June 1, 2021 - Garrison, NY, to High Falls, NY

Start: Garrison, NY
End: High Falls, NY
Miles: 60.1
Feet climbing per mile: 80
Records of the day's rides:
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/68344710 (Home to Grand Central Terminal)
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/68380124 (Garrison to High Falls)

This was the first day of what would be a four-day trip. I was up at 7:45 and on the road at 8:20 due to having completely packed the night before. I rode to Grand Central Terminal where I caught the 8:45 train that arrived in Garrison at 10:06. After making like a bear in the woods (use your imagination), I headed south to ride over Bear Mountain Bridge. From there I followed a route based on the one I rode to New Paltz last November 8th, but modified to avoid some sections with nasty traffic. The drivers on 9W north of Bear Mountain Bridge seem much less polite than those on 9W south of the bridge, so I was pleased that traffic was light on the two miles of 9W I could not avoid.

I had hoped to be able to ride through West Point in order to see the beautiful campus and to avoid some of 9W, but when I arrived at the Visitor Control Center I was told that would not be possible until after the pandemic. If the West Point website had said that I wouldn't have wasted time filling out the visitor's form in advance and riding an extra two miles to and from the Visitor Control Center.

Just a little more than 13 miles into my trip I left 9W and was on the beautiful Storm King Highway.

Storm King Highway

I deviated from my planned route at mile 28.6 in order to stop at a Dairy Queen. As I was riding my bike across an intersection, I altered my path in order to make it easier for a large truck to make a turn. The driver saw what I did and waved as he went by.

Initially I thought the Dairy Queen was closed because the lights were out and I saw stools upside down on tables. But as I rode around the back an employee coming out of the building said they were open. I went in an ordered a triple-berry smoothie.  They turned on the lights and I realized the stools were upside down in order to close every other table due to COVID.

At mile 39.4 I passed a farm building whose decrepit condition I found attractive.

At mile 42 I came upon Tantillo's Farm Market where I stopped to enjoy a raspberry sorbet. I attempted to keep the sorbet off my white shirt but failed. Fortunately the stain came out easily when I washed the shirt later in the day.

At mile 42.8 I decided to take an alternate route to my destination in High Falls, crossing the ridge on Route 44 out of Gardiner rather than Mountain Rest Road out of New Paltz. On route 44 I encountered some farm animals that seemed as curious about me as I was about them.

The two and one half mile climb over the ridge began at about mile 47.5. My ride profile said the grade would be as high 22%, but I suspected (correctly) that that was much exaggerated. Not knowing how difficult the climb would be, I took it easy, staying in the saddle in my lowest gear. I was able to ride the entire climb, never walking.

Hairpin turn on Route 44

On the first half mile of the descent I got going as fast as 32 miles per hour, but after I left Route 44 the surface was rather rough so I had to take it easy. It would have been better if I had climbed the ridge on Mountain Rest Road and descended on Mohonk Road. I travelled those roads in the other direction last November 9th and remember that the surface was excellent.

Start of the descent on Route 44

At 5:00 I arrived at the my destination, the home of my friend Tom Reingold and his wife Carol Flamm, who was in Manhattan that night. I first met Tom in May of 2016 when I was planning my first multi-day trip in more than 40 years (see This Road I Ride in How I decided to ride 4000 miles next summer). In an online biking forum I posted questions about my route, including where to eat, piss, and shit. Tom was the first to respond, and he offered much valuable advice. You can read our conversation here. Tom and I have become friends (in the real world, as people say) since meeting online, and he has given me all sorts of useful advice about biking gear, as well as guiding me through building my first set of wheels. I've mentioned Tom in several blog posts. After Tom and I met in the biking forum we soon realized that Carol and I had met a few years earlier when she auditioned for my vocal quintet.

After a shower, shave, and change of clothes, I washed the biking clothes I had worn that day so they would be dry the next morning after hanging outside. Throughout the day I had experienced a clicking that seemed to be coming from the bottom bracket. We planned to investigate the clicking the next morning, after which Tom would ride with me halfway to my next destination before returning home. Tom cooked us a dinner of roast chicken and vegetables. I was comfortable in the guest room and had a restful night.

My post about the next day: June 2, 2021 - High Falls, NY, to Pine Hill, NY