Papa Tom

Yes, that storm was epic and unexpected. As a result, I ended up spending some time today with the Town of Oyster Bay Commissioner of Parks. I wanted to talk to him about the bike path, but he was pre-occupied with how to resolve the issue of the bay having met the ocean down at TOBAY. It sounds like the tunnel at TOBAY suffered damage comparable to Sandy. Has anybody seen or heard anything about the bike path and possible damage?

Billy1111

yes its completely gated off right where the bike racks end....u have to go thru a revolving gate to get to snack bar

GlennR

I saw pictures on the news and it looks like the path might be damaged. There will be sand and debris on the path at a minimum. I'm planing a ride tomorrow but will most likely head north assuming the bike path is closed for a section until it's cleaned up.

FIVE ONE SIX

i rode it yesterday and it was completely fine, a bit sandy in a few spots, but nothing terrible. i don't know about Tobay Beach though, there was definitely some water visible in the tunnel by where people turn around, and i know Cedar Beach was hit REALLY bad because more than half of the volleyball courts on the sand were still covered in a good amount of water last evening...

Billy1111

took a ride on the North County Trail today, started at Briarcliff Library and rode 15 miles up to what might have been the end. It really is a nice trail....that bridge has some real nice views over the river, u wouldnt even think your an hr away from the city! I wasnt to thrilled at the start thou, u have to ride on the highway for some short stretches driving over entrance ramps and things are not labeled to well but once u get off that onto the trail it was good

Papa Tom

My experience with the North County goes back to the late 1990's. There were spots you had to get on the highway back then, but I thought they fixed those a long time ago.

Steve B.

Way back when the State DoT put Rt 100 smack dap on top of the otherwise defunct Old Put railroad.

Thus from the 100/9A split in Briarcliff, to Millwood, the NCT is on road, on the shoulder of Rt100. That's not likely to ever change.

Papa Tom

That sounds familiar. You're also riding against traffic for that expanse, right?

Steve B.

Yup. It's an odd decision, they have the bike lane (both directions) on the east (northbound) side of Rt 100 for a short stretch (1/4 - 1/3 mile ?) then back onto it's own path, then back on Rt 100, only now using both sides, so you're not riding against traffic, then crossing back after you go under the Taconic to head up the dedicated path at Millwood.

The sometimes on opposite sides of the road versus all on one side of the road, always seemed confusing when I see newbies riding it.

What I always found odd is they have available right-of-way to build a dedicated path along this entire stretch, if they use some of the Taconic Parkway property, but suspect the county doesn't want to have to deal with the State of NY DoT and all the legal BS associated, not to mention cost.

GlennR

Awesome ride today, took advantage of the cool temps and got out early.

Massapequa - Bethpage - Cold Spring Harbor - Snake Hill - Huntington - Northport - Dix Hills - Mt. Misery - Bethpage - Wantagh - Cedar Creek - Tobay - Massapequa

Most distance
Most calories
Most climbing

I'm exhausted

Papa Tom

OldNSlow: You sound like me when I was YoungNFast.

I can't top your Saturday ride, but I rode across the forks with my wife on Sunday. Like always, we started at Greenport, ferried the bikes over to Shelter Island, rode Shelter Island, ferried to Northaven (this time taking a detour onto Rt. 60 and Foster Town Beach), then continued on to Sag Harbor. There, we had brunch at some semi-fancy outdoor cafe (peanut butter mousse French toast, yikes!), before heading back to Claudio's of Greenport to see our favorite party band, Double Play.

When I talk about "destination biking," this is what I mean. I don't cover many miles or get up much speed when I'm riding with my wife, but each ride is a memory, from start to finish. I wish there were more of these on Long Island, rather than just bike paths with a start and a finish and very little in between.

ChiroVette

Hey just glancing through this this. Great thread. Is there one for NY City as well?

Although, I could make a case that Brooklyn and Queens are actually part of Long Island and join in this one if there is no NY City thread like this. lol

Papa Tom

Aaaaahhhh, sorry, Chiro, but we all ride WITH the traffic out here on Long Island. You're gonna have to stay in the boros. (OK, now I'm REALLY done nudging you about that.)

Yes, my original thought was to include anything within a short drive of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. To me, Brooklyn and Queens are part of Long Island -- and Manhattan, North Jersey, and Southern CT (as well as the Hudson Valley) would be considered "Long Island rides" in my book.

We need to catch up to the Metro Boston "Good Rides" thread, so post here as often as you can!

GlennR

I'm 58.

ChiroVette

Cool! I have some nice rides planned. Here is a relatively short ride I did on Saturday. Basically a circle around Canarsie, Howard Beach, the Rockaways, etc.:

Rode 27.68 mi on 08/16/2014 on 08/16/2014 | CYCLING Training Log Entry | MapMyRide

ChiroVette

Hey this is a real long shot, but I am getting ready to go out on a semi-long ride around Brooklyn today. I am off from work on Tuesdays, and want to literally make a circle around Brooklyn. I am ready to leave now, but on the very off chance (okay, slim to none chance) anyone else might have both the day off and the availability, I would be willing to wait for fellow adventurers!

Note: I have the route all meticulously planned and mapped out to take advantage of many of the Brooklyn Greenways.

GlennR

I'm home but planning on heading north through Nassau.

Enjoy your ride.

Dodgson

Mind sharing some more specific route info (which roads are good, etc.)? I'm back on LI for a few months and Massapequa is a short train ride from me so I might try doing that. It seems like my options are limited on the south shore but that looks like it might be fun.

Papa Tom

That's the irony. I'm 51!

GlennR

39.63 miles
14.6 avg mph
1437' climbing
1275 calories

Massapequa - Syosset - Muttontown - SUNY Old Westbury - LIE East - Plainview - Farmingdale - Massapequa

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/569202313

ChiroVette

Okay here is my ride today:

Basically I made a complete circle around Brooklyn, explored all the Greenways, and for the north to south leg, I hovered right on the Brooklyn-Queens Border. My intent was, near the end, to take Fountain Avenue and to grab the Belt Parkway at Eskine, and go home. That would have been about 40+ miles. But as I was headed south on Fountain, I decided to take a left at Liberty, then grabbed tje Conduit (NO FUN!! TOO many really fast cars!) which I got of, grabbed Linden Blvd, which of course was no better, and finally just took a variation of the route that Ferdinand gave me to work my way into Howard Beach, grabbed Cross Bay, took it into Rockway, then Beach Channel to Riis, then the Marine Parkway Bridge to Flatbush, then home. This added like another 12 miles to the end of the ride.

Total Distance - 51.80 miles
(though it was actually more! MapMyRide must have lost signal on Water Street and picked it up again on Flushing Ave because there is a diagonal red line connecting those two streets that goes THROUGH a whole area and bypasses some of my ride, which means the app missed at least a mile or two)
Avg MPH. - 13.5. (Unfortunately traffic through a huge chunk of Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg was insanely congested or it likely would have been more like 14.5 to 15.0)
Climbing (gain) - 1093 Feet
Calories Burned - 4,438 KCal
Duration - 3 hours, 50 minutes, and 15 seconds

Here is a pic of the map generated.



Here is the link to the ride with expandable map: https://www.mapmyride.com/workout/697255331

Papa Tom

I'm curious...do you guys work?

Dodgson

I can't speak for the others in this thread, but a weekday riding schedule like that seems totally doable to me. I rode for probably an average of 3.5 hrs/day this summer and lifted weights ~5 hr/wk as well. I only worked only 7 hour days and had a 40 minute round-trip commute, but I still had a ton of free time left over. It's all about making time for the things you love.

Unfortunately now I work 9 hour days and have a 2.5 hr commute now and I can only fit in cycling on the weekends, but that's only because I prioritize other stuff (weight training, running, cooking, etc.) over it.

ChiroVette

I am a Chiropractor and I work very long days Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. and I see patients for a 90 minute shift Sunday mornings at 9:30 up in Nuyack. So that leaves me available for short rides on Mon, Wed, and Fri. I usually do long rides on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and sometimes as soon as I get home Sundays. Well, unless my band is playing the weekend, then my weekend rides are shorter.

GlennR

I telecommute and my hours are flexible.

That's why I ride by myself since free time is never the same.