November 19, 2021 - Brewster, NY, to New York, NY

Start: Brewster, NY
End: New York, NY
Miles: 58.9
Feet climbing per mile: 75
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/78779996

Having gone to bed at 10:30 the night before I was up at 7:00 and on the road at 8:15. I knew that I had less than 60 miles to ride so I didn't need as early a start as the day before, especially since after riding 50 miles I would have the option of catching a Metro North train.

As I started my ride the temperature was 38 and the feels-like temperature was 32. This was the coldest weather in which I rode on this trip, and I was glad to have my heavy gloves for which I had returned home on Monday. I had been told that there was a traffic light about a tenth of a mile away that I could use to cross Route 22, but the traffic was light enough that I simply ran across the road.

Half a mile into my ride I saw a sign saying that the Sodom Road Bridge was closed. I had planned to ride Sodom Road in order to avoid traffic on Route 22. I checked my map and saw that the bridge was just a short distance in front of me, so I continued on that road hoping to cross the bridge despite it being closed. I crossed without any trouble.

Shortly before two hours into my ride I stopped at Bedford Village Pastry where I enjoyed a beautiful and delicious chocolate dessert. Unfortunately I did not take a picture of it. Does the image below qualify as a selfie?

The four miles I spent on Route 22 starting in Bedford presented the same sort of challenge I had experienced on Route 82 the day before: headwinds, rough surface, many cars not using their headlights.

Route 22 from mile 26.6 to 28.8 was gorgeous, with a beautiful surface and a generous shoulder. Although it's a four-lane road, I would happily ride a road like that for many miles.

Route 22

It was not until the final day of this trip that I saw a hazard on the road that I needed to remove.

Rock on the shoulder of Route 22

Four hours into my ride I saw a building similar to one I had seen on a ride in November of 2020. Both of the buildings are near reservoirs that supply New York City with water.

The fire hydrant I saw at mile 35.5 must feel so proud having such beautiful masonry behind it.

At mile 38.5 I deviated from my routed to stop at a Starbucks for a hot chocolate and a brownie. I resumed riding at 1:30 and had just 20 more miles to ride, so I thought I would arrive in Washington Heights about 3:30, a full hour before sunset.

At mile 44.7 there was another hazard on the road. I discovered that it was a cover for a hole and put it back where it belonged, thereby eliminating two hazards with a single action.

The picture below shows what I saw as I crossed the Henry Hudson Bridge. I wonder what work is being done.

Bridge for Metro North trains

As I crossed the foot bridge in Inwood Park I saw a paved path along the railroad tracks. It looks like a rail trail but it is reserved for use by railroad workers.

Path along railroad tracks in Inwood Park

When I left Starbucks at 1:30 I thought I would arrive in Washington Heights at 3:30, but I didn't arrive until 4:00, half an hour before sunset. Somehow I had used half of my cushion. I took an A train to Penn Station and arrived home at 5:00.

* * *

On this five-day trip I rode 318 miles and climbed an average of 66 feet per mile. This was my twelfth multi-day trip in fourteen months, and the first lasting five days. Most of the roads were excellent, with good surfaces and light traffic or sufficient shoulders. The scenery was gorgeous, most of it being rural. Shifting between the Sugino chainrings I installed shortly before this trip was smooth despite these rings not having the ramps and pins my previous Holdsworth chainrings had.

Lawn culture is bizarre. In the summer people use noisy power movers to cut their grass and in the fall use noisy leaf blowers to remove leaves from the grass that would be better left in place. On this trip the quiet of many neighborhoods was disturbed by gas-powered leaf blowers so loud the operators needed to protect their hearing with the same ear muffs used on the tarmac at airports. I find that a lawn from which the leaves have been removed looks wounded.

I will not take a multi-day bike trip in December because I'll be taking a two-week trip by airplane and car in the second half of the month. I'm able to dress for riding in cold weather but if I'm going to take multi-day trips when the temperature goes below 40 I ought to develop the skill of changing a tube while wearing gloves.

Previous day: November 18, 2021 - Hillsdale, NY, to Brewster, NY

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