July 20, 2021 - Garrison, NY, to Monticello, NY
End: Monticello, NY
Miles: 61.7
Feet climbing per mile: 102
Records of the day's rides:
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/71585846 (Home to Grand Central Terminal)
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/71625152 (Garrison to Monticello)
I knew the weather would be hot and humid and that there would be a lot of hills, so I set an alarm to be up at 7:00. Having completely packed the night before I was out the door at 7:20 and caught the 7:45 train at Grand Central which arrived at Garrison at 9:06.
At mile 6.3 I entered Mine Road, which would take me to Route 293 without having to ride to Highland Falls. Thanks to Joe Bachana for telling me about Mine Road, which saved me about 5 miles. Although there was a sign saying ROAD OPEN at its entrance, there were signs along the way referring to access limited to military personnel. Maybe the signs referred only to the land alongside the road. The road was lightly travelled and included a lot of climbing.
At mile 21 I came upon a waterfall in the town of Monroe.
A mile later I enjoyed a Mountain Dew next to the Orange-Rockland Lake.
At mile 24.8 I saw one of the trees that terrorized Dorothy and her three friends.
In New York City there is a practice of leaving a white ghost bike at the site wherever a cyclist is killed in traffic. I was surprised to see such a bike out in the country, at mile 28.2.
I later learned that Peter Stephen Cotsis of Chester, NY, was killed on June 24, 2020, when his bike came into contact with a Nissan Rogue, operated by 38-year-old Nurit Baruch of Brooklyn. I wonder how the crash happened. Whenever I read about a cyclist being killed I always wondered how it happened, so that I might do whatever is necessary to avoid such a crash. Unfortunately those details never seem to be available. I also wonder the effect on the driver of knowing that he has killed someone.
I have previously written about The Long & Winding Road just south of Garrison. On this trip I discovered that Penny Lane is just a few miles north of Goshen. But I didn't see any barber, banker, fireman, or nurse.
In Bloomingburg I made a planned stop at the Quickway Twin Cone where I enjoyed some black cherry and black raspberry ice cream.
After finishing my ice cream I had only 16.4 miles to get to my motel, but there would be 2365 feet of climbing (144 feet per mile). After a climb of about a mile I was happy to see the sign telling trucks to use low gear.
I rode as fast as 35 miles per hour down the descent. But due to the heat and humidity (and leg cramps!), I walked about three quarters of a mile, in three segments, of the 3-mile climb up Wurtsboro Mountain Road.
I arrived at the Super 8 in Monticello at 5:10, eight hours after leaving Garrison. I traveled mostly on country roads, with lots of climbing but never with overwhelming traffic. After checking in at the front desk I had one more climb, this one with a grade of about 67%.
On my way to dinner the sun appeared as a large orange ball, although the picture below shows only the edge of the sun being orange. I understand the orange color was the result of the pollution from the wildfires in the west.
My dinner at the Miss Monticello Diner consisting of a hamburger, sweet potato fries, and peas was adequate but not particularly interesting. For dessert I stopped at Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard across the street from my motel.
My post about the next day: July 21, 2021 - Monticello, NY, to Port Jervis, NY, and Return
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