Join us for a ride on the dirt and paved roads of Dutchess County. The long route is based on a past version of MHBC’s Clinton Roubaix Route. Last time we rode this (2023), it was an MHBC-GrNY collaboration (thanks Jeff D!). We are revisiting these routes again after a two-year hiatus – and keeping our streak of new routes alive – we still haven’t repeated the same set of routes this entire season. But don’t worry, we’ll revisit some of our favorite routes soon.
[This ride is over, but there will be more rides this fall!]
A return to NJ, but with fresh routes! This area of NJ has some of the nicest gravel riding in our region: Dirt roads through woods, forests, and along peaceful streams; Ridges and hills with beautiful pastoral views; Quaint small towns with General Stores. You’ll probably find at least one cooler in the woods with local maple syrup and an on-your-honor jar for depositing money.
Once again, we’ve got new routes for everyone. We still haven’t repeated a set of routes this season. Compared to our Spring Gravel Series routes in this area (3.5 months ago), we’ll have some new dirt roads, and for repeated roads, we will be traveling in the opposite direction – with the exception of the Teetertown Ravine – which is always better to climb than bomb down on a rigid bike.
Post-ride wrap-up: We could not have asked for more perfect weather! We traveled through beautiful farms, forests, streams, and more. Lots of great people showed up to ride and made it a fun time. We had a well-attended picnic with snacks and cold drinks at the end. Thanks everyone for joining us!
Photos from the ride:
Starting the climb through the scenic Teetertown Ravine Nature Preserve.
[This ride is over, but we have more planned, including for this coming Saturday, September 20th. Look for the post on Strava or click the link in the prior sentence.
SUMMARY OF RIDE THE RIDGE: We had an awesome day out there. Big turnout, lots of fun dirt, and all of the hills! Not to mention some enjoyable post-ride hangouts at Fishkill Farms over food and drinks. These courses were more challenging than their distance suggested – which we had forewarned folks about in advance – but everyone was up for the challenge. You can see a quick summary and some photos on Steve’s Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/15801061584.
We’ve also included a few photos at the bottom of this post.]
Ride the Ridge has been cancelled for 2025, but the unofficial version by way of MHBC and GrNY will be just as epic! We have gotten permission to park at Fishkill Farms, which has all kinds of tasty delights: Apple cider donuts, burgers, jerk chicken, a hard cider bar, two food trucks — and even some live music. It should make for a great post-ride celebration! It will be a Fall Harvest Festival weekend at the farm.
*Thank you to Jeff D. for reaching out to us about this opportunity for collaboration!*
QUESTIONS? You can email Steve at track “dot” smart “at” gmail “dot” com, but be sure to read all of the information in the Strava post and the group information on the GrNY.org website first.
== 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.
PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT:
Great turnout today. This is most of the group at the start of the ride.
Long Distance (faster) group on the dirt.
Great views from Fishkill Farms at the end of the ride.
We haven’t done the same routes twice this entire season and the trend continues! We will start in Katonah, but travel north towards Carmel Hamlet and the beautiful Croton Falls and Middle Branch Reservoirs. This will be a fun and fast-moving route with rolling hills and nice views. We will have our usual three pace groups. After the ride, we’ll gather at Paulie’s Deli for drinks and food.
QUESTIONS? You can email Steve at track “dot” smart “at” gmail “dot” com, but be sure to read all of the information in the Strava post and the group information on the GrNY.org website first.
== 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.
This ride is over, but we’ll have more rides posted soon! You will find some photos and highlights from the ride on Steve’s Strava post. We’ve also added a few photos from this year’s ride at the bottom of this post.
Join us for one of Kathy’s favorite routes in Litchfield County, CT. The riding is spectacular here and will include the scenic shoreline of Lake Waramaug. We will have three “pace groups”, which will differ in speed, distance, and intensity of climbing.
Expect country roads, a civilized stop in Kent, CT for baked goods and coffee, and a visit to Lake Waramaug. There will be some climbs, but nothing like the Tunnel Ride in June! We had a great time last year and had some fun wildlife sitings. We saw a young bear running down the road, a bobcat, hawks, and other surprises (see here: https://www.strava.com/activities/11888393334)
Stick around after the ride! We’ll picnic next to the river. Kathy and Steve will bring a big cooler of drinks and snacks to share.
Young bear on the road! From last year’s version of this ride.
Expect beautiful riding along Lake Waramaug as an interlude between dirt sections.
PHOTOS FROM THIS YEAR’S RIDE:
Riders gathered by the Housatonic River
Medium group headed into Lake Waramaug State Park to refill water bottles.
Long Distance group cruising along Schaghticoke Rd near Kent, CT.
We rode from Bedminster, NJ on a series of routes provided by our resident NJ dirt guru. David leads a weekly ride from Bedminster most Fridays. We had only done these new routes once, last year, hence NEW Jersey Dirt for the ride title! These routes are a bit flatter (fewer steep sections) and spend more time in pastoral areas than our typical NJ routes, for a nice change of scenery.
Overall, it was an excellent ride with a fun post-ride picnic in Burnt Mills Park at the end. We had cold drinks, fresh baked goods (courtesy of Kathy), watermelon, salty snack, the works. We were tremendously lucky with the weather – it was almost fall-like at the ride start and we completed the ride before temperatures could climb too close to their summer highs. As with the first time we did these routes, the pace groups finished in a similar amount of time, we overlapped multiple times during the route – including at our refueling locations – and a good time was had by all. Thanks everyone who joined us today and made it a fun occasion!
This ride is over, but we’ll get the next ride posted soon! See here for a short ride report and some photos from the day’s adventures:https://www.strava.com/activities/15245451036
Overall: It was a fun day of exploration! Black Rock Forest was beautiful, as always. Stewart Forest was also a fun place to explore, though sections of our route where pretty overgrown – expect to travel through quite a bit of long grass – we advise using bug spray and checking yourself for ticks later, just in case. Expect the biggest climb at the end of the ride (sorry!), it’s the only way to get all the way back up to Black Rock Forest.
Come ready for adventure! We have an entirely new set of routes that will encompass the jeep roads of Black Rock Forest AND Stewart State Forest. Black Rock Forest is a hidden gem in our region. Steve and Kathy have been there in all seasons on bikes, snow shoes, and in hiking boots. The image at the top of this post should give you a flavor of what to expect.
Ride Report: Our Dutchess County Gravel Grinder on July 12thwas a lot of fun! Rolling hills, country roads, farms, forests, and great views from end to end. Plus a fun celebration at Kelly’s Creamery and Food Truck after the ride (ice cream, hot food and cold drinks).
Photos from the Dutchess County Gravel Grinder (below):
Thank you to Ek for this photo of the Medium distance riders on the road.
One of the many dirt roads along our route.
A few of the Long group at the top of Tower Hill Rd. Sadly, it was too hazy to see the Catskills in the distance like we often can from this spot! Thank you Leslie for taking this photo.
Some of the pastoral views along our route.
Medium group tackling Tower Hill Rd, which turns to dirt at the top. Another photo from Ek.
Our next “three speeds” ride will be on July 12. Join us for a spectacular ride on the dirt-roads of Dutchess County. After cresting Tower Hill Rd, be sure to stop around the corner for some views of the Catskills in the distance (i.e., the cover photo for this post). It’s a nice payoff for your efforts! We’ll end at Kelly’s Creamery & Food Truck, so everyone can celebrate together at the end of the ride!
Our thanks to everyone who joined our last two rides (October Mountain and The Tunnel)! You can find photos and a quick recap of those rides on Steve’s Strava posts, here:
Our recent NJ gravel ride was a ton of fun! Thanks everyone for joining us. A few photos are included in this post. You can also check out Steve’s Strava activity for a very quick recap and some additional photos.
TLDR version… 1) Please take two seconds to fill out the online waiver form on the GrNY website. You only need to do this once. 2) Please RSVP to the ride via the Strava event links. 3) If you’d like to support the club with a few bucks, you’ll find info on how to do that in the link above, but there’s no cost to join the ride or the club itself. After reading our guidelines, and signing the waiver… Just show up and ride!
Questions? You can email Steve at track.smart@gmail.com, but please read all of the information in the above links first.
Disclaimer: GrNY rides are completely 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. Our rides are not supported events. 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.
The spectacular Teetertown Ravine climb from our recent New Jersey gravel ride.
GrNY’s fourth annual Spring Gravel Series continues! Our next SGS ride will be Far Hills, NJ on the weekend of June 7, you can RSVP here. It’s a gorgeous ride! We hope you can join us. See here for full details about the Spring Gravel Series.
Thank you to everyone who made our first SGS rides a success! You will find photos and short summaries of those completed rides at Steve’s activity posts on Strava:
SGS-Extended (June 7): Far Hills, NJ. Spectacular ride that goes through the Teetertown Ravine and Lockwood Gorge – worth the trip! We skipped these routes previously due to weather and competing events, but we will be making up for it soon! RSVP here: https://www.strava.com/clubs/513005/group_events/2054906
A HUGE THANKS to everyone who has contributed towards club expenses! GrNY will remain free to join and free to ride, but contributions to help cover expenses are greatly appreciated! You can find out more at this link.
