Black Rock Forest Adventures! Scouting for Future GrNY Rides

This ride was under the radar: Steve sent an GrNY email to riders who typically join our longer distance group. Key information: Bring the biggest tires you’ve got for your gravel bike and understand that we are riding into the unknown. I have NOT posted a complete route yet, because key connecting roads have not yet reopened (namely Storm King Highway), but they are supposed to open this fall. Expect to see a GrNY ride at that time.

Scouting report: It was definitely an adventure — and a lot of fun! Black Rock Forest has always been a favorite spot, but was badly damaged in the storms from July 2023. I’m pleased to say that all of the roads they list as “maintained” are back in action and still a lot of fun on the gravel bike, particularly if you bring the big tires. These are not Westchester Dirt roads! They are mildly maintained jeep roads. My thanks to Nick, who scouted the eastern side the day before and gave us the heads-up that Old West Point Rd (another unmaintained jeep road) was an overgrown mess. That’s one bit of exploration we didn’t need to do on our own! Thanks to my fellow riders for joining me on this adventure — it was way more fun with some company who were ready for a bit of the unknown!

[As an aside, we started the day with a trip up Bear Mountain, since we were passing next to it and a couple of riders hadn’t ridden it yet. It’s always an enjoyable and nicely-graded climb.]

I have added an annotated map of Black Rock Forest to this post. It shows which jeep roads are in decent shape. Check marks = Good. All of the jeep roads marked in blue were enjoyable to ride — assuming you expect some rough conditions and are up for some adventure. Steve has done all of these jeep roads on skinnier rubber (e.g. 35mm slicks!), but it’s a lot safer and more enjoyable on bigger tires. Steve was riding 2.2″ 650B tires at ~20 PSI and did not regret it, though one of our group members was riding 38s and managed okay.

Blue trail color = enjoyable to ride on a gravel bike, assuming you expect some rough conditions and are up for some adventure. Red X’s = rough and overgrown with vegetation. Definitely not fun or recommended.

This is what it’s like in those sections we marked with red X’s on the map. I have no idea what is under that vegetation. We rode most of it, hitting rocks, branches, holes, and hoping we wouldn’t get knocked off our bikes. It might be worth riding after the vegetation dies down and the snow has melted. Snow melt often takes several weeks longer here at Black Rock Forest than other places in the region.

GrNY Lake Waramaug Gravel Ride: “Bears, Bobcats, and Hawks, Oh My!

This is a variant of one of Kathy’s favorite routes in Litchfield County, CT. The riding is spectacular here and includes the scenic shoreline of Lake Waramaug. Everyone enjoyed the ride, which was not as dirt oriented as many of our rides, but made up for it with good views and quiet country roads.

The long-distance group had some good wildlife spotting: A young bear running down the road in front of us (we were watchful for where mama bear was hiding!), a bobcat later in the ride, and a hawk that flew right in front of us at eye level, among other encounters.

Our usual three pace groups were present. All of the groups ended at almost the same time, having travelled different distances. We even had some mid-ride hanging out at our first water-refill spot on Lake Waramaug. Many riders hung around for cold drinks and snacks at the end. We picnicked next to the river in New Milford.

Note: This ride required driving to the start location. There are no trains to New Milford. We could have started elsewhere (e.g., Pawling), but trains would not have arrived until very late in the morning. We needed to start early given how hot it was predicted to be on this summer day.

Routes

Extra Credit: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43692320
Long: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43691565
Medium: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42464289
Short (v2): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47183661

Steve’s Strava Post: https://www.strava.com/activities/11888393334

Views from above Lake Waramaug.

Young bear on the road! Not a tiny cub, but it definitely looked too small to be solo. We took care to give lots of space in case mama bear was around (hence the blurry zoom photo).

Columbia County Gravel Century (starting in the Berkshires)

This ride started in Millerton, NY, quickly reached the base of Mt Riga Rd in the Berkshires, and then continued northward where we spent most of the day riding in Columbia County, NY. This is the area between the Farmer’s Daughter routes (to the north) and our own GrNY routes in Dutchess County (to the south). I don’t think anybody left disappointed!

For this ride, Steve reached out to GrNY riders in our long-distance pace group and those riders invited others. We made food stops at the Depot Deli across from Taconic State Park Campground and at the Hawthorne Valley Farm Store. After the ride, we met at a BBQ place for food and post-ride celebrating.

For those who want to try this, here’s the updated route, which now avoids a potential private property section: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46060990

…and the extra credit version that includes the Mt Everett climb, which some of our stronger riders did. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46090231

You can easily cut ~30 miles off the main route for a more manageable, but still very challenging, ~70-mile day.

Steve’s Strava Entry: https://www.strava.com/activities/11389565400

Great views in the Berkshires portion of the ride.

Many farms and country roads.

Zooming downhill. The ride included a lot of up and down!

GrNY Spring Gravel Series 2024: It’s over, but more rides to come!

UPDATE: Our Spring Gravel Series is over, but we’ll continue to post rides throughout the year! Look for invitations to our Strava group.

Photos and Ride Recaps: See below for links to Steve’s Strava entries.

Original Announcement: I’m happy to announce Gravel NY’s third annual Spring Gravel Series! We have planned five weekends of gravel rides, starting on April 21. Each ride will have three “pace groups”, which will differ in speed, distance, and intensity of climbing. There will be a common hangout location after each ride, so all groups can socialize over food and drinks. Participating in all five rides will take you to all of the major gravel riding zones in our region – a true gravel tour! We hope you can join us!

Questions? You can email Steve at track.smart@gmail.com

Disclaimer: This is totally informal. You ride at your own risk and are responsible for your own safety. You are expected to be self-sufficient. We cannot guarantee the condition or safety of roads and trails. Nor can we control the behavior of other riders. This is not a supported event. We expect everyone to be an experienced cyclist who can repair a flat, carry appropriate food and hydration, and navigate independently if they lose the group.

SCHEDULE OF RIDES*

Sunday, April 21: Katonah, NY. Ride some of the best and most scenic rural roads in Westchester County. [THIS RIDE IS COMPLETE! See Steve’s Strava activity here: https://www.strava.com/activities/11234340871]

Saturday, April 27: Dover Plains, NY. The picturesque dirt-roads of Dutchess County. It is worth the drive or train ride! [THIS RIDE IS COMPLETE! See Steve’s Strava activity here: https://www.strava.com/activities/11278170936]

Moved to SATURDAY, May 4: Cold Spring, NY. Much of the ride is near Fahnestock State Park, with lots of fun and challenging climbs. [THIS RIDE IS COMPLETE! See Steve’s Strava activity here: https://www.strava.com/activities/11332463445]

Saturday, May 11: Columbia County Gravel Century. This is not one of our SGS rides, but if joining some members of the faster pace group for 100 miles and >10,000 ft of climbing is in your wheelhouse, feel free to reach out to Steve for more information: track.smart@gmail.com. [THIS RIDE IS COMPLETE! See Steve’s Strava activity here: https://www.strava.com/activities/11389565400]

Saturday, May 18: Pawling, NY. We will spend much of the ride in gorgeous Litchfield County, CT. The NY/CT border has some of the nicest gravel riding in our region. [THIS RIDE IS COMPLETE! See Steve’s Strava activity here: https://www.strava.com/activities/11441847954 ]

Saturday, June 15, Far Hills, NJ (Natirar Park). Spectacular ride that goes through the Teetertown Ravine and Lockwood Gorge – worth the trip! [THIS RIDE IS COMPLETE! See Steve’s Strava activity here: https://www.strava.com/activities/11660226512]

For Saturday rides, the default rain date will be Sunday of the same weekend. We will generally start each ride around 9am, with adjustments for train schedules. Ride schedule and routes are subject to change due to weather or other factors.

PACE GROUPS

Long (60-65+ miles, faster speed, and killer climbs): These rides will be led by Steve. 17+ mph (“Strava speed” on paved solo rides); 19-20mph (NYCC standards); ~14MPH average on gravel rides with 100ft/mile of elevation gain.

Medium (45-55 miles, moderate speed, skips some of the deadliest climbs): Kathy will lead these rides, which will still be challenging, but travel at a slower speed. Pace expectation: 14 mph (“Strava speed” on paved solo routes);l 16-17 mph (NYCC standards); ~12 MPH average on gravel rides with 100ft/mile of elevation gain.

Short (40-45 miles, no-drop): Ralph will typically lead these rides. This group will stop more often to rest, take photos, and enjoy the scenery, riding at a friendly, no-drop pace. Pace expectation: 12-13 mph (“Strava speed” on paved solo routes); 14-15 mph (NYCC standards); 10 MPH average on gravel rides with 100ft/mile of elevation gain.

“Strava speed” = actual recorded average speed for long, solo paved rides on relatively flat terrain (i.e., not group rides with drafting).

EXAMPLE RIDES FOR EACH PACE GROUP

It is difficult to describe pace for rides that include dirt, pavement, and substantial climbing. You can compare these examples to your own gravel rides over similar distances and elevation gains. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE ELEVATION GAIN. THESE WILL BE HILLY RIDES.

Long: 63 miles, 6300 ft climbing, ~14 MPH.
– Example: https://www.strava.com/activities/9023394582

Medium: 47 miles, 4500 ft climbing, ~12 MPH.
-Example: https://www.strava.com/activities/9023193918

Short: 45 miles, 3600 ft climbing, ~10.5 MPH.
-Example: https://www.strava.com/activities/9197009980

[These examples are from last year’s SGS rides]

RIDE ORGANIZATION

We will have at least one place to buy food and drink on each ride, but we are only doing grab-and-go during the ride itself (e.g., gatorade + portable snacks). Each group will have a few “wait for everyone” stops. That said, the Long and Medium groups will not wait for riders who are considerably behind the pace. The Short group will be no-drop — with some limits. If you are walking the hills and suffering, even at the slower ride pace, please take a shortcut back to the start and tell the rest of the group to travel without you. We can all hangout after the ride.

THREE REQUESTS

1) Please choose a ride group based on your riding speed, not distance. We want the groups to finish around the same time, so we can all hang out post-ride. We understand you can go the longer distance, but it will be more fun if people ride together (rather than get dropped) and then hangout for food and drink after the ride.

2) Ride safely! Please read our ride guidelines: https://grny.org/guidelines. Key points:
– Control your speed when traveling downhill. Racing downhill is how many serious injuries happen. If you’d like to ride hard, save it for the climbs! Then wait at the top.
– Being predictable to other riders and cars will keep everyone safer. Never pass a rider on the right. If you want to pass, call out, and then pass on their left (like a car).
– You need some form of off-line navigation and should have a backup navigation plan. Why? Many areas won’t have cell coverage. And phone batteries can die during long rides. Examples of offline navigation: Dedicated bike computer (Garmin, Wahoo, etc); Phone with paid subscription to Ride with GPS or Strava and remembering to download to route for offline usage before the ride; Paper map + cue sheets.

3) Don’t blow up your pace group.
– If one or two riders are traveling much faster than the group leader, others will chase them. Then everybody will get strung out riding alone.
– If you are faster than the group average, wait at the top of hills and after major road crossings.
– If there are big speed differences within a group, the group will subdivide at the first catch-up stop. This way everybody will have somebody to ride with.

GrNY: Tunnels and Climbs from New Milford, CT

This ride had it all: A tunnel, climbing, dirt roads, trails, and an extremely high percentage of dirt. Be ready for climbing! Our computers recorded 6300ft in just 53 miles. We traveled many forested gravel roads along streams and got up to ridgelines with great views. Temperatures were in the 30s when we started, but we were quickly shedding layers as the day warmed up. A couple of us grabbed some beers at the Housatonic Brewery after the ride. An excellent day out.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38210313

Steve’s Strava Post: https://www.strava.com/activities/11071718327

It was a day for going up and down (rarely flat).

Streamside riding on dirt roads.

Compilation of Winter Gravel Rides

We typically post fewer rides in the winter and most tend to have a single pace group, rather than our larger “three speeds” rides. This usually means participants from our “long distance” (i.e. faster) pace group. Here are some quick ride reports from some of those winter rides. You’ll find route links for all of them.

Sunken Mine is Back! [Fahnestock / Cold Spring Gravel]

This was a last-minute solo ride to scout conditions in areas that had become unrideable due to storm damage. Fortunately Sunken Mine Rd is back in action. Bell Hollow road/trail, however, remains a mess! Avoid that one if possible.

From my Strava post:

What a beautiful winter day for a gravel ride! Only 58 miles, but the route had some zing, including the fun triple set of climbs: Miller Hill -> Long Hill Rd -> E Mountain Rd . In my mind, cool weather equals climbing weather – at least when I can manage to escape Long Island! Overall, an excellent ride – made better with awesome cookies for fuel – courtesy of Kathy.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45165489

Steve’s Strava Post: https://www.strava.com/activities/10385562790

Freshly repaired Sunken Mine Rd.

New Year’s Eve Spectacular (Dover Plains)

Awesome New Year’s Eve gravel ride in Dutchess County, NY! It was beautiful out there today. A little chilly, but really not bad once we got moving. Thank you to everyone who came out to ride! I forgot to get a group photo at the start – we had to get moving to warm up, ha ha! Next time.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36062828

Steve’s Strava Post: https://www.strava.com/activities/10470108550

Enjoying some car-free miles on closed-for-the-season dirt roads in Dutchess County. Just make sure the snow has really melted! It takes a lot longer back in the woods and without car traffic!

Great winter riding — we kept moving to stay warm.

GrNY: Frozen Gravel from Katonah

Lovely ride in Westchester County, NY! We had bright sunshine, clouds, calm air, blustery winds, and some short snow flurries. And then bright sunshine again! Dirt roads were in decent shape (a bit of mud in places, but not bad), paved roads 98% good with a few random bits of ice to avoid. And we traveled many quiet country roads through woods, horse country estates, etc. Thank you to everyone who showed up to ride on this chilly day!

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38559477

Steve’s Strava Post: https://www.strava.com/activities/10559491259

Group photo at the start in Katonah.

We had a little bit of snow in the latter part of the ride, but not much.

Cold Spring Gravel (Reversed) – And YES, there is still snow on Sunken Mine Rd

A return to the nearby Cold Spring area in Putnam County, NY. Wow, what a beautiful winter day! The sun was shining for our entire ride. We had a great crew of riders, a few of whom chose the shorter route to get back a bit earlier. And we had a bit of extra adventure when we hit Sunken Mine Rd. I stated in the ride invitation “We are hoping Sunken Mine will be snow free, but we’ve been surprised before!”. SURPRISE! There was definitely some snow and ice, ha ha!

Overall, it was a great day on the bike with plenty of climbing to keep us warm (and provide a humble average speed despite our efforts on the hills!). If you choose to travel in this direction, know that you will hit the two biggest climbs, back-to-back, during the last part of the ride. We chose this direction so the folks who were leaving early could maximize their time on dirt before peeling off. It worked out just fine.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44320815

Steve’s Strava Post: https://www.strava.com/activities/10690160870

Super Bowl Gravel from Katonah

This ride was on Super Bowl Sunday. it was a “three speed” ride, with warm weather (for winter) so we had a great turnout. There were a few places where the ground was sticky and velcro-like, but conditions were good overall considering yesterday’s rainfall in this area. A bunch of riders hung out for beer and/or food at Paulie’s Deli after the ride. Paulie’s has some good beer on tap and more options in the refrigerator case. A big thanks to everyone who joined us today and made it a fun ride!

ROUTES:

Long (~61mi): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37901198
Medium (~52mi): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37901140
Short (~43mi): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37901464

Group photo from Super Bowl Sunday ride.

Some of the long distance group out on the road.

Dirt Roads and Killer Climbs from Peekskill (Abridged due to rain)

Yet another return to the Cold Spring area, but starting from Peekskill. Why a return? Rain was in the forecast, so we needed to start someplace close and Peekskill was ideal. It’s a very short train ride or drive from NYC and other places nearby, so we could get an early start.

Beautiful forested roads, fun twisty up-and-down descents, and far more dirt than pavement. It was a good day on the bike with some great company. Thank you to everyone who came out for this climb-fest! For folks who haven’t done as much riding yet this season, it was quite a way to get rolling again! While we didn’t do the 79mi/10,000ft version, even this smaller version had some zing. Some of us grabbed beer and tacos, which were extra enjoyable after a challenging ride!

Steve’s Strava Post: https://www.strava.com/activities/10925302794

ROUTES (We did the shortest one to avoid the rain).

54 mi, 6200 ft (5400 ft on RWGPS) “Stay closer to the cars/train” option:
-Strava: https://www.strava.com/routes/3200946825017014576
-RWGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45788595

67 miles and possibly 8700 ft (7600 ft on RWGPS)
-Strava: https://www.strava.com/routes/3200857010336915552
-RWGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45785833

79 miles and possibly 10,000 ft (8800 ft on RWGPS)
-Strava: https://www.strava.com/routes/3200855455111269472
-RWGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/45781417

Staying warm on the hills!

End of Season Ride: The rest of the dirt roads in Westchester!

Two weeks ago, we did a ride that included *most* of the reasonably connectable dirt roads in Westchester County (see: https://www.strava.com/activities/10121167782). This week, we polished off the rest of them! We had a great group of riders, including a number of new faces. Thank you all for joining us today!

We declared this to be an *End of Season* ride. And what an excellent season it has been! We started the season with our Spring Gravel Series: five weekends in a row of awesome rides covering all of the “gravel regions” within ~1.5 hours drive of NYC. A true gravel tour! We continued with group rides every other week through today (November 12).

What does the “off season” mean for Gravel NY? Check out Jay’s post on Strava for more details: https://www.strava.com/clubs/513005/posts/26246750

The short version: GrNY rides will be much less frequent over the winter. Rides might have a single pace group, instead of “three speeds”, where all the groups overlap several times and hangout at the end. Rides will typically be announced with less notice due to unpredicable weather. We may do some paved riding to avoid messy freeze/thaw conditions on dirt roads and trails – or just for some variety. If we don’t see you this winter, we look forward to riding with you again in the spring!

Parts of the Long and Medium distance pace groups connecting just outside of Mountain Lakes State Park. Both groups were taking a short breather (and waiting for riders) after tackling the largest climb and roughest trails of the day!

This photo is courtesy of Anthony (AKA ToneB). There was still fall color in the understory in some places.

Oct 28, 2023: Almost all the dirt roads in Westchester!

Our goal was to ride all the dirt roads in Westchester County that could be connected without too much pavement in between (>90% of the total). We wanted this to be a gravel ride after all! We almost succeeded in our mission, but apparently we missed the northernmost loop. I was wondering why we came up about 4 miles short. I guess we’ll need to try it again in the spring season! Overall, It was a lovely ride on a day that seemed too warm to possibly be in late October. Thanks for joining us on this silly mission!

Here’s the full route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44840039

50-mile route that overlaps the big route. A number of people opted to ride this shorter distance version: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44845156

Steve’s Strava Activity (we missed the northern loop!): https://www.strava.com/activities/10121167782

A bit of background:

We did an “All the Dirt Roads in Westchester” ride in 2021. We probably covered ~95% of the reasonably connectable dirt roads in the county in about 100 miles and 10,000 ft climbing. It was a crazy, spaghetti-like route!
This updated route condenses the footprint of the ride to make it more dirt-heavy (>50% gravel) at the expense of losing a few dirt road segments. You should still expect a bit of routing insanity! (loops, out-and-backs, etc). Caveats: Short dead end streets, isolated road sections, and some small pieces of longer roads were skipped to make the route a little less crazy and to keep the proportion of dirt very high.

Skipped dirt road segments include:

Boway/Woodway and Boutonville/Dingee roads: Requires a pretty big pavement-heavy loop for minimal increase in dirt road coverage.
Black Spring/Black Brook: Tiny segments of dirt that add too much pavement.
Millertown Rd: Only a tiny segment is still dirt, since half of it has been paved.
Byram Lake/Oregon Rd: Too isolated. Requires too much paved riding to get there and back.
Various small pieces of longer dirt roads: In other words, you’ll visit most of a given dirt road on this route, but might skip a small segment to make the route connect more readily with other dirt roads.

Riders on the “medium” version of the route leaving the Market at Union Hall.

The pond in Mountain Lakes Park, which was just before our biggest (and most technical) climb of the day. The park road is in much worse shape than it was earlier in the season, so use caution on the way up! And I strongly advise against riding down it on a rigid gravel bike. You’ll easily get too much speed for the rocky conditions and the potentially slippery leaves covering the road/trail.

Oct 22, 2023: Autumn Ride from Pawling, NY

We encouraged folks to “join us while you can!”, and many people came out to ride. Days are getting shorter and temperatures are dropping. We don’t know when the best riding weather will end for the season.

This was a beautiful ride with cool weather, gorgeous autumn leaves, and a great group of riders. We revisited our Spring Gravel Series route that starts in Pawling, NY and travels through Litchfield County, CT. It was great to return to this region for the fall colors. After the ride, people from all three pace groups gathered at O’Connor’s Public House for food and drinks. Thank you everyone who joined us for this spectacular day!

ROUTES:

Short: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42905463
Medium: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42901005
Long: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42901139

Steve’s Strava Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/10086672755

Long-distance group riding through forested dirt roads.

Part of the medium-distance group (with Kathy behind the camera).

Beautiful views with fall foliage.

Long-distance group stopping for a photo at Mud Pond. The pond is much more beautiful than its name would suggest!

Oct 8, 2023: Goldens Bridge to Carmel Hamlet

Fantastic ride in Westchester County with a fun group! We started at Goldens Bridge, but traveled north towards Carmel Hamlet and the beautiful Croton Falls and Middle Branch Reservoirs. These routes have less intense climbs than we did on our previous “three speeds” ride in Cold Spring, but you should still expect some hills.

Overall: There were lots of reservoirs, leaves turning color, forested roads and horse country estates. The dirt roads were mostly in very good shape for riding, with just a few wet spots from yesterday’s rain. The weather was great, too. A little cool, but very comfortable. Most people stayed after the ride to hang out over cold drinks and food (i.e. tailgating at Goldens Bridge Station, which is across the street from a supermarket and a few stores). A fun time!

ROUTES:
-Long (66mi/>4800ft): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44434121
-Medium (59mi/>4200ft): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44476394
-Short (45mi/>3200ft): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44476854

Steve’s Strava Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/10002658540