Northeast - Getting Into Fall Gear

I don't mean to cast a cloud over everyone's summer fun, but the cooler temps at night and the constant buzz of the September crickets in my yard are signaling the inevitable change of seasons.

The mistake I have made a few times in past years was to manufacture an unwarranted deadline to get all my good riding in before Labor Day, as if laws prohibited anyone from riding a bicycle once the school year began. Then, one day, I realized that autumn can be the best time of year to get out on two wheels. That year, I put together a series of fall rides that I have repeated each and every year since.

The problem is, now I'm getting a little tired of the same rides each fall. My wife and I routinely do the Bronx River Bikeway, The North & South County Trailways, The Croton Aquaduct, The Nyack Rail Trail, and perhaps a few spins right out here on the Bethpage Bikeway and in Greenport/Orient Point. These are all great rides, and we're glad to have them, but they're getting kind of old. I can always sneak off on my own to get in a good road ride once in a while, but the rides we can do together (she's kinda slow) are limited.

Given that we live on Long Island and are willing to drive about an hour or so for a good bike ride, can anybody recommend a route or a bikeway that I haven't mentioned? With business at a virtual halt right now, we can't afford out-of-state over-nighters this year, so our usual rides in Boston, Philly, and/or Rhode Island are out of the question.

What ya got?

Off the top of my head, the Harlem Valley rail trail comes to mind. It is a little further up, but can be done in a day without an overnight stay. You can even take Metro North to get there or park at the station. You can start in Wassaic, NY, ride the trail to Millerton, take Rt 44 to Rt 41 in Salisbury Ct. North on 41 to S. Egremont, MA. Take Mt Washington Road from just south of town and follow the signs to BashBish falls. At the bottom of the hill past Bashbish is the trail south. It doesn't go all the way through to Millerton, so you take Undermountain Road from the end. It's a left at the end of that section of the trail. You pick up the trail back to Wassaic in Millerton. You can do any section of this too, it is about 60 miles in total.http://www.hvrt.org

northern westchester rail trail, can't remember the name but I didn't get to ride it, I'll look for the info, yorktown maybe?

>>>>the Harlem Valley rail trail<<<<
>>>>northern westchester rail trail<<<<

We were there when they cut the ribbon for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and were among the first few cyclists to ride it. Back then, it started in Millerton and only went a few miles, if I remember right. I also do not recall a whole lot of scenery. With the new sections, is it worth the drive up from Long Island?

Regarding the Northern Westchester Trail that goes through Yorktown, it sounds like you're talking about the North County Trail, which we've done many times and will probably do again this year. My wife hates the northern section, though, because of the hills. I'm a little bored by the southern section because there is so little to see. Overall, this is one of the jewels in New York's trailway system, but it, too, has gotten a little stale for us.

I'm thinking maybe we need to leave the off-road bike paths alone this year and find some cool little towns to explore. Any suggestions along those lines?

There's a trail that starts in Ridgewood,NJ and goes down towards I 80. I don't recal the name or else it has abunch of differnt names. It's mostly flat.

best place on earth
ocean view drive wellfleet, ma
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=ocean+view+drive+wellfleet,+ma&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=20.145894,35.947266&ie=UTF8&ll=41.976082,-69.986343&spn=0.073508,0.140419&z=12&iwloc=A

get yourself to The Beachcomber before it closes for the season

>>>best place on earth...ocean view drive wellfleet, ma<<<<<

Yeah, that is a beautiful road. My wife and I drove it up to Provincetown the last time we went to the Cape. The rail trail parallels it at some points, correct? Anyway, Cape Cod qualifies as a two-nighter for us, at least, so we won't be doing that this year. (cont'd)

>>>There's a trail that starts in Ridgewood,NJ and goes down towards I 80.<<<<

I'm not familiar with this one and cannot find any info about it online. Can anybody provide more details?

I regularly organize a "Fall Colors" ride along this path for members of my department. One of my colleagues has friends that came from Queens a couple of times, so I imagine you could make it from Long Island in a day. If you start at Washington's Crossing in NJ, you can go north to Frenchtown (about 23 miles) and back, or you can turn around sooner if you're looking for a shorter ride. The towpath is also good for about 5 miles south of Washington's Crossing. Further south and it starts to get covered with broken glass, trash, etc. My turn around point has always been Lower Ferry Road, which you can recognize because there's a golf course on the east side of the path just past Lower Ferry Road. There are many places to take a break and get lunch north of Washington's crossing, not many south.

The best time for fall colors seems to be right around Halloween.

Here's a photo album of last year's Fall Colors Ride (http://grothserver.princeton.edu/~groth/random_pics/bikerides/ride_nov2008/Ride_01Nov2008.shtml). Links will take you to the description of the ride sent out beforehand (includes directions to start) as well as photo albums of previous rides. If you are coming from Long Island, you probably don't want to go through Princeton, but take Route 29 north from I95. (Rosedale road, on the route from Princeton, is currently closed to replace a bridge.)

- Ed

>>>If you start at Washington's Crossing in NJ, you can go north to Frenchtown (about 23 miles) and back...<<<

Is this the D&R Trail? We did this ride several years ago and enjoyed it. I think, at the time, they were just about a year away from paving a good portion of the dirt towpath. Has that been done?

Good suggestion. I think I'll put this one on our list!

There are two:

The Delaware and Raritan Canal (with towpath) runs from a little northeast of Trenton to New Brunswick.

The D and R feeder canal runs from Bulls Island on the Delaware to a little northwest of Trenton. The trail follows the towpath and then the railroad bed from Bulls Island to Frenchtown.

Actually the canals connect through Trenton but they run through a culvert part of the way. The feeder is the source of water for the main canal.

There is/was also a piece of the canal from Trenton to Bordentown. I've never checked this part out.

Yes, the main canal path was improved a few years ago so you could ride from Lawrence (south of Princeton) to New Brunswick over a path paved with fine crushed gravel. Then it was improved even more (repairing flood damage a few years ago). North of Griggstown, the paving is very coarse gravel. I consider it unrideable with the 28 mm wide tires on my touring bike.

The feeder path is fine crushed gravel and is no problem with my touring bike tires. The gravel helps it drain quickly. If there's a storm Friday evening, then Saturday there will be a few puddles here and there, but mostly the path will be dry.

A bunch of back roads near where I live have just been freshly chip sealed. I would say the gravel on the feeder canal path is finer and smoother than the chip seal I get to ride on!

In any case, I no longer recommend the main canal trail, but highly recommend the feeder canal trail.

- Ed

Here's a link to a map of the ridgewood trail. It's #135 in light blue in the upper left side of the page.
http://www.njbikemap.com/njmap/7-maps/hacknsak.pdf

Take the ferry over to New London. Southeastern CT. is a fabulous place to ride.

>>>>Take the ferry over to New London. Southeastern CT. is a fabulous place to ride.<<<<<

I love the CT shore. Solo, I have done the entire coastline from Darien to Newport, Rhode Island. Just five more miles and my mission will be complete. It's a little too rough for my wife, though. We DO really enjoy biking around Mystic -- and we often do the East Bay Bike Path (Rhode Island) in the fall. Good call with Connecticut, but I'd say an off-road trail would be better for the two of us. (cont'd)

>>>Here's a link to a map of the ridgewood trail. It's #135 in light blue in the upper left side of the page. <<<<<<

Thank you. I will check out the map asap!

September 1, Long Island, New York:

Well, it happened right on schedule. It's the first day of September and the first day I'm thinking about driving to dinner, rather than riding. It's a brisk day here on Long Island, the kind I really start to appreciate once the shock of summer's end dissipates. But right now, I'm happily bundled up in long jeans (first time out of shorts all summer) and sitting at my desk with all the windows closed and the AC off.

My wife and I just got back from Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA and she's itching to get back on her bike tonight. I feel more like burying myself under a blanket and going to sleep at 7:30. This is a critical time of year for me and cycling. If I don't get out there within the next few chilly days, it might be all over for this year. KEEP THOSE RIDE SUGGESTIONS COMING!!!!

>>>>.....ridgewood trail...<<<<<

I followed your link a step further and viewed some photos of this path. It looks very peaceful and well-maintained. I wish I still had business out in that part of Jersey so I could scout it out by myself before dragging the wife out there. She's not really into seclusion. Are there shopping centers, houses, and other signs of life along the path?

>>>>.....ridgewood trail...<<<<<

I followed your link a step further and viewed some photos of this path. It looks very peaceful and well-maintained. I wish I still had business out in that part of Jersey so I could scout it out by myself before dragging the wife out there. She's not really into seclusion. Are there shopping centers, houses, and other signs of life along the path?


The path itself is mostly park like. However downtown Ridgewood has lot's of nice shopping and places to eat. Plus a pretty good bike shop. I've never ventured off the bikepath. We usually do the ride and then have breakfast at what's called the Ridgewood pancake place but actually has another name. It's next to the cheese shop.