Day 4 - Hudson Valley

Saturday - July 30
There are three of us riding now - me, Michael, and Dan Dunmire doing his second day with us.

By the way, you can check out the blog of my friend and riding partner Michael here.  Note in particular his collection of pictures from day 3 and day 4.

We tanked up at the breakfast bar in the lobby of the Inn on the Hudson before setting out for the day's ride.  I think my body has recognized the amount of calories that I'm burning because I felt like pigging out (and I did).  We had to start the day by climbing out of Peekskill away from the river - more significant climbing than we had done on previous days of the ride.  We're now in territory that I haven't explored before so I had doubts about the rideability of some sections.  The road immediately north of Peekskill(Albany Post Rd) did not feel like a great road  bicycles but we were not on it for too long.  We split off toward the river on Cat Rock Road - a very pretty, shaded road which began with a climb but rewarded us with a long downhill to 9D. 

Morning view of Hudson from hotel

We followed 9D for the next 15 miles or so.  It's a very scenic road and I believe it's popular with local cyclists.  At this point we're following the route of a day ride that I found posted at the Bike Hudson Valley site.  9D hugs the river for stretches and bends inland (or the river bends away) at times.  It gave us a great view of West Point from the Indian Brook bridge and spectacular views from the town of Cold Spring.  It took us through a short tunnel at Breakneck Ridge, where we passed hikers who were about to start a climb. 

West Point across the river

The view from Michael's camera

We stopped for a coffee break in the city of Beacon.  Main Street in Beacon has a mix of businesses that seems common in many small northeastern cities.  In addition to the basic markets and hardware stores that may have been there forever, you'll find a few trendy coffee shops and gift shops and numerous restaurants and stores that exist for and are run by the local hispanic immigrant community. (I sometimes wonder what these downtowns would look like without a large immigrant community - I'm guessings lots of empty storefronts ) We went for a trendy coffee shop.

A little bit north of Beacon, we left 9D at Castle Point for roads that went close to the river edge.  We passed through a mix of neighborhoods - established, moderately old houses, new developments, and then some very old houses as we started swinging back to 9D.  We had a short but very steep climb as we left the river's edge.

Back on 9D, we took a break at a park in Wappinger's Falls.  As we neared the end of 9D on our approach to Poughkeepsie, we avoided riding along the very busy Route 9 by taking a curious route (recommended by both Google Maps and the local cycling route maps) on the perimeter road of a shopping mall.  That brought us into a suburban neighborhood just south of the IBM facilities in Poughkeepsie.  The 1960/1970 vintage houses made me think that this must have been a neighborhood built for and inhabited by IBM workers once upon a time.  We passed Vassar College(my daughter Juliana's alma mater) as we entered Poughkeepsie and stopped near the campus for lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant.

After lunch, we crossed the Walkway Over the Hudson.  We stopped midspan and hung out for a while.  I've been on the Walkway once before.  I really love the level of use that it gets.  This was a Saturday afternoon and there was a tremendous mix of people out on the Walkway - some cycling, mostly walking.  The bridge is wide enough to comfortably accommodate the mix.  There was a steady brisk wind blowing downriver.  It felt good in the middle of a hot day.

Michael snoozing on the Walkway

The last time I crossed the Walkway, one had to leave the bicycle path on the west side of the river, descend to street level, cross 9W and climb back to another section of the path a mile or so from the river.  The bicycle path is now complete to the Walkway so were able to continue straight for several miles to the end of the path in a park in the town of Lloyd.  From there we only had a few miles to ride into New Paltz. 

After a stop for cold drinks and ice cream(good idea, Michael!), we rode past the historic stone houses on Huguenot Street and picked up the Walkill Rail Trail.  When I laid out our route along this trail, I didn''t realize that it changes from pavement to dirt just north of New Paltz.  This was not ideal (particularly for Dan's skinny road tires) but we stuck with it for the 8 miles to Rosendale and the condition was pretty good the whole way.  It was scenic and shady(a very important factor) the whole way. 

At Rosendale, we needed to get on a main road(NY 213) for a bit before getting onto side roads.  The remaining 7 miles were all on quiet, scenic, and shady roads.  Berme Road got the highest marks (9.5 out of 10 according to Dan) for minimal hills, beautiful views, and almost complete absence of cars.  Our destination was the home of my friends Bob and Aileen in Accord.  The last stretch was on Towpath Road.  With images of a canal towpath in mind, we anticipated 3 or 4 miles of easy flat riding at the end of the day but Towpath caught us by surprise.  It started with a significant climb that took us past a very tempting swimming hole before ending with a long descent to Accord. 

We rolled up to Bob and Aileen's house at around 6.  Bob was out in the yard barbecuing chicken.  There was some corn to be shucked, some salad out on the table, and all the ice cold spring water we could drink.  We feasted like kings.  We were all kept entertained by Bob and Aileen's incredibly personable 5 year old son Jose.  Visiting friends and family along the way adds such a wonderful dimension to this trip.

Bob, Aileen, and Jose  

Hangin' with the Wurtzel boys in Accord 

Day 4 definitely was the most challenging riding day so far but it was also hugely satisfying.

I clocked 70 miles for the day. 

We're 279 miles into our trip.

Day 3 - 4 Borough Bike Tour, Miles and Miles of Bicycle Trails

We had a great experience today cycling through Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx. ( Sorry, Staten Island.  I know you're the one that always gets left out! ) The day started out cloudy but dry.  The roads from Middle Village to the Brooklyn Bridge were quite bike friendly.  We rode mostly on Bleecker (quiet, very few cars) and DeKalb (busier but with a well marked bike lane).  I think one of the things I like about cycling in the city is that it seems clearly understood that cyclists have a right to share the road with cars.  Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on bicycle is a neat experience that I highly recommend.

Michael and I were joined today by our friend Dan Dunmire who will be with us until Roscoe.  Here are Dan and Michael on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Once in Manhattan, we crossed town (not a long way when you're that far downtown) and picked up the Hudson River Greenway.  We only rode it for a little way before stopping in the village to meet my cousin Eileen for coffee.  Some good coffee and muffins to get us ready for the rest of the day.  Here are Eileen and her son William outside the coffee shop.

We went our separate ways after that.  I headed straight up to Riverdale in the Bronx to visit my inlaws while Michael and Dan each went to visit friends in Manhattan.  We met up in the Bronx in the early afternoon to continue on our way.  We didn't do it together but we all followed the Hudson River Greenway trail for almost the full length of Manhattan.  It ends a little bit north of the George Washington Bridge and on street bike lanes take you the rest of the way to the Broadway bridge into the Bronx.

In the Bronx, we only rode a short way on city streets before picking up the Putnam Valley Trail in Van Cortlandt Park.  Here are Michael and Dan cycling on Broadway near 230th Street in the Bronx.



From Van Cortlandt Park, we followed the Putnam Trail to the South County Trail to the North County Trail.  It's rather astounding but, with just a handful breaks of not more than a mile or so, we followed cycling trails all the way from the Bronx to Yorktown Heights, some thirty miles to the north.  If you add on the miles ridden on the Hudson River Greenway trail, we rode over 40 miles on cycling trails today.  And the trails are in very good shape for the most part.  We left the trails at Yorktown Heights to head to Peekskill.  Unfortunately, it was around 5:30 by that time and storm clouds were rolling in.  We took shelter at a gas station/7-11 until the rain, thunder, and lightning had passed and then rode the remaining 4 miles to our hotel in Peekskill.

I clocked 68 miles for today's ride.

3 days down, 209 miles covered.

Day 2 - Breakfast Club, Passage through Suburbia

Our second day started with a 12 mile ride from Miller Place to St. James for a breakfast stop at the Tic Toc Cafe.  We had 7 along for this stretch of the ride (The Maggios, Colleen Rudman, Lem Coley, Pat Killian, Michael and me).   The breakfast really was a nice sendoff for me and Michael. 

Breakfast riders - Pat, John, Michael, Greg, that rascal Lem, Colleen, Michele

Today's ride was a very different ride from yesterday's.  We had to get through some pretty heavily populated areas.  Some sections of the route (like the stretch from Smithtown to Commack and the ways through Hicksville and Westbury) kept us on side streets going from one housing development to the next.  These stretches were reminiscent of rides I remember from my childhood - following Bike Route signs in Nassau County and seeing just where they would take us.  Those Bike Routes, which I think were brand new when I was a kid, used the development hopping technique to avoid main roads.  At other points today, we rode along main roads that were less than ideal for bicycles - like stretches of Old Country Road and Hillside Avenue.  (You can find the full route for the day at http://niagarabycycle.info/#TheRoute ) When we first reached Queens, the riding conditions were actually quite good.  Quiet streets for a while, then the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway trail which took us several miles through Alley Pond and Cunningham parks, then several miles along 73rd Ave with a nice bicycle lane.  

Michael cruising along the trail in Alley Pond Park

When we reached the point where we had to cross the Van Wyck and the Grand Central Parkway, things stopped being bike-friendly. We were on busy roads with no real room for bicycles until we got to the other side of Queens Boulevard.  Not pleasant but it didn't go on for very long and it's not the norm for city riding.  We should have good bicyle lanes for almost all of our trip through the city tomorrow.

Michael and I each got to ride past some places of personal significance since Nassau has a place in each of our pasts.   Here's a picture I'll include for my wife Lee.  We passed by the former Galaxy in Plainview - the site of our wedding reception nearly 31 years ago.  (The horse has no personal signifigance)

We ended the day at my nephew Brian's house in Middle Village.  We had a nice dinner with Brian and his wife Liz and got to hang for a while with very cute and happy 5 month old Patrick. So here's something you won't find in most cycling blogs - a baby video.

Patrick and his folks

 2 days down, 141 miles into the ride. 

 http://niagarabycycle.org/

Day 1 - Taking the Scenic Route

We're on our way.  Five of us left Montauk Point around 9am.

Michael, Greg, Michele, and Alice ready to go

Our first day of riding reminded me how much I like the bicycle touring experience.  I observed in my start of the day posting that we would spend the day re-covering the same distance we covered in one and a half hours in the car in the morning, but it's all so different when you do it at a bicycle pace and do it on routes chosen for bicycle riding.  Between the routes that Google maps laid out for us and some spur of the moment detours based on our recollections of past rides, we ended up seeing some really beautiful sections of the north and south forks.   We had beautiful sunny weather the whole way and we didn't let the northwest wind, which was in our faces most of the day, bother us.

A short way into the ride, we left Montauk Highway for Napeague Meadow Road - a quiet road that took us through a low lying marsh area and then through woods before returning us to the highway several miles later.   We met up with Rick Wagener and his TriCruiser at Sag Harbor.  From there it was a short ride to the Shelter Island Ferry.  After crossing Shelter Island, we stopped for lunch at a luncheonette in Greenport.

Filling up the Greenport sidewalk with our bi/tri cycles

West of Greenport, we detoured north onto Soundview Avenue and followed some quiet roads through woods and farms before coming back to the highway near Goldsmiths Inlet in Peconic.  That route was taken based on a combination of guidance from Michael's smartphone and our memories of having ridden through that area on past rides (I recall a Suffolk Bike Riders Assn ride that followed those roads and stopped at the Horton Point Lighthouse).

Figuring out which way to go at a crossroads

Not long after that, we chose a southern route down to picturesque New Suffolk.  Greg and Michele and I rode through New Suffolk not that long ago.  I think it's one of the prettiest spots on Long Island.  We had the good fortune of passing a lemonade stand on the way from New Suffolk to Mattituck (and the 6 of us were a nice bump in the kids' business for the day) 

New Suffolk

The twenty miles from Mattituck to home gave us a taste of the business end of bicycle touring.  We were feeling tired by that point and just wanted to cover those miles and get to our destination.  We rolled into Miller Place around 6:30 and had a party and a feast waiting for us.  My bike computer showed 81 miles of riding - more than Alice, Greg, or Michele had ever ridden in a single day before.  

We're off!

Here we go!  The trip begins today.  I'll try to post at least once a day during the trip but there are no guarantees on that (so don't send the state troopers looking for us if I miss a day!)  You can check the routes for each day at http://niagarabycycle.org/

We start the first day of the trip at 6:30am with a drive from my home in Miller Place out to Montauk Point (thank you to my daughter Annie for giving us a lift).  There will be 5 riders to start the day (me, Michael, Greg and Michele Maggio, and Alice Cialella).  Our minivan is loaded up with bicycles - two on the top rack, two on the back rack, and one inside with front wheel removed.   We'll be met by Rick Wagener midmorning in Sag Harbor so we'll be 6 for most of the day.    Our route for the day includes a ride across Shelter Island with ferry rides at either end. 

The weather report for today (and for the next 10 days) looks great.   Sunny with a high in the eighties.  The wind will be against us but that's not a big surprise.  There's a very light northwest wind now which is expected to pick up some during the day.

We'll end the day right back here at Miller Place - taking the full day to cover the distance we'll have covered in an hour and a half drive in the morning.  That's the nature of this cycling game!  I'm promised that there will be a spaghetti dinner awaiting us when we arrive back at home.

Though I know that we will end up back home at the end of the day, I'm going to ride with my bicycle fully loaded to give me a chance to try it out under those conditions.  I think Michael will do the same.  I've tried to travel as lightly as possible.   I got my rear panniers down to 19 pounds with another 5 or 6 pounds in my underseat toolbag and handlebar bag.   

4 days to go

Yikes, not much time left!   This weekend will be the time to make sure the bike is ready and make final arrangements before the trip.  There are still a few route details to work out.  I am not planning to use this blog to describe the fundraising aspect of the project but I will mention that we got some real nice publicity in the past week with a story in my work newsletter and in Long Island Newsday.   The picture from Newsday is below.  Michael and I were instructed to "look serious and stare off into the distance" for that shot.

http://niagarabycycle.org

Two weeks to the start of our trip.
Visit http://niagarabycycle.org for overview info about the trip.

Planning for the trip is coming along well.  I think most of the routes are pretty well set, though we might end up making last minute adjustments as we learn things along the way.  I appreciate the advice I got from some upstate cyclists.  In places where the advice recommended changes, I've made some adjustments in routes.  When the feedback confirmed that my routes were at least OK for bicycles, I was very happy to hear it.  It is no fun to be riding on a bad cycling road (little or no shoulder, heavy traffic).  I used the http://www.gpsvisualizer.com web site to generate elevation profile maps for each day's ride.  It's a neat site which accepts GPS data or links pasted from Google maps and produces elevation profile graphs.  ( An aside - gpsvisualizer did not agree with elevation profiles I got from Google Earth, and after experimenting with some local routes, I convinced myself that gpsvisualizer was the one to be trusted. )

Michael Crowell is my riding partner for the full ride.  It looks like we will have company for at least part of the day on most days of the ride and Michael and I both share a "more the merrier" philosophy about the trip.   Greg and Michele Maggio are going to at least do the day 1 ride from Montauk to Miller Place with us.  We'll end the day with a spaghetti dinner at the Morris house.  On day 2, a few friends, including Colleen (and Stan?) Rudman will join us at the start for a 12 mile "breakfast ride" from Miller Place to St. James.   Dan Dunmire is planning to ride with us through the city and through the Catskills to Roscoe.   My old friend Bob Wurtzel will ride a part of the way from Accord to Roscoe.  Diane Sipple is going to join us for some still to be determined part of the way from Roscoe to Niagara Falls (and I'm still hoping her cycling son Stuart will join us, too).

We're really grateful that friends and family have offered us places to stay for 7 out of the 10 nights on the road.  It looks like night 3 (Putnam County) and night 7 (between Roscoe and Syracuse) are going to be motel nights.  We decided not to bring camping gear along for the ride.  That significantly reduces the amount of weight we have to haul up those upstate hills.

Speaking of climbing hills, I have been putting in a lot of miles to prepare for the trip.  I typically ride a lot at this time of year but I've been riding more this year.  I've been riding to work almost every day (today will be the first driving day in a few weeks).  Since we have more drivers than cars in the house during the summer, my use of a bicycle for commuting is appreciated.  The ride to work is pretty flat so I've tried to include hills in weekend rides.  Michael and I have gotten out together for a bunch of north shore rides.  I did one ride in which I went and down hills in Port Jefferson.  I'll probably do that again a few times.  I once was told by someone who went cycling in the Alps that repeatedly climbing the East Broadway hill in Port Jeff can get you in shape for riding anywhere.

I don't know how much more I'll post before the ride but I definitely plan to post blog entries along the way.