Tag: Dover Plains NY

Ride Report: The Golden Russet Gravel Ride (8/15)

Fun ride! We had a fast-moving crew for the long-distance group (68 mi). There were two additional pace groups tackling 58 mi and 46 mi versions of the route (“medium” and “short”, respectively). These routes have nice dirt climbs (almost all of them pretty reasonably graded – no 20% killers), ripping dirt descents, beautiful forested roads, scenic pastoral views, and a nice stop at the Golden Russet general store to refuel. Skies were clear enough to see the Catskills from the top of Tower Hill Rd (see photo). Oh, and we had relatively cool weather, considering it is summer, which was wonderful. Many folks stayed to celebrate over burgers, ice cream, and cold drinks at Kelly’s Creamery and Food Truck. Thanks everyone for joining us today and making it a blast!

Note: The long route is based on a past version of MHBC’s Clinton Roubaix Route. The first time GrNY rode this (2023), it was an MHBC-GrNY collaboration.

Part of the Long Distance group on the dirt.

Beautiful pastoral views along the route.

Views of the Catskills from the top of Tower Hill Rd.

Ride Report: Dutchess Gravel Grinder (June 27, 2026)

This was an awesome ride with a fun group! We traversed some of the best dirt roads in Dutchess County. Forests, streams, pastoral views, and glimpses of the Catskill Mountains in the distance from the top of Tower Hill Road. Many people stayed after the ride to socialize at Kelly’s Creamery and Food Truck, which never disappoints (ice cream, food, drinks).

We had four different pace groups and associated routes (short, medium, medium+, and long). You can find these, and many other routes, on RidewithGPS.

The main image (above) is the view from Tower Hill Road. See below for additional ride photos. More photos can bee found on Steve’s Strava activity, here.

We hope to see everyone soon for the Tunnel Ride, which is one of our favorites! Check the group page on Strava for details: https://www.strava.com/clubs/513005

Some of today’s riders at the start.

Riding country roads.

Pastoral views.

Dutchess Roubaix – Saturday, Oct 11

This ride is now over (and was a lot of fun!) We’ve included some photos from the ride at the bottom of this post.

We’ll have another ride on Saturday, November 1. We’ll see about the weekend prior to November 1. It might not be in the cards for our ride leaders. Look for the November 1 ride to be posted soon to the Strava group.

Original Post: 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.

RSVP Link: https://www.strava.com/clubs/513005/group_events/3410816259538220254

Photos from the ride on Saturday, October 11, 2025 (Dutchess Roubaix)

Photo at the start of the ride. We missed a few riders as always.

Long Distance crew at the Top of Tower Hill Rd. You can see the Catskills Mountains in the distance.

Some of the Medium Distance crew (minus Kathy our photographer) on the other side of Tower Hill Rd.

Dirt roads through the woods (Long Distance crew).

Saturday, July 26 – Black Rock Forest & Stewart Forest

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.

RSVP HERE for the Black Rock Forest Ride

Ride Report: Our Dutchess County Gravel Grinder on July 12th was 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).

You’ll find a quick recap and some photos on Steve’s Strava activity, here: https://www.strava.com/activities/15092008126

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.

The Spring Gravel Series Continues!

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:

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.

Dutchess Fall Foliage Ride, Saturday October 12 (Routes & Missing Links)

UPDATE: This ride is over, but you are welcome to check out Steve’s Strava post for more photos and a quick recap: https://www.strava.com/activities/12639767105

Join us for a spectacular fall foliage ride on the dirt roads of Dutchess County. We’ll be riding fresh routes to keep things interesting! The trees should have nice fall color, which will be an extra treat. We will have the usual three pace groups (short, medium, long) and expect all groups to end at around the same time. All routes end at Kelly’s Creamery & Food Truck, so everyone can celebrate together at the end of the ride.

Strava is currently stripping external links from their pages. We have posted the links related to this group ride below.

QUESTIONS? You can email Steve at track.smart@gmail.com, but first see the RSVP link on Strava and GrNY’s tips and guidelines page, which contain a lot of useful information.

ROUTE LINKS:

Long (64 mi, >5300 ft): ridewithgps.com/routes/48709455
Medium (54 mi, >4200 ft) : ridewithgps.com/routes/48708817
Short (42.8 mi, >3400 ft): ridewithgps.com/routes/48708860

GOOGLE MAPS LINKS

Start Location: Dover Plains Train Station.  Use the parking lot on Market Street.  Do NOT use the parking lot on Railroad street.  Google maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/eJeZb2fB9N2L6ber7

End of Ride Gathering:  Kelly’s Creamery & Kelly’s Husband’s Food Truck for food and drinks. Google maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HbdpM6W6UNSQeHk4A

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.

Group photo, minus 5 riders who were either late or still getting themselves ready to roll.


View from the top of Tower Hill Rd. Absolutely worth the climb! Fall colors in the foreground and the Catskills Mountains in the distance.

Sherman, CT to Dover Plains Gravel Ride

Beautiful ride on a perfect summer day. We had routes queued up ranging from 41 to 106 miles. There was a surprisingly big crowd for the longer distances. Most of the riders at the start joined for the 80-106 mile options. We had two smaller groups who enjoyed the medium and short distance options, respectively.

For the longer distance groups: A group of us cut back a bit early from the 106-mile loop, since we had a couple of riders whose legs were toast and/or cramping up. We certainly didn’t feel short-changed by our “only” 91 miles of beautiful riding (versus the possible 106). We took the last part at a nice, easy, and highly enjoyable pace. While the rest of the group grinded out their final miles, we were enjoying cold beers, burgers, and live music at the Housatonic River Brewery. Those of us at the brewery were all pretty satisfied with that choice! Thanks to everyone who came out today!

Longer Routes:

106mi, >10,000ft: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47941045
86mi, >7,000ft: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47940089
80 mi, >6500: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47941324

Medium Route (52 miles, >4000 ft): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47927290

Short Route (41mi, 3000ft): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/47928659

Steve’s Strava Post: https://www.strava.com/activities/12123560711

Long-distance (i.e., faster) pace group riding along.

Riding through Macedonia Brook State Park.

Aug 19, 2023: Dutchess Dirt

On Saturday, August 7 the GrNY group returned to Dover Plains after a three-month absence. As expected, it was worth the drive or train ride! We had three pace/distance groups (long, medium, short) who traversed the picturesque dirt roads of Dutchess County. We were fortunate to get absolutely perfect weather, too! After the ride, everyone celebrated with food, drinks and/or ice cream at Kelly’s Creamery and Kelly’s Husband’s Food Truck.

The medium-distance group did our less-intense variant of the classic Dover Plains Dirt loop (i.e. this route: ridewithgps.com/routes/36062828). This medium-distance variant (link further down) is possibly the best version. It skips the two steepest climbs in favor of other great dirt road riding. It also adds more civilization, including better food options in Amenia, NY and Sharon, CT. It uses a spur of the Harlem Valley bike trail to connect it all together and adds some new (flatter) dirt/gravel roads make up for any lost dirt, including the always lovely (and well-graded) climb up Deep Hollow Road.

The short-distance group did the same route, but stayed on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail at the midway point. This made for a shorter but also extremely pleasant ride back to the start. Finally, the long-distance group did a very different route that cut westward and traversed the area around the Wassaic Multiple Use Area (a lovely forested area).

ROUTES

Macedonia Brook State Park

Medium-distance group on the road

Boardwalk through a beautiful wetland (only traversed on the short-distance route).

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).

GrNY’s Spring Gravel Series Starting May 6, 2023

I’m happy to announce Gravel NY’s second annual Spring Gravel Series!  

We have planned five weekends of gravel rides, starting on May 6!  Each ride will have two or 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. With luck, all groups will end around the same time. We hope you can join us! 

Actual routes and start times will be posted soon.  See “Pace Groups”, below, for a sense of expected distances, elevation gain, and speed of travel. 

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.

SCHEDULE OF RIDES*

May 6: Katonah, NY. Ride some of the best and most scenic rural roads in Westchester County. Please RSVP via Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/513005/group_events/1366051

 May 13: Dover Plains, NY. The picturesque dirt-roads of Dutchess County. It is worth the drive or train ride! Please RSVP via Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/513005/group_events/1378216

May 21: Pawling, NY. Start in Pawling, NY, but spend much of the ride in gorgeous Litchfield County, CT. [This ride has moved to SUNDAY 5/21]  https://www.strava.com/clubs/513005/group_events/1388181

May 27: Cold Spring, NY. Much of the ride is near Fahnestock State Park, with lots of fun and challenging climbs. https://www.strava.com/clubs/513005/group_events/1393514

June 3: Far Hills, NJ (Natirar Park). Spectacular ride that goes through the Teetertown Ravine and Lockwood Gorge – worth the trip! https://www.strava.com/clubs/513005/group_events/1398444

* Rides are scheduled for Saturday mornings, but 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 is 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. If you’ve ridden with him, then you understand the intensity of those rides. Pace expectation: 19-20mph (NYCC standards), ~17 mph (“Strava Speed” on relatively flat routes*). 

Medium (45-55 miles, moderate speed, skip some of the deadliest climbs): Kathy will lead these rides, which will still be challenging, but travel at a slower speed. Pace expectation: 16-17 mph (NYCC standards), 13-14 mph (“Strava Speed” on relatively flat routes*). 

Short (33-45 miles, no-drop): Available most weeks. This group will stop more often to rest, take photos, and enjoy the scenery, riding at a friendly, no-drop pace. No designated ride leader yet – please reach out if you’re willing to lead one of the rides. Pace expectation: ~14mph (NYCC standards), 11-12 mph (“Strava speed” on relatively flat routes*)

* “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.  For those who have done some gravel riding, we hope these examples will help you select the right pace group.  You can compare them to your own rides over similar distances and elevation gains.

Long: 65 miles, ~14 MPH, >5500 ft climbing.

– Example: https://www.strava.com/activities/7143087392

Medium: 50 miles, ~12 MPH, >4000 ft climbing.

-Example: https://www.strava.com/activities/7143118855

Short: 37 miles, ~10 MPH, >3000 ft climbing 

-Example: https://www.strava.com/activities/7142906685

[These examples are from last year’s SGS ride from Katonah.]

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 (i.e. several minutes back).  The Shorter-distance group will be no-drop.

TWO 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.