UniChris

Did Bronx - Brewster one way again, this time grabbing a sandwich at the "Millwood Market" and carrying it up to the New Croton Reservoir bridge to eat there.

Lost some time with mechanical troubles in Van Cortdlant park but made it up later, and so finished a half hour earlier in twilight, with the plus side that I caught the moon over the Middle Branch reservoir with some sunset colors still in the sky.

Next time I'll think to bring a change of clothes for the train home. And maybe with luck I'll won't be 57 minutes early for the one I end up taking ;-)

UniChris

Curious, has anyone ever tried the DiCicco & Sons grocery store in Millwood as a lunch stop? After the road shoulder portion of the NCT I usually deal with the light to cross over to the Millwood market and get something there, and they have a bathroom which is a plus, but choices are limited. Realized today that after crossing back over the road and getting back on the trail it then immediately goes right by an apparently "real" supermarket.

On the plus side, doing Bronx - Brewster on a weekday (because Metro North is doing track work on weekends) and earlier in the day than I usually do meant that Yorktown Cycles was open - proved very convenient as I managed to leave the house without my bag of food for the day. I was able to buy power bars in Elmsford, but electrolyte tablets are more of a specialty thing, so having a bike store on the trail that was open was great - might have finished the ride without them, but after riding through some cramping issues last week, was glad to be able to replace what I'd planned to bring.

Couldn't have picked a better day to ditch work and go for a ride ;-)

dendawg

While I've never tried it I've heard good things about the Country Deli in Millwood, make a left off the trail where it crosses 133. I usually like eating either in Yorktown at the Trailside, or in Mahopac at the Freight House Cafe. The only caveat about the Freight House is they close at 3pm, 1pm on Sundays

Jarrettsin

There is a good deli passed the gas station opposite the trail entrance called Rocky's.

.....if it would stop raining and you could actually go for a ride!

dendawg

Anyone know the condition of the trails after the storms of the past few days? I know Putnum county got hit pretty hard

UniChris

Good question!

Starting from NYC I typically wonder mostly about the mud to dirt ratio in Van Cortlandt Park - I find that slow to respond so often check the accumulated rainfall numbers for JFK airport's weather station.

In terms of storm damage to the rest of it I figure climbing over a few downed trees is something I'm willing to put up with. Though come to think of it, last week VCP was perfectly dry yet there were several full-width puddles on the NCT.

Still I guess there could be issues worse than downed trees; there's that section just north of the rail bridge that washed out a few years back and still hasn't really been fixed.

Jarrettsin

Rain all day today and thunderstorms tomorrow, sure not going to get any better.

dendawg

Only a chance of thunderstorms tomorrow, and then late in the afternoon. At least in NYC when I checked last night.
The worst ride of my life was spent riding around 40 miles on a rail trail through the laurentians in canada. It started raining after lunch and we rode through downpours and the occasional lightning for around two hours before it stopped. At least we had dry luggage when we reached our B&B for the night as that was transported for us by bus.

Jarrettsin

It did clear and they closed the BRP for Bike Sunday so i did 2 laps of that!

UniChris

Still haven't been inside DiCicco & Sons, but learned that going out to the road there is not a good way to bypass the large mud puddle that currently exists on the NCT at that spot - fairly human-unfriendly design to the east side of the intersection of routes 100 and 133 with no shoulder at all. Might just have to get a fender and ride through the water next time. (Though now that I look at it on the map, it looks like if you go a hair further north there is a crosswalk yielding access to the sidewalk on the west side of 100).

Besides, the manager of the Millwood Market asked to take my picture on the unicycle.

All in all I think the trails came through recent week's weather fairly well. The Old Put in VCP definitely had some mud I dismounted for, but unlike the NCT in Millwood nothing to the point of get-your-shoes-dirty. There are some trees leaning over the path in Westchester and Putnum that are yet to be dealt with, evidence to the side of some more fully fallen ones being recently sawn up, a low hanging branch that turned out to be substantially more than leaves that gave me a bit of a head-bonk, and the somewhat alarming sight of a broken off branch hanging over the trail by a fork caught on a vine. Westchester county trimming crew was making their way north with a weedwacker and pickup truck near the Rt 117 junction of the NCT as I road by.

UniChris

Learned last weekend that there's a (likely summer only) public restroom at Briarcliff Manor's pool complex in Law Memorial Park. That's just south of the crossing to the first road gap on the shoulder of route 100. Braircliff Manor turned their former Putnam line train station building into a library or senior center, and if you leave the trail there and hike up the embankment and then stairs you get to a covered picnic area, snack stand, and the restroom. Didn't see a water fountain anywhere outside though it looked like there might be one inside the pool's presumably residents-only fence. Bathroom sink looked like one could fill a bottle from it, and probably the same stuff, but still had a bottle left and planned to stop in Millwood anyway, so just washed my face and wet down my headsweats and breathable long sleeves. Really wish they'd run a bottle filling station out the wall of the library onto the trail though.

Also gave the DiCicco & Sons grocery in Millwood a try. Little harder to get to, either via the sidewalk on the west side of 100 and the crossing lights, or via the road that intersects the trail just north of the sometimes puddle obstacle. Decent suburban grocery, think I paid 1.25 for gatorade and 1.49 for a 3 liter of water. Wandered up and down the air conditioned aisles trying to decide if there was something I wanted to eat, but with my mind still outside pushing pedals in the heat nothing chose itself.

In Mahopac someone had taken chalk to the trail and written a series of "let's all try to get along" type national unity messages. I was running late and it was already dark so I wasn't able to fully read them in my headlamp, but finally it turned out to be an ad for the Freight House Cafe, and a mention that you can order from the trail via a trolley rope system from the fence to the back door. After some 20-30 trail-width chalk missives the writer then confessed that their thighs hurt and they were calling it quits. I've seen the rope and menu thing on the fence but never felt like stopping, and especially not then when I was trying to make Brewster in time for the last train. Managed that, and even to find the pizza place still open, which made for a more enjoyable ride back to the city.

dendawg

The Freight House has really good sit down food and is worth the stop if you have an hour to kill. They close at 1pm I think on Sundays, 3pm the rest of the week.

Oso Polar

Library also has a restroom. Closer to the trail.

This one apart from being a very nice (but expensive) grocery store also has a bar with great beer selection on tap. And it has a restroom as well.

UniChris

Indeed, alas the reason I can confirm this is that the Briarcliff Manor library door now has a sign asking trail users to use the pool complex restroom.

Decided to chance filling a bottle at the sink and survived. Unfortunately the snack stand wasn't yet open at 11 am on a weekday.

UniChris

Two supplemental findings: both the Elmsford Deli (when it's open) and the gas station at the south end of the village of Yorktown heights sell gallons of water at reasonable prices. On a trail without bottle fillers, and carrying powdered sports drink, that generally seems most economical if wanting to refill more than two liters worth of bottles, or riding with a group that can split.

So to update my overall list of easy refill possibilities:

Mile Square Plaza - way down the hill there's a gas station with water, but would have to really need it

Elmsford: Water, sports drinks and some food at Deli at connector if open, otherwise CVS up the hill

Briarcliff Manor: Clean bathroom up in pool pavilion, mid-day snack stand. Also library bathroom in the off season

Millwood: Millwood market (bathroom, convenience store food), or better prices at actual grocery store north of the bend in the trail. No shoulder on 100 north of the trails' divergence, but sidewalk on the west side.

Yorktown Heights:
- Water gallons and a very small selection at gas station at south end of village
- Bike shop if you ride up the street rather than through park has nutrition, liters of water, bathroom, very accommodating
- 7-11 a few blocks west of the fire station - out of the way but tempting to get an actual sandwich. Also many other places, pizza etc, even a kmart.

Mahopac: CVS across from the pedestrian crossing light, also a bike shop

Brewster: Gas station across from old trailway end has decent convenience store, water gallons etc if turning around there or at end of extension. And apparently a pizza place just further up route 6. Obviously much more over the hill in town itself.

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One gap that does leave is Baldwin Place - neither on the ground nor on a map does there appear to be anything very convenient at the trail intersection itself, going a little west on Tomahawk street there's a service road leading to a grocery store about a quarter mile southwest.

Oso Polar

Hey, then you should also mention Bagel Emporium that is next door to this bike shop (Yorktown Cycles) - entrance is from the parking in the back. They have a restroom, coffee (and other drinks) and bagels (muffins/sandwiches etc.). They say that their bagels are the best in Westchester and I believe them, their bagels are really great!