 238 High Point ride and this ride started from the same idea (see History for more details). The 238 mile High Point ride is part of the NJ Tours, Recreation and Commuting section of their pages. The Longest Day is a 200+ mile ride tuned to fit nicely into one day and to avoid as much traffic as possible. The two routes may share some sections but are generally not the same route. Return to the top
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A: Whenever you feel it is best. Some people start at midnight, some at dawn, some even later. I can only recommend that you look over the route, find out key points of interest such as hills, high traffic areas or long stretches of lonely road. By timing these to your average speed you can make a difficult section a lot easier. See: Plannning for more details. Also ask the Longest Day Chairperson for more information on the route. Return to the top
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A: It is highly recommended that you be at the lighthouse no later than 8:30 PM. This is the approximate time that the sunsets. Remember that some drivers have difficultly seeing at sunset. Also it's the weekend, down the shore, graduation season and very near Wildwood (a popular end point for high school graduates). Sadly this tend to mean it is more likely that there will be young, inexperienced drivers on the road and possible drinking and driving. Return to the top
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A: Thankfully I've only been asked how good a light do I need and not if I need a light, but yes, it is NJ (NY?) law that if you ride a bike, at night, on the road, you are reguired to have front and rear lights. I've had good lighting with some cheap headlights (on the front) and at least a red blinking light (on the rear). I now ride with a more expensive system because I do a lot more riding at night. The lights from your SAG vehicle do not qualify as a bike lights! Return to the top
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A: No, if you've done the Longest Day before and you have a team you do not need to attend the meetings. The meetings are for people to meet other folks involved, to help build up teams, to answer any questions that you may have and to make everyone comfortable with riding the length of NJ in one day. Return to the top
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A: No, you are responsible for finding your own team. We can assist you by providing the name of others looking for others to form a team. Once you are on a team we can not force them to keep you either. Return to the top
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A: No but it is a good idea. It's difficult to carry everything you will need for the entire day. Also it is difficult to know where all the available stores and shops are along the route. Again, it is not a good idea. Return to the top
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A: Yes you can ride solo but for the vast majority of people, we do not recommend it. Return to the top
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A: We do not recommend it. If you are dead set on doing this please contact the Longest Day Chairperson before registering. Return to the top
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A: Yes, there is a Double Metric and a Century version that occur on the same day. The starting points differ but the end point (Cape May Lighthouse) remains the same. As do the goodie bags and everything else. You can still attend the 'Morning After' breakfast. This breakfast is for everyone who does the ride, their SAGs and their guests. Return to the top
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A: This is a little hard to answer as we have never really kept records of speeds or times (the routes may differ from year to year). But we have had people who have started at midnight on Friday and finished just before 10 PM on Saturday (the day of the event). That's about 22 hours long. I'd say that's one determined rider!
It should be possible to start at midnight, ride at 12 mph avg. and only take 3 hours worth of stops and complete the route before the recommended 8:30 PM cutoff time (see Plannning for more details). Return to the top
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A: Again this is a bit hard to answer but it has been reported that at least one individual has completed the entire ride (201 miles) in about 10.5 hours. If that were just the 'on the bike time' it would mean they averaged faster than 19.1 mph. Return to the top
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A: First when given a choice of which to follow, trust the route sheets. Those are the one's we've double checked. The route maps and the gpx files that are generated may be a revision out of date. We try to keep everything up to date but it's difficult with last minute changesOn the point of "How accurate are the distances?" I'd say we're pretty close say to about 2% (that's 4 miles over the entire ride). Between turns I'd guess it's 1 or 2 tenths of a mile. So if you see a sign that matches a turn and your computer says you have 1/10ths of a mile to go, make the turn. Also don't blindly turn at every mile marker, especially if there is no turn there. :-)Return to the top
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A: You've been talking to my wife haven't you! ;-) If in doubt trust the route sheet over everything else. This is the route we've doubled check, usually by people who have actually ridden the route. One thing I've noticed with many of the map services is that they will use a different correct name of the road. How can that be? Many of the roads in NJ have more than one name. The name in the route sheet is the one we see on the physical road sign.Also if someone (in 2009 it was Microsoft) says the route takes roads that don't exist, trust the route sheet over the someone. They're using outdated maps. Trust me on this, I'm quite anal about this matter. Return to the top
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A: To get more information and your questions properly answered you should attend the event meeting and/or ask the Longest Day Chairperson for more details. Return to the top
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A: Yes we do. Please contact Longest Day Chairperson for more details. Return to the top
