Fall Ride Recommendations outside NYC?

[ScaD]

Just checking to see if anyone has a Fall ride (mostly low cars or light off road if possible) that's easy to reach by train from NYC. 

[aeroperf]

When I lived in NJ, I used to ride from Easton down to Trenton on the Delaware Canal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Canal_(Delaware_Division)

The fall colors were typically outstanding.  I've never tried to find a rail route to Easton, but there is bus service there from NYC, and rail service to Trenton.

[John W]

Old Croton Aqueduct Trail
North and South County Trail

If you don’t mind road riding there is plenty of low trafficked roads north of, say, Katonah and beyond on the Metro North train.

For a longer trip, take the train to Poughkeepsie and ride into New Paltz. A few people on this group recently did Minnewaska, which is wonderful.

Google “Summer Classic” in ridewithgps for another bike route.

Or take the train to Wassaic and ride into Connecticut or Massachusetts. You can’t really go wrong.

[Bob Ehrenbeck]

Here's a link to a similar discussion from a few years ago:

https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/4RDjoUFmZfg/discussion

Yesterday I did the annual Old Croton Aqueduct Rough Stuff ride. It was my first, and I highly recommend doing this with someone who knows the (very confusing) route:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B35mYZdlgTg/

The weekend before last I was on the D&R Canal towpath:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3nfK7yF3Uv/

Bob E

Cranford, NJ

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

D&R canal path is local for me in central NJ and you could really make the route as long or short as you like. It parallels route 1 and the Northeast Corridor of NJ Transit.

I haven’t yet tried this myself but have wanted to take the train up the the Brunswick area then ride the trail back home (between Trenton/Princeton.)
Or vice versa and cycle north then take the train back. Just haven’t had the time lately but have otherwise enjoyed miles and miles of traffic free riding on various parts of the D&R for over a decade.

On nice weekends the trail has its own busy traffic areas (bikers/runners/walkers,etc.... especially around Princeton and also out near Washington Crossing up through New Hope for the portion the parallels the Delaware River) but if connecting long sections for a day in the saddle you’ll get a nice mix of some quiet secluded areas to balance things out.


I haven’t yet ridden the main trail further north than the Kingston area but have otherwise ridden just about everything south through Trenton and then up along the Delaware to Frenchtown. An additional benefit of the Delaware River feeder canal route is getting to cross back and forth between NJ/PA to further vary your routes and make different loops.

I also just found out about a trail that crosses over from North NJ into NY for miles of mostly paved riding that a friend has been riding lately but can’t recall the name.

You should also look into the Columbia trail crossing east to northwestern NJ as you may be able to pick that up from a train as well o. One of the northern NJ transit lines.

Brian Cole
Lawrenceville NJ

[Coal Bee Rye Anne]

Just double checked and the Columbia Trail in NJ runs from High Bridge in Hunterdon for 15miles into to Morris County and could pick it up from the Raritan Valley train line it seems. I only rode it once several years ago but found the scenery really enjoyable and expect it’d be even more scenic this time of year.

[Mark Roland]

If you take the train to Cold Spring, this route begins and ends there. Contact me PM if you need more info or a variation. The Map My Ride interface is not great.

Anyway, it's possible to do a good portion of riding from Cold Spring on low traffic dirt roads such as Indian Brook, Lanes Gate, Old Albany Post, Sunken Mine. This route uses some but you could add more. Take a look at the map and you can see how to incorporate more or less of those.

https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/1644490685

On Monday, October 21, 2019 at 4:26:58 PM UTC-4, ScaD wrote:

[Mark Roland]

Here are a few photos from Indian Brook around this time of year. A beautiful road. Also at this time of year, Collaborative Concepts has an outdoor sculpture exhibit on Saunders farm. (Looks like last official day is Oct. 27 this year, but usually still accessible for some time after.)

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P6dSNNEm4u2hhOHr1

[Steve Palincsar]

On 10/22/19 7:16 AM, Mark Roland wrote:

If you take the train to Cold Spring, this route begins and ends there. Contact me PM if you need more info or a variation. The Map My Ride interface is not great.

No, it's not.  Ride With GPS is vastly better, and IMHO you should switch immediately.

Anyway, it's possible to do a good portion of riding from Cold Spring on low traffic dirt roads such as Indian Brook, Lanes Gate, Old Albany Post, Sunken Mine. This route uses some but you could add more. Take a look at the map and you can see how to incorporate more or less of those.

https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/1644490685

On Monday, October 21, 2019 at 4:26:58 PM UTC-4, ScaD wrote:

Just checking to see if anyone has a Fall ride (mostly low cars or light off road if possible) that's easy to reach by train from NYC. 

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Steve Palincsar
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[Brad]

A few weeks ago I rode from the Poughkeepsie train station to Minnewaska. I think more than 90% of the ride was on rail trails, carriage rodes, or very lightly trafficked backroads.

The Poughkeepsie to New Paltz leg is rail trail all the way to the New York Thruway.

Just across the river from, New Paltz, the new River to Ridge trail (which doesn't show up on Google maps yet) gets you into the Mohonk preserve.

The Mohonk carriage roads get you up to where the footbridge crosses 44/55. A combination of carriage roads and back roads get you into Minnewaska, where you can take carriage roads to the main entrance. From there, you can ride all sorts of beautiful carriage roads.

Some parts of the ride might be dicey on really skinny tires, but it's definitely not mountain biking.

Here's my Ride With GPS route (there are a couple of wrong turns in there and I continued on to Kerhonkson after Minnewaska):

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/40675222

Brad

Queens

On Monday, October 21, 2019 at 4:26:58 PM UTC-4, ScaD wrote:

[Mark Roland]

Just be aware that right around where the River to Ridge trail ends, there is a table in the woods where they will collect $20 for a day bike pass or $100 for a yearly. Also, helmet required. You can get to Minnewaska completely via the carriage roads--I did it a few weeks ago for the Rivendell 25th Eastern Seaboard Ride.

[Brad]

Hi Mark! You were the one who tipped me off that the ride was possible. I was prepared to pay the $20 to pass through Mohonk but I rode on a Friday afternoon and I never found a place to pay. Even at $20, it's a great ride. One possible issue:  Mohonk and Minnewaska are busy on the weekends during leaf-peeping season and you'll share the trails with a lot of walkers. If you can ride during the week, the trails are empty.

Brad

Queens

[alan lavine]

Hey Mark,

Do you have a turn by turn route sheet for the Cold Spring ride?  I tried to get it on the site but as I am a digital moron, couldn't.

Thanks,

Alan

On Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 7:16:43 AM UTC-4, Mark Roland wrote:

[Steve Palincsar]

It isn't you, it's map my ride.  I've input over 1,000 routes in ridewithgps and I couldn't view that mapmyride route either.