Bear Mountain Bike Ride
The last Tuesday, I decided to load my bike and head up to Bear Mountain State Park. (See a few pictures on my Flickrmap or directly at Flickr.com) Partly, it was a test for my bike and equipment but I also wanted to do a longer training ride. I did it in two days with an overnight stay at the park. With all my side trips (and wrong turns;)) I did a little over 140 miles, averaged 11.5 mph and climbed about 8,000ft. Here is a map of the trip: NYC to Bear Mountain Adventure with cue sheets, if you decide to do it too;)
So close, yet so far…, originally uploaded by Rich.
Overall, it was a pleasant ride. First day, I enjoyed the ride around Manhattan, over the George Washington Bridge (GWB) onto the River Road in New Jersey, with its ups and downs. After reaching Nyack, I had my lunch at the quintessential cyclist stopover: ‘The Runcible Spoon’. I’m certainly not the first one to claim it: Great apple pies!!! Then, I rode next to the Hudson River, on a bike route #9, through some great dirt trails. I had to carry my bike a few times over fallen trees or push it through some ‘fist-size’ gravel sections but I still had lots of fun. And then, the long climb to the top of Bear Mountain, from zero ft to over 1,300ft in 4.5 or 5 miles. It was a bit windy up there, with a lonely deer following me and finally feasting on one of my apples;) After a few snapshots, I headed down to find a ‘wild’ campsite in the woods, near Seven Lakes Parkway, not far away from the Silver Mine Lake.
Lake Welch Beach, originally uploaded by Rich.
The next morning, I continued on the Seven Lakes Parkway heading south. I passed by some quite beautiful lakes: Tiorati, Askoti, Welch, and many others. Didn’t see many people vacationing as I was there in the middle of the week but there were plenty of workers readying the beaches, parking lots and camps for the unofficial opening of the 2006 summer season during the Memorial Day wekend (May 27-29). Once I left the woods of the Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks behind, I passed through many small picturesque towns of Rockland county in NY and Bergen county in upper New Jersey on my way back to the city.In terms of equipment, everything went very well, no problems whatsoever. I believe that the Cannondale’s Headshock front-suspension design is quite suitable to off-road touring as it is more stable, has enough travel (80mm) and is completely protected from outside elements. Even the outboard bottom bracket (FSA MegaExo) rarely seen on today’s touring bikes is OK, as long as it is properly maintained. Wheels and tires are rock-solid too. (I already put about 1,000 miles on them). Ortlieb panniers and Tubus rear rack were well worth the expense;) Hope to do one more similar ride before I leave. ONE MONTH TO GO!!! Can’t wait;)))
