Dirty Send-off Ride – Last Day of 2022 (RAD and GrNY)

On December 31, 2022 a group of RAD Cycling Collective and GrNY riders bid farewell to a good year of riding.  We started at Bedford Memorial Park in Westchester County, NY.  It was a cool and wet, but not-too-frigid winter day.  We didn’t see any sunshine, but we were treated to some dramatic foggy vistas.  This relatively short route (46.5 miles) has plenty of quiet dirt roads, about 1.5 miles of forest trails, and some generally quiet paved roads connecting everything together.  There’s a good bit of climbing, too.  Over 4000 ft according to my GPS.

Conditions were pretty good on the dirt road sections, despite a bit of earlier rain and folks made it back before the real rain started.  Thank you Brian from RAD Cycling Collective for organizing!  I was overdue for a good gravel ride.  And the ride lived up to its “dirty” billing! Especially on the trails!

ROUTE LINK: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41679350

ACTUAL RIDE: https://www.strava.com/activities/8317524985

NOTES:

– We started at Bedford Village Memorial Park, but you could easily start this route from Golden’s Bridge if you are arriving by train.

– Sections of the Mountain Lake Park trails had some deep mud when we traversed them on Dec 31, 2022. This section of the route might be better enjoyed during the summer and during dry weather. Also expect that snow will be very slow to melt on those trails during the winter and early spring seasons.

There wasn't much of a view from the Cross River Dam on this foggy day.
There wasn’t much of a view from the Cross River Dam on this foggy day.
Mountain Lakes Park. View from a small foot bridge on one of the trails.
Mountain Lakes Park. View from a small foot bridge on one of the trails.

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