Hey- is anyone interested in doing this ride?
http://www.walkway.org/pdf/WalkwayBikeTour_FlyerInfo_07_02_05B.pdf
http://www.walkway.org/


It was listed in the May newsletter I believe. I plan on doing it and it sounds
like fun because it's on the west side of the Hudson and follows the Hudson so
there should be some nice scenery. I think the cause it great too. I would
love to ride over the Hudson on a bridge that was solely dedicated to
recreational users. The only catch is that you either have to pay or raise
$100. It's a century leaving from Poughkeepsie on Sat. June 23rd and goes to
NYC. I'm going to take the train from Ossining with my bike to Poughkeepsie at
7:19 AM and then return on the train from GCT later in the day. The deadline is
the 15th. If you're interested respond to Chris Starace at
cstarace@....

This is a description of the terrain from the organizer:

Here is a narrative description of the route I prepared for someone who asked
for it - I'm working on the maps and cue now now but they would be ready to the
week before the ride. From Pok we cross the Mid-Hudson Bridge - go down Rt. 9W
(generally good shoulders) to North Ave north of Milton - left on North Ave on a
quiet level road through the village of Milton for about two miles - back to Rt
9W to just below Marlboro - take Old Post Road and River Road down along the
Hudson River all the way to south of Newburgh (fairly level with small rolling
hills) - south of Newburgh we ride on Rt. 9W for a short time (maybe a mile or
two) before taking a left to go on roads along the Hudson River to Cornwall -
there is a fairly steep but short hill (0.3 miles) to reach Rt 218 - we head
south on Rt. 218 around Storm King Mt. and into West Point (this section has a
few hills but not as bad as you would think from looking at it - this is part of
the two bridge fall foliage ride I used to do every year) - the road through
West Point is mostly level on the ridge and into Highland Falls and to the Bear
Mt. Circle - take Rt. 9W below Bear Mt. bridge to Stony Point - there is a
road which leaves 9W which goes along the river through Havestraw (mostly level)
which connects with a bike trail (for mountain or hybrids - road bike return to
Rt. 9W below Havestraw to West Nyack) along the Hudson River all the way to
Nyack (very small rolling hills when not level) - then reasonably flat, quiet
roads for all riders from Nyack to Piermont (a quaint village) - after Piermont
there is a 0.5 mile hill to get up to Rt. 9W but then Rt. 9W, which has good
shoulders, goes all the way to the George Washingon Bridge and is pretty level
after one serious but not a killer hill (there are about 3 tough miles of
rolling hills) but again not really killer hills - after crossing the George
Washington bridge it is level and almost traffic free all the way to Battery
Park, along the bike trail immediately adjacent to the HR waterfront, which runs
along the Hudson River to Battery Park. If one loops Central Park to make it an
even 100 miles it is also all level except for one small rolling hill in the
park.
This is written off the top of my head. I've done the ride three times, one
time with 13 riders, once with 70 riders and last time with 35 riders. I ride a
hybrid bike and that is what I used each time. The seventy riders I did it with
in 1992 included about half weekend cyclists who never did any long rides
before. Likewise in 1999 I did it for Dutchess Community College Foundation and
many participants of the 35 who did it were rather average riders like myself.
There are no "killer" hills - we do not go over Stormking Mountain on Rt.
9W BUT around it. - Also, we will have support cars along the way in case any
wants a ride to the top of the hilliest sections, which are just before West
Point and after Piermont to get up on top of the Palisades. The scenery is great
for most of the ride.
My plan is to paint the roads in addition to giving out maps and cue
sheets but I can't guarantee I will get it will be 100% done but will be close
to it.





www.Fon-is-Fun.org
A website dedicated to sharing my experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in
Benin, West Africa. Learn to speak Fon, one of Benin's local languages. The
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