READ ME FIRST! Our ride leaders are unique! Read each ride description to learn if weather might cancel a ride, what equipment is appropriate, and any other special considerations. Questions? Ask the ride leader. We care about your well-being: wear a helmet on our rides. Bring at least one filled water bottle. Even if you don't know how to fix a flat, bring a pump and a spare tube for your bike, or it's possible no one on the ride will be able to help you with a flat tire. Distances are usually round trip. Ask the ride leader about possible less-taxing ride options. "A" is fast with few stops, "B" is intermediate, and "C" is fab with lots of stops; numbers refer to average pace in mph over level ground.

HERE TO THERE: Fast and Fab maintains a cue sheet page for the convenience and curiosity of its members. You’ll find routes both short and long heading in all directions from the city. We try to keep the material fresh, so check the date at the top of the page. If the route hasn’t been updated in a few years, or if the distances between turns aren’t indicated, consider riding the route and updating the cue sheet yourself. Let us know what you find: fastnfab@gmail.com.

POST A RIDE! If you've got an idea for a ride, please check out our Guidelines for Leaders, and send the information to droycroft@gmail.com. Let us know time and place to meet, destination(s), approximate distance and speed, and anything else special about the ride. We'll check it over, come back with questions, and if it meets our criteria post it for you.

WE LOVE TO DINE!: Click here for more on our Monthly Dinner.

WE ALSO LOVE SHOPPING!:  When buying your gear, don't forget to support Fast and Fab by ordering your clothing and equipment through our Web site. Select retailers donate 5% of your order to the club when you click the Merchants button on our home page to access their sites.

September

MONDAY, SEPT. 4, NYACK JAUNT: What are you doing this Labor Day? Why not join Robert Sinclair on a 39-mile roundtrip ride at a B14 pace to the lovely ville of Nyack? Fabbers will meet on the Manhattan side of the George Washington Bridge at 10 a. m. sharp. Enjoy lunch at the Runcible Spoon (bring yours or money to buy) before heading back. For further information or to RSVP, contact Robert at robert_sinclair73@yahoo.com or 917-579-9018.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 12, NYC CENTURY: Transportation Alternatives, New York City's coalition for cyclists and pedestrians, plops the NYC Century Bike Tour (http://www.nyccentury.org/) into our laps, with distances of 100, 75, 55, 35 or 15 miles traced along bike paths in distant boroughs you probably didn’t know existed — the paths, hopefully, not the boroughs. Your entry fee brings you priceless vistas of urban landscapes and the camaraderie of New York’s geekiest bike geeks — who could ask for more? And if your legs or any other part of your physique fail, a subway station is never more than 15 minutes away. Bob Nelson meets century riders at the corner of Fifth Ave. and 110th St. at the painful but extremely realistic hour of 5:15 a.m., a tiny bit in advance of the 5:30 a.m. start time. For further info, contact Bob at fastnfab@yahoo.com or 212-567-7160.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 19, BRIGHTON BEACH: Join Bob Nelson and several other miscreants for what’s likely to be our last open water swim this year with the Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers (http://www.cibbows.org/), who know the beach and its currents and have mapped out several courses from 400 yards to three miles long. Some folks wear wetsuits, but the water temperatures this time of year don’t require them. What the lifeguards and CIBBOWS do require is a brightly-colored swim cap, so you’re visible to all. Meet Bob at Canal and Forsyth at the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge bike path at 8:30 a.m., which should give us plenty of time to ride through Park Slope to Prospect Park to Ocean Parkway and down to the beach. The CIBBOWS folks are quite the chatty and supportive bunch, though everyone does her or his own workout, with a buddy of course. They'll hook you up with one if you forgot to bring one. The lifeguard chair where they meet is on the other side of the boardwalk from the Volna restaurant on Brighton Fourth St. There is a concrete pavilion on the beach side with a water fountain; bathrooms are farther west along the beach. You will need a bike lock, swimsuit, towel, goggles, sunscreen and money. RSVP please to Bob Nelson at mailto:fastnfab@yahoo.com or (212) 567-7160.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 25, RIVERSIDE RIDE: Richard Brause leads this monthly ride. Meet at 10 p.m. at the Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park; return to Columbus Circle around 12:30 a.m. Distance? About 12 miles. Weather? We only cancel when no one in their right mind would have fun. Dress for the weather. You won't need sun block. Free for cyclists and skaters. Appropriate for cyclists of just about any skill level and experienced skaters. We hope these rides encourage folks to enjoy our parks at night, without motor vehicles: quiet, safe, and relaxed.