Oct 04, 2020 at 08:15 PM
Thanks JP!mugwump said:Here it is
https://www.strava.com/activities/2657312299
- 77.43mi
Distance- 4:23:22
Moving Time- 6,844' climbing
Social Distancing Solo Saturdays and Sundays
Oct 04, 2020 at 08:32 PM
Spent time yesterday riding around Harriman, including Bear Mountain, almost exactly the same loop I rode July 2019, except I removed private property and added a little loop to make sure it went past 100km.
A forest ranger gave be some trouble for connecting Seven Lakes via the Palisades Parkway. I agreed with him that it was dangerous, he let me go with a warning. No biggie. I’m aware it is not legal, but why doesn’t the state make a bike lane? also, is there another easy way to connect these?
Many of the side roads were closed to traffic, Perkins, Tiorati, Arden, I have done all these roads many times before, but words and pictures won’t do justice to how awesome yesterday was, simply, one of the most beautiful rides I’ve done in my life. Amazing these are so close to the city. Wished you were there. Great day out.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4146727188
A forest ranger gave be some trouble for connecting Seven Lakes via the Palisades Parkway. I agreed with him that it was dangerous, he let me go with a warning. No biggie. I’m aware it is not legal, but why doesn’t the state make a bike lane? also, is there another easy way to connect these?
Many of the side roads were closed to traffic, Perkins, Tiorati, Arden, I have done all these roads many times before, but words and pictures won’t do justice to how awesome yesterday was, simply, one of the most beautiful rides I’ve done in my life. Amazing these are so close to the city. Wished you were there. Great day out.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4146727188
Oct 04, 2020 at 08:56 PM
Fucking amazing pictures !
Oct 04, 2020 at 08:59 PM
Amazing weekend 
Oct 04, 2020 at 11:24 PM
@eloy if it's not dangerous it's not worth it (JK). what an amazing ride!
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I'm going to Minnewaska from poughkeepsie (via metro north) next weekend or the following. will be fantastic weather either weekend. i have 35 and 65 mile routes into the Gunks, mixed road/gravel. i've never been. more details if you want to slack at me.
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I'm going to Minnewaska from poughkeepsie (via metro north) next weekend or the following. will be fantastic weather either weekend. i have 35 and 65 mile routes into the Gunks, mixed road/gravel. i've never been. more details if you want to slack at me.
Oct 05, 2020 at 01:30 AM
I had a pretty long day on the mountain bike Saturday. I rode from Bethpage State Park up through Trailview and then did some loops in Stillwell before heading south again. I've gone through these trails on the cross bike a few times but it was real fun and fast on a bike with some proper tires! As per strava, out of the 46 segments on the route, I set PB's on 39 of them lol.
Eating and drinking def feels less intuitive on the trail though. I think I ate one bag of swedish fish and one bottle of water in 2hr 40min... not really a winning nutrition combo but I made it home okay. Though I do feel beat up today and I wonder if depleting my stores has something to do with that.
Eating and drinking def feels less intuitive on the trail though. I think I ate one bag of swedish fish and one bottle of water in 2hr 40min... not really a winning nutrition combo but I made it home okay. Though I do feel beat up today and I wonder if depleting my stores has something to do with that.
Oct 05, 2020 at 03:19 PM
Decided to take my own advice and ride up to the Bronx River Parkway one last time for the year.
Figured I'd take the BRP to Route 100, then to Pleasantville, try a new road to Ossining, and maybe explore a bit of roads along the river in Ossining before going around the Rockefeller Estates in Tarrytown, crossing over the TZB and hitting Old Mountain before going over to 9W and rumbling home.
Also decided to pull out the fast wheels (zipp 303's with specialized Turbo Cottons and latex tubes) to see if they'd make a noticeable difference on the final segments of Old Mountain to the GWB.
Things didn't quite work out as I expected.
Turns out that when I rode the BRP to Route 100 last, I had illegally ridden on the open BRP. A police caught me and directed me to the bike path (hadn't noticed that before!) that meanders alongside. And goes up to the Kensico Dam. I've been by the Dam before, but never have I ridden the brick hill up to the top of the dam. Pretty cool. I recommend it. Then off to Pleasantville, where I flatted (!) Didn't get anything in the tire; looks like the latex tube finally fatigued. It's probably several years old. Alas.
Worried that I was running out of time, I skipped the planned exploration, wanting instead to concentrate on the week-to-week comparison between fast wheels and regular wheels.
I realized that to minimize variables, I should have worn the skinsuit I rocked last week. Had on our aero jersey instead, which flaps a bit in the chest when in the drops. On the Strava segment from the market in Palisades, NY to E.Clinton in Tenafly, I went 35 seconds faster, with slightly higher power. I don't think it's a great test as there was definitely a headwind coming back, and I don't think there was last week.
Another accidental test of the day was seeing if my Wahoo Bolt could pick up satellite signals and calculate my speed without a speed sensor in Manhattan and The Bronx. Turns out not so good. my Wahoo readout was 4.8 miles shorter than my Strava readout.
Still, glorious day to be out.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4152836206
Figured I'd take the BRP to Route 100, then to Pleasantville, try a new road to Ossining, and maybe explore a bit of roads along the river in Ossining before going around the Rockefeller Estates in Tarrytown, crossing over the TZB and hitting Old Mountain before going over to 9W and rumbling home.
Also decided to pull out the fast wheels (zipp 303's with specialized Turbo Cottons and latex tubes) to see if they'd make a noticeable difference on the final segments of Old Mountain to the GWB.
Things didn't quite work out as I expected.
Turns out that when I rode the BRP to Route 100 last, I had illegally ridden on the open BRP. A police caught me and directed me to the bike path (hadn't noticed that before!) that meanders alongside. And goes up to the Kensico Dam. I've been by the Dam before, but never have I ridden the brick hill up to the top of the dam. Pretty cool. I recommend it. Then off to Pleasantville, where I flatted (!) Didn't get anything in the tire; looks like the latex tube finally fatigued. It's probably several years old. Alas.
Worried that I was running out of time, I skipped the planned exploration, wanting instead to concentrate on the week-to-week comparison between fast wheels and regular wheels.
I realized that to minimize variables, I should have worn the skinsuit I rocked last week. Had on our aero jersey instead, which flaps a bit in the chest when in the drops. On the Strava segment from the market in Palisades, NY to E.Clinton in Tenafly, I went 35 seconds faster, with slightly higher power. I don't think it's a great test as there was definitely a headwind coming back, and I don't think there was last week.
Another accidental test of the day was seeing if my Wahoo Bolt could pick up satellite signals and calculate my speed without a speed sensor in Manhattan and The Bronx. Turns out not so good. my Wahoo readout was 4.8 miles shorter than my Strava readout.
Still, glorious day to be out.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4152836206
Oct 11, 2020 at 09:59 PM
Anybody know why the section of river road is closed
I turned around today and headed back , any news of riders getting into trouble (fined) for hoping over the road barrier ?
I turned around today and headed back , any news of riders getting into trouble (fined) for hoping over the road barrier ?
Oct 11, 2020 at 11:05 PM
there were lots of trees down. it's all passable. haven't heard of any fines, and there have been many cyclists and hikers when i've gone through.
Oct 12, 2020 at 02:23 AM
I was there last weekend, lots of people were lifting their bikes over the barrier.Mark Taylor said:Anybody know why the section of river road is closed
I turned around today and headed back , any news of riders getting into trouble (fined) for hoping over the road barrier ?
I think I noted in this space that a few weeks back, a park worker said it was "closed" and used air quotes.
Oct 12, 2020 at 02:32 AM
Another day, another wormhole. Not a single kilometer on 9W.
Way out in Franklin Lakes, I was chased down by erstwhile competitor Stephen Dioslaki. Haven't seen him since my first race at Branchbrook in March. We used to get in long breaks all the time. He was clearly excited to see me and had been chasing for probably a few miles. good thing I had slowed to eat a bar. We chatted and quickly went into breakaway mode, trading pulls at 26mph for a few miles and ripping the descent into Oaklan. I know this isn't quite right (drafting when riding hard), but I did know that when we hit 202 in Oakland, he was going south and I north. It felt awesome.
I rolled pretty well--maybe it was the skin suit and race wheels ( @David Yang)--74.6 miles in 4:10 and 4,226' climbing is a brisk day on the bike for a solo ride for me, at least nowadays. And the route was pretty quiet overall. The difficulty of putting fast wheels on the bike is taking them off.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4182841595
Stephen didn't ahve any bottles with him, just his phone in one of the cages. he told me it was because he wasn't riding nearly as long as I was. Indeed. He did 42 miles. And averaged 23mph! Granted, a much flatter ride, but still.
Way out in Franklin Lakes, I was chased down by erstwhile competitor Stephen Dioslaki. Haven't seen him since my first race at Branchbrook in March. We used to get in long breaks all the time. He was clearly excited to see me and had been chasing for probably a few miles. good thing I had slowed to eat a bar. We chatted and quickly went into breakaway mode, trading pulls at 26mph for a few miles and ripping the descent into Oaklan. I know this isn't quite right (drafting when riding hard), but I did know that when we hit 202 in Oakland, he was going south and I north. It felt awesome.
I rolled pretty well--maybe it was the skin suit and race wheels ( @David Yang)--74.6 miles in 4:10 and 4,226' climbing is a brisk day on the bike for a solo ride for me, at least nowadays. And the route was pretty quiet overall. The difficulty of putting fast wheels on the bike is taking them off.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4182841595
Stephen didn't ahve any bottles with him, just his phone in one of the cages. he told me it was because he wasn't riding nearly as long as I was. Indeed. He did 42 miles. And averaged 23mph! Granted, a much flatter ride, but still.
Oct 18, 2020 at 09:32 PM
Another four hours in the wormhole.
Out to Saddle River. Added a few hills to keep variety going and was hoping it would bring the total over 70 miles for the day. Turned out I did over 5'k climbing, which was good. But less than 70 miles, which was disappointing. Speed was a bit lower than expected, considering the Zipps and skinsuit. I think the fast wheels will be retired for the year in a week or two.
I caught some guy in Englewood. He picked up his pace to chat. Seemed like he wanted to talk--also out on his own for a long time. We rode side-by-side to the bridge. his final words 'see you on flyby'. I guess that's a thing now. He's not there yet, but I'm hoping it will pop up, as I already forgot his name, and I had said hello to him yesterday.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4213568754
Out to Saddle River. Added a few hills to keep variety going and was hoping it would bring the total over 70 miles for the day. Turned out I did over 5'k climbing, which was good. But less than 70 miles, which was disappointing. Speed was a bit lower than expected, considering the Zipps and skinsuit. I think the fast wheels will be retired for the year in a week or two.
I caught some guy in Englewood. He picked up his pace to chat. Seemed like he wanted to talk--also out on his own for a long time. We rode side-by-side to the bridge. his final words 'see you on flyby'. I guess that's a thing now. He's not there yet, but I'm hoping it will pop up, as I already forgot his name, and I had said hello to him yesterday.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4213568754
Oct 18, 2020 at 10:13 PM
Haha i've never had someone say that to me, but Strava recently turned flyby off as a default setting. You now have to opt in, which kinda makes sense. So its possible that he doesn't have it turned on.
Oct 19, 2020 at 02:57 PM
Spent some time yesterday looking for all the dirt roads, and hunting for fall colors around Kent, CT. Starting and finishing at my Aunt's Maia in Long Mountain Road.
This turned out to be a great full on gravel ride. I created the route in Ride w/ GPS but used a new discovery https://gravelmap.com/ which was awesome to help me find where the dirt roads/segments are.
Quite a few awesome highlights, but specially sweet was riding the Appalachian trail, closed to traffic, next to the Housatonic River, and then turning 90 degrees into Skiff mountain, via a crazy wild unmaintained steep AF road (18~20% ouch)
https://www.strava.com/activities/4213441677
LMK if you want the ridewgps -- you wouldn't start from my Aunt's, but starting from Kent would be easy enough. For gear, rode a 38 front, 32 rear, which was manageable, but a 34 or 36 rear might be better. Had the Renee Herse 35s tires, 32 tires is probably the minimum these roads allow.
Oct 19, 2020 at 03:12 PM
Awesome. Nutrition game strong as well.
Oct 19, 2020 at 05:10 PM
Photos look gorg!
Oct 19, 2020 at 06:19 PM
Headed out to Cold Springs yesterday via the very boring, but very efficient Route 25a. After 2 weeks of being off the bike due to knee pain it was way harder (and colder) than I remembered it being. Starting temps were mid to low 40s so I pulled out the fleece bibs, doubled up with arm warmers under the long sleeved darkside jersey and went with the reliable wind vest which is probably the most versatile piece of kit you can buy from ChampSys. Phil Gaiman's Cookie Fondo neck gaiter completed the ensemble. I had to turn around after a few blocks from home to get full fingered gloves. T'is the season.
Heading there was completely uneventful - the recent heavy rains added a bit more sand and grit to the side of the road, but I was able to ride in the right lane pretty often - the roads were empty outside of the occasional Porche and Ferrari being enjoyed on the same quiet roads (the route passes through some of the most wealthiest parts of the US).
The backroad to Snake Hill from town was blocked off so I took a short pause to enjoy a serene early morning moment with the cranes and swans in the bay and had a stroopwafel begging for some hot coffee. As I headed back and rounded the corner to 25a I was met with a small parade of 20+ riders in mismatched generic/plain kit heading east, none of them wearing masks. I don't want to cast judgement, but was glad I didn't get caught up behind them getting there and was heading in the opposite direction.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4212140661/overview
I can't wait to ride with you all again.
Heading there was completely uneventful - the recent heavy rains added a bit more sand and grit to the side of the road, but I was able to ride in the right lane pretty often - the roads were empty outside of the occasional Porche and Ferrari being enjoyed on the same quiet roads (the route passes through some of the most wealthiest parts of the US).
The backroad to Snake Hill from town was blocked off so I took a short pause to enjoy a serene early morning moment with the cranes and swans in the bay and had a stroopwafel begging for some hot coffee. As I headed back and rounded the corner to 25a I was met with a small parade of 20+ riders in mismatched generic/plain kit heading east, none of them wearing masks. I don't want to cast judgement, but was glad I didn't get caught up behind them getting there and was heading in the opposite direction.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4212140661/overview
I can't wait to ride with you all again.
Oct 19, 2020 at 06:39 PM
great looking ride.eloy said:
Quite a few awesome highlights, but specially sweet was riding the Appalachian trail, closed to traffic, next to the Housatonic River, and then turning 90 degrees into Skiff mountain, via a crazy wild unmaintained steep AF road (18~20% ouch)
https://www.strava.com/activities/4213441677
LMK if you want the ridewgps -- you wouldn't start from my Aunt's, but starting from Kent would be easy enough. For gear, rode a 38 front, 32 rear, which was manageable, but a 34 or 36 rear might be better. Had the Renee Herse 35s tires, 32 tires is probably the minimum these roads allow.
Two things about this.
A train stops about 5 miles west of Kent, so for those who want to take Metro-North, it can be done. OTOH, or other side, one can also drive up to Southbury, where the Old Housatonic hills road race used to go, and catch all manner of gravel while heading to Kent and back.
In the 'things I should have known better' about category, I'm pretty sure I descended much of Skiff mountain's trail on my road bike. I had assumed from the GPS route I created that it was paved (starting and finishing from Washington Depot). I should have gone further north, but I feared I was running out of time, so I unwisely chose the more direct route. In retrospect, that I only crashed once was a pretty good thing.
Oct 19, 2020 at 08:19 PM
A train stops about 5 miles west of Kent, so for those who want to take Metro-North, it can be done. OTOH, or other side, one can also drive up to Southbury, where the Old Housatonic hills road race used to go, and catch all manner of gravel while heading to Kent and back.
That's right, the Harlem Valley Wingdale station is super close, and a easy train ride from Grand Central. Would be easy to connect to my gravel route, but all sorts of gorgeous road riding is available too. Been thinking of heading out from Grand Central more often, the quality of riding even just 45 minutes north into the Hudson Valley is unparalleled in the world.
In the 'things I should have known better' about category, I'm pretty sure I descended much of Skiff mountain's trail on my road bike. I had assumed from the GPS route I created that it was paved (starting and finishing from Washington Depot). I should have gone further north, but I feared I was running out of time, so I unwisely chose the more direct route. In retrospect, that I only crashed once was a pretty good thing.
Haha, even on the cross bike, would not have been too much fun to go down that trail. Definitely made this mistake with other dirt roads, while on a road bike. Luckily, little by little gotten better at planning routes on ridewgps. I guess https://gravelmap.com/ could be useful to both find or avoid dirt roads.
Oct 20, 2020 at 03:11 AM
@eloy +1 for my home state!! I'm sad cross isn't happening this year as I would have loved to show y'all around if people came up for the Mansfield Hollow CX race. CT in the Fall is the best place to be.
Oct 26, 2020 at 03:32 PM
Spent some time yesterday hunting for all the dirt roads around Putnam County, NY on an updated ROAM 2020 route that includes more gravel and more elevation.
Highlight still is the East Mount Road climb to the Beacon Reservoir— that thing is relentless >20% what what. There are infinite other rewarding moments tho, can’t count the many times I went “wow this is gorgeous”
Missed you. Wished you had been there.
https://strava.app.link/9igdrjtWTab
Route start/finish is at the Garrison train station, making it an easy fun day from Grand Central
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34505187
Highlight still is the East Mount Road climb to the Beacon Reservoir— that thing is relentless >20% what what. There are infinite other rewarding moments tho, can’t count the many times I went “wow this is gorgeous”
Missed you. Wished you had been there.
https://strava.app.link/9igdrjtWTab
Route start/finish is at the Garrison train station, making it an easy fun day from Grand Central
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34505187
Oct 26, 2020 at 05:30 PM
Good lord @Eloy I'm dying with envy. I spent two hours staring at a screen 
https://www.strava.com/activities/4244260543
https://www.strava.com/activities/4244260543
Oct 26, 2020 at 09:15 PM
Route taken - Saturday is looking cold but sunny. Any cafe stops en route??
Oct 27, 2020 at 01:27 AM
yes, I marked 2 stops on the ridewgps, one at 32ish km and another at 54ish km B&L deli the only stop I used, got some hot apple cider that revived me big timeRichFreeman said:Route taken - Saturday is looking cold but sunny. Any cafe stops en route??
Oct 27, 2020 at 08:27 AM
@eloy , is it the same route we did last time?
Oct 27, 2020 at 11:59 AM
basically yes, but found a few more dirt roads and a little more elevation, that were added to the route above.Mark Taylor said:@eloy , is it the same route we did last time?
@RichFreeman forgot to mention, around 46 ~ 47 km you might find a fence gate with signs “no access to...” ignore it, you can find and walk your way just left of the gate. Basically, get yourself to the other side of the gate and continue.
Oct 27, 2020 at 02:56 PM
cheers Eloy - looking forward to this now.
Oct 31, 2020 at 07:04 PM
Super cold this morning , spent the whole ride thinking ,why didn’t I wear overshoes
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lots of deer on river road
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lots of deer on river road
Nov 01, 2020 at 08:47 PM
Maybe it's timing, but I was in (fleece) shorts, short sleeve jersey, warmers, vest, short-fingered gloves this morning. A bit chilly at the start, but was good Rode out to Wayne, by William Paterson University. Don't think I've been riding that way in 25 years, then on to Oakland and home.
Got caught in the rain for the final 50 minutes or so. Was riding hard enough that I put on my vest in Englewood and was only a bit cool when I got to my door. Stopping, of course, is cold!
https://www.strava.com/activities/4273441066
Got caught in the rain for the final 50 minutes or so. Was riding hard enough that I put on my vest in Englewood and was only a bit cool when I got to my door. Stopping, of course, is cold!
https://www.strava.com/activities/4273441066
Nov 01, 2020 at 09:53 PM
Saturday headed up river to Garrison and began the ROAM ride that Eloy had posted. Some Wahoo related issues (the crossing of the route tried to send us straight back to Garrison) resulted in a slightly alternate route being curated on the fly however it was an awesome day to be in the hills on the gravel roads. Coming up East Mountain road brought us into a semi alpine scene, with the snow a couple of inches thick to the side of the grey/black ribbon of tarmac which rose, walllike in-front of us. A great day out finished with beers at Peekskill.