Papa Tom

Yeah, I just hope they finish the sidewalk, at the very least. Right now, someone who doesn't know any better will leave from Beekman Beach through that very inviting gateway, get on the sidewalk thinking they are going to have lunch in Bayville, then get dumped onto the grass halfway down Shore Road.

GlennR

Just a short 20 miles to clear my head.

kaos joe

H O T as H E C K. Eeew.

Unusual day for me. 51 miles on 3 different bikes and mostly on MUPs.

The Mrs. expressed a wish to take an evening spin after work. I did some useful things, took a short 24 miler up the B'page path & back just on principle, on my Soma DoubleCross whose role has expanded from winter beater to "general purpose on the road but not in a particular hurry" bike. Then ran a short errand on my tourer because a big Carradice was already attached to it to put stuff in. And then onto one of the big bikes down to Tobay looking for cooler air.

All very nice. But MUPs seem to inspire a simply spectacular level of obliviousness among some. Maybe the lack of threat from cars? Still a very nice day.

Steve B.

Finished the RT back to work at 7:30 AM, 29 miles, very nice morning on the beach, took it very slow today. Turned off my Garmin accidentally while attempting to go back to check the weather page. Wanting to find out what the west or NW wind was like, as if it's fairly windy I'll skip the Rockaway boardwalk and take the street, which is a bit more sheltered. Also been riding the Bedford Ave. bike lane, which is a bit less crazy then Nostrand Ave. and Knapp St. Love bike lanes as they give me a completely false sense that I'm safe from getting rear ended by an in-attentive driver !.

On the ride home yesterday I got to play school crossing guard to momma duck and babies as they attempted to cross the road. Then later saw this brand new sign on Scranton Ave. in Lynbrook. There's no way this kind of stuff happens when you are in a car.

Also briefly rode with a guy in Lawrence on Rock Hall Rd., a somewhat busy 2 lane'r, no shoulder, speed limit of 30 with everybody doing 50 at rush hr. I was glad for the company, safety in numbers, for the 3/4 mile I use this road. The fellow roadie told me he was a newbie, had only been riding a few weeks. I asked him where he was headed and he said "Garden City". All I could think was "better him then me" as I could think of no good way to get from where we were, to where he was going.

GlennR

20 miles with no specific destination. I headed to the JB past but the wind was blowing me around so I turned around and headed to the Massapequa Preserve path.

Steve B.

As general comment about the cyclist killed yesterday on New South Rd. in Hicksville, that this is one of my loop routes, thru Levittown, up Bloomingdale, New South, Cedar and Miller, to get to the LIE Svc. road heading east. This is one of the many routes I learned from the Massapequa BC riders.

No real shoulder but also not a busy street, typically at 9'ish when I ride here.

No need for a shoulder when a driver hits you head on from the opposing lane.

No charges filed.

No comment.

lindyfd

I caught a tick on my way to Jones Beach today, just wanted folks to know that they are out and to check yourself.

DustyBottoms1

Cool thread. I'm usually cruising up the west side, cross the GW into Jersey and then ride through the goregous and the hard-to-believe-THIS-is-so-close-to-NYC palisades parkway where there's virtually nobody except for other cyclists.

I've been looking to branch out lately so I'll keep an eye on this on for good ideas on LI. I imagine this will be a great weekend for riding since most people head east or north for the 4th

Papa Tom

Where is there a grassy enough area for ticks to hang out?

Papa Tom

It's dangerous out there. It often seems as if nobody drives with any focus on the road anymore. Just this week, I followed a car driven by a teenager who had his phone atop the steering wheel and was texting with two hands for at least a mile and a half, non-stop.

I feel as if I am destined to die on the bike, but I'd rather go that way than just about any other way. Still, I am sickened by the tragedy in Hicksville.

GlennR

Today, driving on Merrick Road, everytime i looked in the rearview mirror, the woman behind me had the phone in her tight hand up to her ear. She was driving a full size SUV and I was in a compact. I figured if I stopped short she would squish me.

Papa Tom

Ironically, it seems to me that driving with a phone to your ear is the safest of all the dangerous things drivers do. The tendency for those who use "speakerphone" mode is to stare at the phone in their hand or on the seat next to them, as if that will make the person hear them better. And of course, the alternative (texting) is the worst of all.

Anyway, it's dangerous out there on the roads of Long Island, but strangely, that makes me want to ride even more.

GlennR

Rode to Sagamore Hill to sit on TR's porch.

https://www.strava.com/activities/627643101

Learned that the morning after a hard rain, a lot of sand and debris gets washed onto the road from the soft shoulders. Mt. Misery was a mess with lots of sand and dead branches. Sweet Hollow also has plenty of sand and the damp surface and shade made it difficult to see potholes.

Black on Black (Bethpage Black)


Mt. Misery @ 7:00am


This is what Long island is all about


Sagamore Hill before the tourists arrive.



Just thinking of TR sitting here looking out at the bay (before the trees grew to block it)


My favorite spot at the Massapequa Preserve


It was clean when i left

Steve B.

Wasn't that N wind fun ?. I solo'd at 7:30, headed up thru Hicksville to the LIE, I think I hit a top speed of 13 for that 10 miles north. Just a grind. Then the LIE west was OK and came back down thru Garden City and RVC, tailwind all the way and I needed it. First time I've done 40 in 3 years. Tired though !

Glenn, a question as to why the Strava GPS track shows a lot of off road tracking ?. It doesn't show all of the actual on road route, but seems to cut corners. Does it do that in real life, or is this just how it shares the route ?. I know my Garmin track is dead on and shows if I turn around to read a historical sign and exactly where.

GlennR

Weird... mine show it accurately, but if i'm not logged in, I see it does cut corners. My guess is when you share, it uses less points to trace the route so it cuts corners.

kaos joe

Great post! I haven't been up there since the renovations were completed. I've got to go up with my brother, who was a National Park Service tour guide up there for a summer. It's a fantastic place.

Once when he was walking around the grounds he found an old, somewhat corroded, expended brass rifle cartridge case. Upon cleaning it we found it was a .405 Winchester, an obsolete round long out of production.

But TR had a .405. How cool is that.

Billy1111

hey guys long time no see...yesterday did my 1st 100 up in harriman state park...been going up there alot lately

if anyone on strava feel free to add me!


https://www.strava.com/activities/627842855

Papa Tom

Great history up there at Sagamore Hill, although I'd be curious to know how much of the original house is intact after the recent major renovations.

A few years ago, I wrote an article about a 1903 murder attempt on TR by a deranged Syosset farmer. The guy managed to plow through the security gate at Sagamore Hill on his horse-drawn wagon but was taken down by Secret Servicemen before he could reach the president. In the wagon was a loaded revolver. I wonder if the Winchester might have somehow been involved in this ghastly incident******************************???

kaos joe

I think, ahhh, not.

Papa Tom

Me, too

GlennR

So i tweaked my back yesterday and couldn't ride. it was not much better today so I skipped my planned morning ride. After supper it started to cool off so I thought i'd take the CX bike out and see if I could stretch my back out. After tooling around the neighborhood it felt better so I decided to head up to Bethpage. Since it was already 7:30pm, i stopped by the house to get a headlight and taillight on the bike. I purchase the headlight last year and never used it. I did a "touring" pace and hit the trails. It started to get dark and I was at Haypath so I took the MUP back. It was a storm of bugs... the headlight lit them up and i had to only breath through my nose for fear of ingesting thousands of them. When i got to the park entrance I switched to the roads to avoid the bugs. The headlight really helped but I just didn't have the visibility of daylight so I did hit some rough patches and small potholes. I have to the the CX (Cannondale SuperX) really soaked up the bumps. It has 35mm tires and I run 65psi. If I was on my Emonda, 25mm @ 90psi, i'm sure it would of rattled my filling out.

The SuperX does things the Emonda can't do and visa versa. The Emonda is a awesome bike for good road conditions while the SuperX can handle less than optimal conditions.... and that's why i bought it.

I'll be doing some more night rides, it was fun.

kaos joe

Did a short ride yesterday in the heat of afternoon. In only 28 miles, drank about 60 oz and poured another full 24 oz bottle of water fountain water right over my head.

Couldn't motivate myself to do it again today. Ick.

Ferdinand NYC

Whereas I took yesterday off solely on account of the weather, and did 50 miles. And, today, I did what I so rarely do and left my office for a "lunch hour" (no actual eating) just so I could get in another hour of riding in the glorious weather that is absolutely perfect for riding.

kaos joe

To each his own!

I love summer riding but find these humid conditions oppressive.

I'd take 22 degrees, frozen ground, and my MTB, over this hands down.

GlennR

Dinner time ride. 18 miles on the CX with some off and some on road miles.