Manitou/ Chimney Rock Trail/ Stillwater Trail/ Cold Spring

Carl got hung up at work, Scott had worked late the evening before, John didn't have his mtn bike so he accompanied Gerald and I on connecting roads as we cycled some hardpack and Chimney Rock and Stillwater Trails in sunny, dry air with temperatures in the low 50s.

I made a navigational error and took the first left off the Chimney Rock Trail going north onto the Moneyhole Mtn Trail to nowhere. Gerald and I forded the stream that feeds Catfish Pond and, after contacting John, decided it was best to back out and take the Chimney Rock down to South Highland to the east of where we entered. We all ascended Dennytown, then John called it a day and Gerald and I went east on Sunken Mine Road to pick up the Stillwater Pond Trail at Wiccopee Road. Trails had a cover of fallen leaves, making steep downhill pitches dicey.

We finished at Cold Spring Depot with a couple of pints of Doghead IPA after a fast descent on 301.

What a pleasure to be back off road in the Highlands on a mtn bike. Looking forward to cycling these and other trails with the group.

Hank

Blue Mtn: 06/14/09

What a great weekend - two mtn bike adventures in row. Just finished the Blue Mtn "Fat Tire" Festival in Peekskill, NY. Talk about slick rock!! Joined a colleague, Seth Reichlin, and explored some great new trails, including the Depew (can't wait to go back) and El Capitan trails (wow! - I'll wait to clean this one when it's dry). The rocks and trails were saturated, which made for lots of slipouts. Seth made it through some real tough courses. Did a lot of the other trails (like SIS) in reverse from what I'm used to. You would never think there was a big mtn bike festival in the park, as there seemed to be no one on those trails that we rode. Festival itself was cool: lots of demo bikes, et,. but just the cameraderie around loads of people enjoying this unique activity.

couple more pics from Saturday...

Great June day in the Hudson Highlands. Hank Schiffman, Scott Blau and I rode a robust 32 miles, with 3540' gain, 4:15 riding time. Probably 8+ mph average. From Manitou rail stop, we rode up South Mtn Pass to old Redoubt Road (double and singletrack through forest and open fields). Then an ascent to the White Rock outlook (above left) with views south to Greymoor, Hook Mtn, Hudson River. We then had a long and descent through the Osborne Loop trail network, with a great view of West Point along the way (the banner above). After a brief stop, we climbed up to hills of Fahnestock SP and rode the Chimney Hill and Stillwater trails.

Long Gap Between Posts

What outdoor rides have I been up to? Since the warm weather started in March through early June, riding has been generally every other weekend and usually on the road.

Here are some of my longer road rides during this period:

3/22/2009: NYC to Rockland County/South Mtn, Calls Hollow/Gate Hill/7 Lakes Drive/Rte 17/US 202 in Oakland/Return to City via Co 512. (90 miles)

3/28/2009: NYC-brewster via US 9/Rte 100/US 202 (55 miles)

4/5/2009: NYC-Danbury-Westport (90 miles)

4/11/2009 NYC to Bear Mtn (via Bradley/Tweed/Hook Mtn/South Mtn/Calls Hollow/Gate Hill/7 Lakes/Perkins/Peekskill (75 miles)

4/25/2009 NYC to Beacon via Harriman/Storm King/Newburgh (85 miles)

5/2/2009: Westport to Poughkeepsie via Easton/Botsford/Sandy Hook/Roxbury/New Preston/Cornwall/Sharon/Amenia/Shunpike Rd/Salt Pt Tpk (109 miles)

5/3/2009 a rainy 5boro bike tour (45 miles)

5/16/2009 Westport/Poughkeepsie Same route as 5/2/09

5/23/2009: Catskill Mtn climbs: Phoenecia, Slide Mt Pass, Blue Hill, Denham Mtn/Red Hill (74 miles)

5/24/2009 Mountain Bike: Stillwell Woods (Long Island) with NYC-Mtn Bike Group (see pics here: http://tinyurl.com/l96yvg

A road ride and mtn bike ride

The first warm day of riding.......

Once again, our rides diverged. Hank and Scott opted for a mtn bike ride; their pictures are above. I went with a road ride. Given recent snowmelt, I was fearful of very muddy dirt roads and trails, and damaging both trails and bike in the process. Plus a road ride on the first warm day of the year was enticing.

Four riding buddies invited me to go with them (Seb, Neil, Shari, Terri) but I (rightly it turns out from Seb's comment to me on Facebook) thought they would hammer and I'd be unable to hold on.

I did a one-way 78-mile road ride to Cold Spring via 9W, Tweed/Bradley ridgeline, Hook Mtn, South Mtn, the nearly 1'000 vertical Gate Hill climb and the highlight of the day: Bear Mtn summit via Perkins. This is a special time for riding up Perkins, given that it's closed to auto and motorcycle traffic till April 1. Just a few hikers up there, and I had the spectacular view to myself.

One interesting note on the train back - the conductor/announcer had a rhyme for every station stop like "there's no comparison to bein' in Garrison', 'ring-a-ding-ding, it's Ossining', and 'don't go bonkers, it's only Yonkers'.

Scott and Hank made me feel jealous, though, since their ride was great as well. Here's Hank's comment:

One fine ride: Manitou, S Mtn Pass trail to Garrison /w stop at White Rock, Snake Hill Rd, Philpse Brook Rd, S Highland Rd, Chimney Rock Trail /w stop at Chimney Rock, Dennytown Rd, 301 to Stillwater Pond via Lower & Upper Pasture Loop, 301 to Cold Spring.

Maybe I'll do a mtn bike ride tomorrow, depending on what I hear about the trails.....

Graham Hills Mtn. Bike.

I needed to pay a visit to family in CT, but decided to leave early and take my mtn bike. I rode the trails of Graham Hills near Pleasantville, NY for a couple of hours. Actually the trails were fantastic - generally snow, ice, and mud-free. The trails were hard and fast.

But on one descent while turning at a switchback, I hit a small ice patch and the bike skidded under me and I went down. Just a minor elbow scrape. It was not worth bringing studs, though. No camera, so no pics.