Micro-Tour 02
"if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together" African Proverb
Micro-Tour 02, August 6/7. North County Trailway Bridge
Micro-Tours are a quick way to escape the city on the weekend, on your bike. Meet at the shop on Saturday, meet new friends, ride to our destination, eat, camp, and return to the shop on Sunday. No work is missed, but worlds are opened up.
These are free excursions, designed to provide an excellent format for a newer rider to explore adventure cycling in a safe, fun environment.. In addition, an advanced rider will enjoy discovering new destinations and new friends to ride with.
These flash trips are considered "unsupported". No hotels, no lobster, no one ferrying your bags across the river on their head. It's you, your bike, your gear and some fantastic like-minded people. If this sounds good to you, sign up at the bottom of the page.
Don't worry if you don't have all the gear. Sign up for the trip. The next step is that we can help evaluate your set-up and help you acquire (purchase, rent, borrow) the pieces you might need. Don't let your apprehension about gear and distance riding get in your way...these trips are designed to provide an environment to get you up and going with people who care. The first step is the hardest.
Day 01, August 6th, 2016
Micro-Tour 2 saw 43 people travel 60 miles from 718 Cyclery to Ward Pound Ridge Reservatio n for a night of camping, and riding back the next day. A majority of riders met at the shop top start the ride at 9am
Departure from the shop, 9am Saturday morning
The ride proceeded at 9am on Saturday August 6th 2016 from
up and over the Brooklyn Bridge, and then along the Hudson River on the Hudson River Greenway. Ride temperatures were at 93 degrees with lots of humidity.
Up the Brooklyn Bridge
Meeting more riders at the George Washing Bridge
We the picked up riders at the 72nd Street Boat Basin, below the George Washington Bridge, Van Cortlandt Park and Elmsford.
Meeting riders at Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx NY
The ride proceeded through Van Cortlandt Park on the old Putnam Trail (
The New York and Putnam Railroad
).
Can you believe this is the Bronx?
The "Old Put" trail turns into the
, and continues north through southern Westchester County.
The South County Trail, Westchester County
At mile 33, the South County Trailway ends in the town of
, where lunch was had. I doubt the Elmsford Deli expected 40+ hungry cyclists for lunch on Saturday
Lunch in Elmsford, NY
The group then continued north on the North County Trailway, through the hilly northern reaches of
.
Nearing the end of the journey, we passed over the reservoir bridge
Bridge over the Croton Reservoir
After the bridge, there were a few decent climbs in order to get to camp
Climbing on NY Route 35
We arrived at camp with the threat of thunderstorms at our back. It rained for about 5 minutes, and served to clear out some high temperature and humidity.
John on the 2016 Santa Cruz Stigmata
Jeremy from Salsa hitting a descent on his tricked out 2017 Marrakesh
Climbing into camp
Camp set-up right as the rain hits
After the rain
Ollie on his new Jones Bike
The campsite had easy access to latrines, but fresh water was a slight hike away. True heros Louis and Sheena took everyone's water bottles and a few bladders and went and got water. Also, Gwynna's trailer was used to get food for dinner.
Trailer used to get supplies from local deli
The water team, delivering fresh water
Innovative use of those waterproof panniers
After the rain passed, we began preparing dinner. This is always a fantastic part of these trips as people pull out all kinds of cooking gear and food supplies (nothing can beat the fire pie from
, however)
Tyler can always be counted on to bring his "A" food game
As evening progressed and darkness set in, it was time for a campfire. We also had a patch ceremony, where everyone who made the trip was awarded a 718 Micro-Tour Patch.
"These patched are earned"
Day 02, August 7th, 2016
The night was clear, cool but damp. All clothes that were hung out to dry actually absorbed moisture during the night.
Campsite, 5:30am
Overnight moisture
The first campers began waking up at 5am, with most everyone up by 7. As with dinner, incredible innovation was on display for breakfast.
The morning sun broke though the mist by about 7:30, and everyone who could used the sun to dry out their tarps, tents and flys
Drying out tarps, flys and tents
Pretty soon it was time to pack up and head south, back home to NYC
The ride south saw groups go to farmers markets and to Subway. The temperature was again hot and pretty humid, but we made great time getting home.
Hitting Subway in Elmsford on the rebound
North County Trail, heading South
Putnam Trail, Bronx NY
Mini-rendezvous spot at south end of Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx NY
Farmer's market detour
Oh yeah, that's the Bronx
Return to the shop
I really enjoyed getting to know new friends and connecting with old ones on our trip. For me, these trips transcend "business" and really speak to a desire to create and be a part of a vibrant community.
