Ride/Scouting Reports – Page 2

August 5, 2023: Return to Katonah

We revisited our Katonah “Spring Gravel Series” routes. It had been three months and these routes are too good to save for just once per year! We had a fantastic group of riders in all of the pace groups. The intersecting routes worked out great. It was fun for all of the pace groups to come together at the top of the Mountain Lakes Climb and then again at Hayfields Market for drinks and snacks mid-way through the ride. Almost everybody stayed to celebrate and hangout at Paulie’s after the ride.

These were the routes:
Long (63mi, 5700ft): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42475041
Medium (47mi, 4500ft): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42475048
Short (38mi, 3600gt): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42475104

Here’s my Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/9589231952

July 22, 2023: Lake Waramaug Gravel Ride

Beautiful ride! The long distane group took a bit of a shortcut back and did some soft pedaling (rider with mechanical), but that didn’t take away from an excellent and enjoyable ride. Everyone gathered for cold drinks and food by the river afterwards, which made for a fun post-ride social. The weather was perfect, especially the cooler morning hours. We never regret traveling up to this area. We hope to see everybody out there another time!

These were the routes:
Extra Credit: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43692320
Long: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43691565
Medium: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42464289
Short: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43691836

Here’s my Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/9501953863

July 15, 2023: Tenmile River Gravel Ride

Fun day out! After some logistical delays, we started the ride with a bang by immediately tackling the longest hill of the day (Tower Hill Rd). There were great rural roads, pastoral views, horses, cows, and even a giant snapping turtle sitting on one dirt road!

Later in the day, we were feeling the sun and heat with some riders suffering towards the end. Still, everybody made it and we celebrated with some cold drinks and food (with a cooler pulled up onto the train platform — the only shade to be found at Tenmile River station!)

Note: This was a first-try and these routes need some work. We’ll make some changes in the future to stay on nicer roads more of the time.

These were the routes:
Long: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43615453
Medium: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43615317
Short: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43615298

Here’s my Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/9458403991

July 1, 2023: Westchester with Mountain Lakes & Waccabuc

Report: A highly enjoyable route that covers familiar terrain, but in a way that feels like a totally different ride from our SGS Katonah route. In cases where we are on the same roads, it was almost always in the reverse direction. All of the pace groups overlapped multiple times throughout the ride, which was a lot of fun. It also gave me (Steve) the opportunity to jump into the Medium group for the last few miles – I was starting to feel the afternoon heat!

These were the routes:

Long (61 mi, >5200 ft): http://ridewithgps.com/routes/43458179
Medium (51 mi, >4200 ft): http://ridewithgps.com/routes/43458220
Short (41 mi, >3500 ft): http://ridewithgps.com/routes/43458314

Here’s my Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/9370221531

2023 Spring Gravel Series Recap

GrNY’s “Spring Gravel Series” (SGS) included 5 rides over 5 weekends and was great fun! Each ride had three speed groups, which corresponded to different route lengths (short, medium, long), so everybody would finish at about the same time to socialize after the ride. Join our Strava group to be notified of future rides (but see here first: https://grny.org/category/about-grny).

Just want the routes from each ride? Here’s a collection in RidewithGPS:
https://ridewithgps.com/collections/1897351?privacy_code=5fvuXMgvhsk25x93

SGS1 – Katonah, NY (May 6, 2023). Our first Spring Gravel Series ride of the year was an awesome time! Thank you to everyone who showed up and made it the fun day that it was. We travelled on some of Westchester’s most scenic rural roads. Many of us celebrated together after the ride at Paulie’s Deli, which has only about 5-6 taps, but always good stuff in them. Today’s selection included Lawson’s Finest Liquids: Sip of Sunshine, Maine: Lunch, and other non-IPA beers, of course. Those cold beers were well-deserved!
Photos and ride stats (Steve’s Strava profile):
https://www.strava.com/activities/9023394582

SGS2 – Dover Plains (May 13). It was an awesome ride. The long distance group had a fast bunch and we cleared this beautiful course impressively quickly. This route includes many of Dutchess County’s best dirt roads, including some hidden gems. We tackled the gorgeous streamside climb through Wassaic (Tower Hill Rd), Ludlow Woods Rd, Deep Hollow Rd, and so many other great spots. We saw everything from forests with deer hopping across the trail, to farms full of animals, to ridges with long pastoral views in the distance. Many of us capped off the ride together with burgers, ice cream, and beer.
Photos and ride stats (Steve’s Strava profile):
https://www.strava.com/activities/9066076684

SGS3 – Pawling, NY (May 21). Beautiful and fun ride! Thanks everyone who joined us today. The weather was perfect (warm enough for comfort, but not hot enough to overheat), and the condition of the dirt roads was really good. There were only a few rare spots that were soft from the previous day’s rain. And the route was as beautiful as I remember it. Many of us celebrated with cold beer and food at O’Connor’s Public House after the ride.
Photos and ride stats (Steve’s Strava profile):
https://www.strava.com/activities/9115448504

SGS4 – Cold Spring, NY (May 27). Awesome ride with a huge turnout! Much of the ride took place near Fahnestock State Park, with lots of fun and challenging climbs. We found all the hills today! The “long”, “medium”, and “short” distance groups accumulated ~7500ft, ~5400ft, and ~4800ft, respectively. There were beautiful forested roads, ponds, crazy climbs, and steep descents. A really fun time! Some of use stuck around for beer, ice cream, and snacks by the Hudson River in Cold Spring.
Photos and ride stats (Steve’s Strava profile):
https://www.strava.com/activities/9152286381

SGS5 – Far Hills, NJ (June 3). Spectacular ride. We traversed some of the region’s best rural roads, tackled the rugged climb through the Teetertown Ravine and later traveled through the spectacular Lockwood Gorge. The rest of the ride was wonderfully scenic, too. We had a great turnout – and missed a few from the group photo, as always. Most people joined us for drinks and snacks at the park after the ride. It was great to catch up with returning riders and to meet many new folks!
Photos and ride stats (Steve’s Strava profile):
https://www.strava.com/activities/9196314449

Questions? Feel free to reach out to Steve (track.smart@gmail.com).

Unofficial Frozen Apple Ride + Bonus Dirt

On Sunday, March 26 a dozen GrNY riders joined in the Unofficial Frozen Apple Ride (a completely informal group ride). There were around 30+ riders at the start, so a big group. The official Frozen Apple Ride was supposed to happen in March of 2020, but was cancelled due to COVID restrictions. It was sponsored by the Westchester Cycle Club (WCC), Pedal Peekskill, and River Outpost Brewery. Laura (of WCC) thought it would be fun to bring it back as an informal group ride, which was a great idea.

It was a lot of fun! It was great to meet a number of new riders and enjoy some dirt roads with good scenery and very few cars. Some of our faster riders did an extended route, so we would finish in a similar amount of time to other GrNY riders. Some of us gathered at the River Outpost Brewery for burgers and beer after the ride. That was a fun post-ride stop, though be forewarned that they were very busy on what was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. Getting beer from the bar wasn’t too hard, but ordering food was hit-or-miss (they closed the kitchen to new orders periodically to allow them to catch up).

The route is mostly on dirt roads and pavement. HOWEVER, expect a challenging forest trail around mile 18 (shown in blue). If you don’t feel comfortable riding all of it, walking won’t slow you down much. It’s an uphill grade, so nobody will be going particularly fast. It’s also a fairly short section. Also: Sunken Mine Rd and the forest trail are not maintained in the winter and are snow-covered for much longer that you would expect in the winter and early spring! One rider visited the route just a week earlier and found large sections covered in snow. Most riders parked at Lents Cover Park, which worked out well.

Main Route (42 miles, 4100ft): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42308101

Extended Route (48 miles, 4800ft): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42308406

The extended route doesn’t add a lot of new roads. It largely crosses over the original route. It was created so that faster riders would end in a similar amount of time as slower-moving riders. This worked out well.

OUR ACTUAL RIDE: https://www.strava.com/activities/8783273906

Beautiful riverside cruising on dirt roads.

Poster for the event that never happened (the 2020 Frozen Apple Ride).

New Year’s Gravel Ride in NJ

On Monday January 2, 2023 a half-dozen GrNY riders headed to Gladstone, NJ for a New Year’s Eve (observed) gravel ride. It was an unseasonably warm January day. The weather forecasters predicted that the foggy morning would be followed by sunshine, though the sun never quite materialized during our ride. Still, we appreciated the relative warmth for this time of year!

Our group travelled at a sociable pace (with occasional harder efforts on the hills) for our approximately 54 mile ride with ~4500 ft of climbing. Everyone was in good spirits and happy to be outside after a busy, and cold, holiday season. Overall, this was a fun and relaxed ride over quiet dirt roads, past farm fields, forests, and some beautiful locations, including Teetertown Ravine and the Lockewood Gorge. The gray, cloudy light in the photos doesn’t do these locations justice.

In terms of logistics, car drivers started in the picturesque Natirar Park, while train riders hopped off at Far Hills Station, just 2 miles away.

ROUTE LINK: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36696613

OUR ACTUAL RIDE: https://www.strava.com/activities/8327653872

NOTES:

– Watch out for the crazy sharp *hairpin turn* on a steep downhill before the 26 mile mark! Take it slow! I added some custom cues to the route in Ride with GPS.

– The Lockewood Gorge part of the ride is beautiful, but… some sections are more hike-a-bike than rideable in recent times. Those sections are short.

– This route skips around the Columbia Trail multi-use path and uses scenic rural roads instead. The trail is often muddy in the winter and for a few days after rainfall. The dirt roads in the region fare much better after rain. The trail also gets pretty busy on nicer days, with kids, dog walkers, and even groups of horseback riders.

Views of the rugged, but beautiful Teetertown Ravine Preserve.

Farms and forests along our route. — There were many farms and forests along our route.

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.

Post-Turkey Gravel Ride in Westchester, NY

Post-Turkey Gravel Ride in Westchester

On November 26, a group of 20 riders descended upon Katonah, NY for an after-Thanksgiving gravel ride in Westchester, NY. Riders tackled either a 66 mile route with well-over 6,000 ft of climbing or a 50 mile route with over 4,000 ft of climbing. Both routes traverse some of the best dirt roads in Westchester County and include an always enjoyable (if a bit challenging) dirt climb through Mountain Lakes Park. Both routes were exactly the same for the first 44 miles, which made it easy for folks to ride together, whether they chose the short or long routes. I did my best to organize us into three pace groups, but I think the folks in the slower two groups were eager to ride hard and ended up chasing the fast-moving front pack of riders (inevitably splitting up into smaller groups as they dropped back). Regardless, it seemed like everybody had a good time! Some of us stayed after the ride for beer and food at Paulie’s Deli. My thanks to all the GrNY and RAD Cycling Collective folks who came out on this day! It was a great way to burn off some Thanksgiving calories.

ROUTE LINKS:

– 66 miles, ~6000 ft, https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39540733

– 50 miles, ~5000 ft, https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41450355

ACTUAL RIDE: https://www.strava.com/activities/8172624966

NOTES: In general, this route sticks to well-maintained dirt roads, with the exception of the climb through Mountain Lakes Park. That park road is considerably rougher, but still isn’t particularly technical. All of our riders did fine on 35mm or larger gravel bike tires.

One of Westchester County's many well-maintained dirt roads. — Riders enjoying one of Westchester County’s many well-maintained dirt roads.

Riders pausing to enjoy views from the Cross River Dam.

“Fall Back” Gravel Ride: Brewster > Wingdale > Wassaic

In addition to turning back the clocks, on November 6, 2022 a group of GrNY riders tackled a gravel ride of 79 miles and over 7,000 ft of climbing (or a truncated 65 mile version). This ride offered a bit of redemption, because the previous time we did this route was in early March, when we encountered many miles of snow-covered back roads. The ‘normal’ dirt roads were fine that previous day in March, but the closed-for-the-season dirt roads had not yet melted. Live and learn!

Overall, this was a fun day out and a great first GrNY ride since my (Steve’s) return from Colorado. It was a beautiful route with a mix of rural dirt and paved roads. And it was such a wonderfully warm day. It was hard to believe it was November. Some of us celebrated with beer and pizza after the ride and both tasted mighty fine after our efforts.

There were a few minor imperfections on the day, but they didn’t dampen our spirits (even if they did dampen the roads!). The weather turned a bit wet and misty during the second half of our ride, but on such a warm day it really wasn’t much of a bother. And the first part of our ride, Pugsley Rd, was in the process of being redeveloped so it was a sketchy trek through an in-progress construction zone. Thankfully, there was no active work on this weekend morning. Say farewell to the formerly- quiet, and formerly-dirt Pugsley Rd! It will soon be paved and have a huge warehouse operation, a large recreation center, and lots of truck traffic. You may need to choose an alternate route to start this ride if construction is still underway.

The top “loop” of this ride has much more gravel than the bottom loop, especially now that Pugsley Rd is no longer dirt. It might be time to develop a better route that no longer starts from Brewster.

ROUTES:

– Full, 79 mile version: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41370685

– Shortened 65 mile version: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41370810

ACTUAL RIDE: https://www.strava.com/activities/8079592997

WARNING: After emerging from Penny Rd onto pavement you will encounter a crazy steep downhill. Go slow! One rider almost lost control. I guess I wasn’t clear enough when I tried to warn folks.

Note: This version of the 79-mile route switches the direction of the “top loop”. This is a change for the better. First, it puts our lunch spot (Kent, CT) at mile 35.5, which is better timing. Second, it allows for a shortened 65-mile route that keeps everyone together until lunch time. Third, it allows us to ride *up* Macedonia Brook State Park, which means you get more time to enjoy the lovely scenery, rather than bombing down it at high speed.