Month: May 2016

Humidity, Humidity! Memorial Day weekend was hot and sticky! Not exactly ideal weather to ride, but I would rather ride than complain about the weather. The sun was out for most of the weekend, so regardless of the humidity, a lot of people were outdoors to kickoff the summer season.

 

I led 2 of the 5 rides that went out this weekend. Both were hot and humid, but a few brave souls pedaled on. Dave’s trail ride had great attendance, as did Becky’s beginner road ride on Sunday. Kyle’s MTB ride in Port Jervis went off without a hitch.

All and all, it was a great weekend of events at Action Bikes and Outdoor.TC Crawford, the owner of the shop, really kicked things up a notch this year. The band, Fantasia Project was fantastic and played to enthusiastic fans all day long. The drive in movie, (The Great Outdoors) under the stars was awesome and also well attended.

Here are a few photos from the weekend:

 

Hopefully, the next ride I post will be the overnight bike packing trip. As long as the rain holds out, one night this week could prove to be my night in the great outdoors!

 

Sunday was the day, the day we were to ride to the Bashakill Vinyards. We almost made it. Well, there was an incident or should I say, an accident. The ride did start out fairly well. At 31 miles in, things went sour quickly.

First, let me say that we had near perfect weather. 60 degrees and cloudy. Eric, Steve, Deb, TC and myself,  headed out of Action Bikes and Outdoor in the heart of Milford, at just after 10am. We cruised at a moderate pace through Milford Borough, down past the Metz Ice House and over the Milford/Montague Bridge.

We turned right onto Old Mine Road and rolled through the trafficless, quiet landscape for just about 7 miles. Reaching Dingmans Turnpike, we hung a left and rode up Tuttles Corner Hill. After climbing over to Layton, NJ, we turned left onto Layton Hainsville Road and zipped through the farms and quaint homes to Degroat and across Rt. 206 to Cemetary Road. Cemetary Road becomes New Road and winds through a residental neighborhoood while we save for the impending climb.

A right on Deckertown Turnpike and we begin climbing. As soon as you turn, the grade of the road immediately steepens. Up we went for 4 miles until descending sharply to Saw Mill Road. A left and we are pedaling through High point State Park. Saw Mill is a cool roller coaster road that swoops you up and down for 4 miles to the end at Rt. 23. After a left hand turn, we bombed down Rt. 23 for a few miles and into Montague, NJ.  That’s where things went awry.

As we rolled straight through the commercial area of Montague, NJ, where traffic for Rt. 84 was backed up about a half mile, a car made a left, right in front of Deb, causing her to crash into the side of it.

Deb showed incredible bike handling skills to stay upright. She simply ran out of road, before colliding with the vehicle. The NYS State Police, NJ State Police, Montague Fire Department and Blue Ridge Ambulance company all responded to the scene. After a short ride to the hospital and a battery of tests, Deb is home recovering.

Our ride ended at the accident scene and although we did make it to the winery, we missed Deb and Eric and do not consider the ride complete. A 2nd Bashakill ride is planned for early August and we hope Deb will be fully recovered and ready to ride!

 

On a rather chilly Sunday morning, I met up with Steve and Eric at Dingmans Falls for a 7am ride up and down the Delaware River. We parked right on Rt. 209 at the base of the falls, just passed Rt. 739. From the falls, we headed out north on Rt.209 through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

For eight and a half miles, we roller coastered up Rt. 209, past Adams Creek and the Zimmerman Farm. For most of the way, we rode alongside the McDade Trail, just up the hill from the river. We pulled into Milford and hit the Frisky Goat Coffee House (where we should have started) for a chance to warm up, sip a delicious cup of java and take a bathroom brake away from one of Mother Nature’s annoying phenomenoms (more on this later).

We left town and shot down Rt.209/Rt. 6, a fast, slightly downhill stretch that takes you from Milford, through the box store littered Westfall Township and Matamoras, with little to no traffic at this hour. Over the Bridge, we dropped under the trestle and navigated the city of Port Jervis, NY until we rode over the Neversink River and turned right on River Road and pedaled up past Silver Canoes and up the first hill. River Road has a few short hills but is relatively flat.  About 4 miles in, we noticed an abandoned house in the woods. This seemed like a good time for a photo.

What I didn’t know was that I leaned my bike, right in the middle of what appeared to be a load of poison ivy. Eric and Steve both pointed out that the recent rain, probably brought about a good share of the dreaded plant. I really had no idea how to spot poison ivy. So, I did a little research to hopefully keep you and me clear of it.

You’ll notice three pointed leaves that change colors with the seasons:

Reddish in the spring, Green in the summer, Yellow, orange, or red in the fall. On some plants, the leaves have notched edges. On others, the leaves’ edges are smooth. Poison ivy can grow as a bush or vine. You may see the vines climbing up the sides of trees or buildings(Look to the left of my bike, growing up the tree). The plants sometimes have white berries, which help it spread. Birds eat the berries and transplant the seeds on new areas along with their droppings. This may be why poison ivy is so common. Steer clear of this and spend less time itching and more time riding!

From River Road, we turned right on Old Mine Road for a quiet 7 mile roll through the woods, when it started raining. I thought great, no yard work today, but by time we hit the Dingmans Bridge and got back to our cars, the rain stopped and the sun was shining.

With about 32 miles and little to no climbing, this is an intermediate ride that can be done on just about any type of bike.

What’s Playing: (What am I’m listening to while writing or what’s dancing around in my head while riding) Today – ELO – Mr. Blue Sky