@Scott Kuhlke - don’t know if you’re interested in stopping in any small towns but North Adam’s and Williamstown are both great towns! I did a ride from Averill Park, up to Bennington, down to Williamstown and back. You’d have to give up some dirt for it though That whole area is beautiful. Enjoy the ride!

Scott - this looks like an awesome ride and there are essentially infinite beautiful roads/routes to follow. One suggestion would be to just take Metro North to the end of the Harlem line and ride from there. 

@Scott Kuhlke 

While I understand the desire to start out of town, I generally like starting or finishing in NYC.  I think it's about the transitions and contrasts you see and experience.  so put me in for starting on a little island off the coast of America.

There are actually many resources to check in on.

Heading up to Lake Placid this coming week to do some hiking and riding - these are the routes I have planned so far but wanted to see if anyone has any other suggestions

https://www.strava.com/routes/2820266988918936688
https://www.strava.com/routes/2820266614481998636

@Scott Kuhlke


Not sure what kind of bike you're taking, but that bit of ridge trail NW of Pittsfield is this: https://www.trailforks.com/trails/taconic-skyline-trail-60488/ .

I haven't had a chance to venture up there yet, but from what I know its mostly MTB style trails.

I actually ventured up there today with my 29er. 

The parts of the Taconic Skyline Trail that I saw were loose fist to head sized rocks. The only people I saw on it today were on dual sport motorcycles.

I found it hard to climb in general, but on the steeper parts it was hard to restart if you got stuck on a rock. Descending was also hard because the loose rocks would push you around off your line.

Whoops, sorry for the double post. 



The pictures make it look not as bad as it was. 

There's some nice campsites up there though with a nice overlook into NY State. 

Anyone interested in a mid/late summer extended weekend gravel trip up to VT?

A friend of mine just completed it , he took 2 weeks , camped once 

Bringing this thread back up. 

I'm registered for a 1,500mi ultra this summer (https://pancelticrace.com/).  Never done anything like this.  May not survive, but still need to get those long, sometimes overnight rides in to test the legs and gear.  If that piques your interested, let me know.  I'd love some company for when the weather warms up.  

GregHoge said:

Bringing this thread back up. 

I'm registered for a 1,500mi ultra this summer (https://pancelticrace.com/).  Never done anything like this.  May not survive, but still need to get those long, sometimes overnight rides in to test the legs and gear.  If that piques your interested, let me know.  I'd love some company for when the weather warms up.  

While it might not be your cup of tea, I've been in Central Park after midnight and found people who seemed to be doing laps.  I was just going home.  

I'll probably do some of the first night rides in central or prospect.  I've never ridden through the night, so my thought is to keep things closer to home for safety and convenience. 

Try this week, in the rain , your going to have to get used to rain

That sounds... interesting. Reminds me that I still want to do this
https://youtu.be/2FtbHKWEyyk?si=iU7khjCZW9cgnGiE

DO IT 2024 is your year Jules!

Is it too early to start planning a 2024 Montauk ride?

Looks like people are interested! 

Out and back same day (we would train it back home on the LIRR) or camp out overnight?

For me it's either same day back on the train or camping out and then also biking back - if others are in for that, too. 

Same day return maybe.

it'd be a train back for me

I'm down for either.  You can always have both options with those wanting to train back doing so.

@David Yang

I've been in touch with the guy who used to organize the big ride to Montauk.  I'm pretty sure he'll share the route.  All the same, Myles could probably help us figure out something better than 27 in the Hamptons.  

Awesome, been wanting to do this with pals since riding solo during the lockdowns! I'm partial to the same day train ride back, but it's a late night by the time you hit Penn Station so might be interesting to explore an overnight camp at Hither Hills or something.

JP that would be awesome and yes, I'm planning to raid Myles's fridge (and wine cellar) he just doesn't know it yet, haha.

Schedules usually change after Memorial Day, but the last train out of Montauk on weekends is 7:42p

https://new.mta.info/document/85016

It's about 150mi to the light house so if we start at dawn and keep a steady pace we can probably get there 5-6p? 

I was thinking about doing the Empire State trail to Montreal, but I'm running into a logistical issue: Amtrak doesn't allow bikes on board of the Adirondack between Montreal and NYC. They also don't allow checked luggage, so putting my bike in a cardboard box isn't an option either. 

I'm quite surprised as I thought this trail is quite popular and I'm sure most people are not biking both ways. Are there any other solutions that I'm missing here? 

Edit: found one option, which is the Vermonter train that terminates in St. Albans, VT - 80 miles from Montreal. Let's see if I can fit that into my schedule...

Figured out the logistics. A friend I made in a bar in Pittsburgh - I was there for work, he rode the Great Allegheny Passage, on the super old, sturdy and heavy bike he uses commuting in NYC too - wants to do the Empire State Trail too. We found a one-way rental car, so we'll drive to Montreal on the Friday of the Memorial Day weekend, spend a day there and then bike back to NYC.

I use an Ortlieb handlebar bag on my touring adventures. It's super spacious, easy to access, has a built in lock, is bombproof, water tight. It's got a kind of tricky attachment system, but that makes it really difficult to steal off of the bike. Usually folks who are using frame bags have attachment points for water bottle cages on the forks. Joe Nocella, who owns and operates 718 Cyclery in Park Slope has tons of experience touring and stocks lots of good and useful stuff in his shop. Plus he's a really great guy. That sounds like a great trip. Enjoy!

@LennartZandbergen

I don't know much about downtube bags.  But, they do seem to block access to water bottles, likely necessitating a hydration pack.  I also am not happy about velcroing the bag to the frame, as it will almost certainly abrade the paint.  With metal frames, the worst is you lose paint.  With carbon-fiber, the worst is weakening the frame.

A friend told me about Tailfin racks, which are light, minimal, and can work on any rigid rear end.  Then I saw that Lachlan Morton used them for some of his adventure rides.

Here's a link to Morton's Tour Divide setup.  It's way overkill for you, but might give you some ideas. 

Thanks! I'll certainly pay 718 Cyclery a visit. I see they're currently closed because they're doing a bike tour. That's a good sign to me.