April 28, 2025 - Port Jervis, NY, to Roscoe, NY
End: Roscoe, NY
Miles: 52.3
Feet climbing per mile: 83
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/276006404
The plan for this trip, my first since arriving home from Cross Country 2024 on October 12th, was to take a train to Port Jervis, ride to Roscoe where I would spend two nights, ride a loop, and then ride back to Port Jervis. During the week there are no trains from Port Jervis to Penn Station except in the morning and at night, so I would spend a night in Port Jervis. The next day I would either take the train from Port Jervis to Penn Station or ride to Suffern and catch the train there.
I left home at 7:45 in order to catch the 8:02 New Jersey Transit train to Secaucus Junction where I caught the 8:36 train to Port Jervis. I think bikes might technically not be allowed on those trains at those hours, but they were both almost empty so there was no problem boarding. Both trains had a designated place for bikes in every car. On the train to Secaucus it was it was near the end of the car, while on the train to Port Jervis it was near the middle doors. I arrived in Port Jervis shortly before 11:00 and began to ride.
At mile 4.0 I had planned to take Cahoonzie Road in order to stay off route 42, but Cahoonzie Road was steeper than I had expected so I headed to 42. Cahoonzie Road doesn't look very steep in the picture, does it? Its grade is actually as high as 8%.
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| Cahoonzie Road |
Route 42 had a beautiful surface, a generous shoulder, and little traffic.
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| Route 42 |
After leaving 42 I was on a road through a forest. There was almost no traffic and the surface was good chipseal . Is there such a thing as good chipseal? Even the best chipseal makes for a rough ride with plenty of rolling resistance.
I passed by the Rio Reservoir. I presume it supplies New York City with drinking water, but I'm not certain about that.
I had planned to stop at the Starlight Cafe shortly after mile 24, but when I got there I saw that it had been replaced by The Boozery, which was now out of business. On a wall of the building was the sign below.
Ice cream doesn't solve anything if it's not available.
I’ve made a new entry in Aphorisms and Exhortations:
Don’t assume a business is still operating just because it appears on Google Maps.
Half a mile later I stopped at a Sunoco gas station where I bought a sandwich and a Monster.
When I was about to refill my water bottles in the bathroom of the Sunoco I first tested the water by tasting it. I don't know why I did that and I had never done it before, but I'm glad I did because the water tasted bad. I bought a liter of water from Sunoco.
Throughout the day I saw several interesting rock formations.
Shortly after mile 36 I stopped at the Dollar General in White Sulphur Springs. I had brought plenty of chocolate with me but could not forgo buying a dark chocolate bar for just $1.50, as I had done so many times during Cross Country 2024.
On Dahlia Road I had to walk four tenths of a mile when the grade was almost 10%.
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| Dahlia Road |
Lanape Lake Road was somewhat broken up.
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| Lanape Lake Road |
At mile 45 I stopped at the Sunoco in Livingston Manor to have a snack and to fill my water bottles.
I saw no swans on Swan Lake, but later I did see two on a pond.
I arrived at Rockland House just after 6:00. As I had requested, Tom, the owner, gave me a room on the ground floor.
The restaurant at Rockland House was not open, so after cleaning up and changing my clothes I walked a short distance to the Courtyard Bar which Google Maps said was open until 11:00. Unfortunately the kitchen had closed at 9:00 and I arrived about 9:15.
I’ve made a new entry in Aphorisms and Exhortations:
Don’t assume the kitchen will be open until the time the Google listing for a bar or restaurant says the establishment closes.
After leaving the Courtyard I walked a little more than a mile into Roscoe and decided to eat at Raimondo’s. On the way there I heard the sounds in the recording below. Can you identify the animals making the sounds? If so, please leave a comment below this post.
Throughout the day the weather was beautiful and there was almost no traffic. I rode through few towns. There was plenty of climbing (83 feet per mile) and early in the day I wondered whether I’d be up for riding a fourth day. I paced myself by taking plenty of breaks. My loaded bike weighed 48 pounds, which was 14 pounds lighter than its heaviest weight on Cross Country 2024.
Next day: April 29, 2025 - Roscoe NY, loop
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