Exit171… it’s all about the journey

I had the pleasure of attending a corporate event with National Geographic in New York City. The theme of the event (which was sponsored by Lenovo and AMD) was “Experience Parks & Conservation“. It was a fun time with co-workers, customers, partners, and even an old friend from my hometown. I also had an opportunity to meet world renowned photographer (and Editor-in-Chief), Chris Johns.

I love National Geographic Magazine — great photography and intriguing articles. How could I pass up being on the cover of their latest issue?

I was planning to ride the Golden Apple Bike Tour in Westchester on Sunday, but at the last minute decided to just ride up to Bear Mountain State Park. The Golden Apple looked like a great event, but instead of driving an hour and then riding 100 miles, I figured I’d just go for a nice ride starting from my house.

I started around 7AM and made my way up through Saddle River, Airmont, Montebello, etc. and eventually to Harriman State Park. As expected, Harriman was beautiful (some of the leaves were already starting to change). I’ve driven through there many times, but it was much nicer to experience on a bicycle.

After stopping to take a couple of pictures, I continued descending down Seven Lakes Drive and started picking up some good speed… and then started to lose speed. Sure enough I look down and my rear tire was going flat… my first flat! As I was rolling to a stop I was looking for a clear place to fix the flat. Just before coming to a stop I unclipped my right foot (my usual when stopping), but between the flat tire, the pitch of the road, and a temporary loss of balance, I ended up falling on my left side (with my left foot still clipped in). Other than a bloody left knee, a couple scratches on my quick release, and a bruised ego, I was fine. Good thing no one was there to witness it!

I think the last time I fixed a flat tire was about 25 years ago. A shard of glass was the culprit this time. It was nice to see lots of good samaritans on the road — at least two cyclists and one driver checked to see if I needed any help. I managed pretty well with all my gear (got to use my CO2 for the first time) and was on my way in no time.

After a few more miles (and bolting across the Palisades Interstate Parkway) I made it to Perkins Memorial Drive and started the ascent up Bear Mountain. I had some pretty good strength and made it to the top without any problems. There must have been about 20 motorcycles pass me on the way up. Surprisingly, there weren’t too many cars around that time (~10:15 AM). The descent was fun, but I was a little cautious — I didn’t want my tire blowing out while I was doing 40 MPH down the mountain. Luckily, my patched inner tube held up.

I think it was around mile 45 when I started thinking “century”. I figured I was at least another 30-40 miles from home, so I decided to give it a shot. After Hessian Lake I rode over the Bear Mountain Bridge and then headed south to Nyack via 9W. Except for a few towns, most of 9W south was pretty nice. I even caught a glimpse of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant (yes, a little too close to NJ/NYC for comfort).

Around mile 70 I really started hurting… my right knee was killing me (again) and I had a few more hills to climb by Rockland Lake State Park. I sucked it up and even managed to pass a guy on the way up a steep hill near Valley Cottage (Chris, you’ll be happy to know it was a tri-guy!).

As I got to mile 80, I realized my route was going to come up short for a century. I decided to ride some extra roads to make up the miles… Kinderkamack Road to River Edge was my answer. I had to add a few side streets, but I finally made it over 100 miles. Here’s a recap of the day:

Mile 10, 07:44: Near Interstate 87… feeling good.
Mile 20, 08:26: Getting close to Harriman… man there are lots of hills.
Mile 30, 09:26: Just before I got my flat… enjoying Harriman.
Mile 40, 10:50: No flat is gonna stop me… must make it to Bear Mountain.
Mile 50, 11:49: Just gobbled down a hot dog on the side of the road… I think I heard Lino yelling.
Mile 60, 12:34: Legs still feeling good, but knee killing me… I still think I can do 100 miles.
Mile 70, 13:14: Approaching Tappan Zee Bridge… familiar territory.
Mile 80, 14:03: My route is going to come up way short of 100 miles… doh!
Mile 90, 14:44: Kinderkamack Road was a good ride… but ran out of water.
Mile 100.43, 15:29: I can’t be believe I made it… happy to be home.

Total Ascent: 5,949 feet (a personal best)

I never thought I’d do a century my first year riding, let alone two (I started in May and got my Madone in June). My first century last week in New York was a great experience and this week’s Bear Mountain century was really unexpected. I think I’ll take a little break (from the 100+ mile rides) until the MS Bike Tour in mid-October. I’d hate to get into a “century a week” habit.
Pics here
MotionBased log here

It took me over 2.5 hours to get home from NYC today… @#$% Traffic was bumper-to-bumper from Hoboken all the way to Rochelle Park. The reason? The Sopranos were filming an episode at the South City Grill on Route 17 and EVERYONE was rubber-necking. Of course I took a turn when I finally drove by and saw Tony Sirico, a.k.a. Paulie Walnuts, walking around (you could see that hair a mile away). It’s always neat to see them filming an episode in the area. At least I got to see one of the cast members this time (yes, they film on Route 17 a lot).

World Trade Center — October 29, 1999

I rode the 17th Annual NYC Century Bike Tour on Sunday — my first century. What a great day. I rode over 100 miles through four of the boroughs (no Staten Island). Left the house around 2:30AM to get to the Central Park check-in at 5:30AM (I parked in Hoboken and took the PATH/Subway). Started riding at 6:00AM sharp and finished around 2:45PM. My only problem was some right knee pain around mile 55 (in Queens), but a couple of Tylenols fixed that. I don’t know were I got all the energy for the ride, but my Madone seemed pretty quick all day.

I saw some places I’ve never seen before. Lots of beautiful things to see in NYC. Even the local “spectators” were a hoot. They would help point the riders in the right direction and even cheer and clap. Too funny. I never thought in a million years that I’d ride a bicycle through the Bronx (and I’m from there!).

The event was run by Transportation Alternatives — a bicycling advocacy group in NYC. The TA and volunteers did a great job. Good logistics, food, sponsorship, etc. There were a few wrong turns during the day, but I managed to find my way to the finish line.

I’m now looking for more centuries to ride this fall. Can’t wait.
Pics here
MotionBased log here

Kudos to Garmin for excellent customer service. I was having problems with the Heart Rate Monitor for my Edge 305 GPS (it simply stopped working). I called tech support and they sent me a brand new HRM sensor/strap. I’m now back up and running (or cycling I should say).

I went for a bike ride today to survey some of the damage from Tropical Storm Ernesto. Lots of debris on the roads, but I managed to make my way up to Nyack, NY. There were some lucky homeowners in Rockland and Bergen counties… in almost every instance the downed trees I came across fell away from their houses. Pictures here.

Be sure to click on the “Map This” button (upper right part of screen) when viewing the pics on Smugmug — it’ll map the exact location on Google Maps!