A few weeks ago, I posted on the 8 biggest climbs in the Catskills, some of which I have completed, and others that I plan to ride over the summer. I’ve only been getting out for brief rides because of the weather, so I’ve had plenty of time to waste on Ride With GPS to identify other big climbs.

I think I’ve found the best (read: most terrifying) one yet. This route takes you over Ski Run Road, which I believe is the highest through road in the Catskills. Maximum elevation, 3261 feet. Maximum grade, 33.6%. There may be dead end roads that go higher, but I haven’t found them yet.

I did some research online to find out if this was an actual road, or just a figment of Google’s imagination. I’ve had plenty of experiences around here where Google has shown a road, and it has turned out to be nothing more than the most faintly delineated path. For example, this is Rock Hill Road, just north of Minnewaska State Park:

And that was the part that looked most like a road. I ended up orienteering through the woods using my cell phone when the road disappeared completely.

Back to the point…Ski Run Road is real, and it’s gravel, and it is occasionally used by mountain bikers. This is the best photo I was able to find of it:

And I found a report from Catskills Cycling (where the picture came from, hope you don’t mind!) about a ride on this road. Of course, they did it on mountain bikes. I’m not that smart.

Here’s the GPS route (with thanks to Catskills Cycling, I adapted it from their Strava trace) and a map.

I’d categorize this one as a must do as soon as possible ride. However, I do have some common sense, so I’m not going to take a shot at this until April or later unless it warms up considerably. Gravel + snow + ice + 33% grade is not a good combination.

More climbs to come based on recommendations from friends and readers. And now I must finish my work, I’m off to Italy tomorrow morning.

John

medicalwriter.net

On Wednesday, Doug and I set out on a planned 101-mile route, starting from his place in Woodstock, New York. I had also asked my friend John along, but the night before he informed me that he had picked up a bug from one of his kids, and was unlikely to make it.

Since the route was long enough as planned, my girlfriend was kind enough to get up early and drive me and my bike to Woodstock for the start. The plan was to complete the route and then ride home, making it an even 200k for the day…as you’ll see, that didn’t quite work out!

The day started out promising. Low 40s, lots of fog and maybe a tiny bit of mist. The forecast was for 59 degrees, maybe some rain in the afternoon. All in all, just the way I like it. The route from Woodstock to the Rhinebeck Bridge was mostly downhill, so we hauled ass to the bridge for our first crossing of the Hudson. As you can see…foggy.

As we were crossing the bridge, I heard something behind me, and turned around. There was John, who was actually waiting for us, as planned, at a gas station just south of the entrance to the bridge. He had texted me a little earlier, when we were already underway, and I didn’t check my phone. The remarkable thing is that he had just gotten over whatever he had, and he was riding fueled only by a single pancake. Even so, he was clearly faster than either Doug or myself. Thanks for being patient!

The route crosses shortly thereafter into Columbia county. Although I’ve done a lot of riding in Dutchess, this was my first time in Columbia county for any reason.

Columbia county, unlike its counterparts Ulster and Greene on the west side of the river, is gently rolling farmland. I think it will be beautiful during the summer, and a nice change of pace from grinding up and screaming down hills nearer to me.

We hit a lot of strange semi-gravel roads. I’m not really sure if they were gravel, or regular roads covered in gravel and general filth.

In any case, they were dirty enough to result in some nice skunk stripes. Doug was sensible, and rode a bike with fenders.

More gently rolling countryside.

Followed by a second crossing of the Hudson about 35 miles north (or about mile 50 on the route) on the Route 23 bridge. This picture looks like more like a still from Deadliest Catch than anything that should be in New York.

Watch out for the expansion joint on the bridge, it will eat even the fattest tire. Doug took it at an angle and survived. I actually stopped and duck walked over it because I wasn’t going fast enough to jump it.

We stopped at Pizza and Pasta on the Catskill side of the bridge. Yes, that’s the name of the restaurant. However, they also offer a simulacrum of Mexican food if that’s what you’re craving after 55 miles. We parted ways with John here.

So…that was the first 55 miles. The weather deteriorated rapidly, falling into the upper 30s, accompanied by a freezing rain. Compounding the issue, there was a 20-30 mph intermittent headwind driving the rain directly into our faces, and fog started to descend. I’m fine with all of that except the heavy fog, especially since the last few miles of the route are on a heavily trafficked road. So we abandoned our plans to complete the route, ending up with somewhere around 77 miles for the day. I also abandoned my plan to ride home, and I called my girlfriend to pick me up. I’m actually a little embarrassed…the only other time I’ve abandoned a ride was in 2010, when traffic from 9W was rerouted onto my route due to construction (worst ride ever!).

As it turns out, that was my best decision all week. As we were driving home, the fog became so heavy that we had to crawl along at about 25-30 mph. There was one panicky moment where we couldn’t see the road at all. I can’t even imagine how I would have survived that on a bike.

Every ride is a good ride. With that said, I’m going to have to give this one a dissatisfactory rating. But it’s not the route’s fault, nor is it the company’s fault. I blame the lyin’ sonofabitch at The Weather Channel.

Like all the other routes I’ve published here, this one is probably worth the trip. It’s a beautiful ride through rolling farmland, and I’m sure it will be gorgeous in better weather. It is different from my usual routes in that there is easy access to services and plenty of places to stop along the way. Here’s the route, but keep in mind we took an alternate route back that cut off some miles.

Now I’m off to Rome to talk about the role of the sympathetic nervous system in a whole bunch of diseases—hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc. Then I return for one day, and then I’m off to Arizona. I rented a Specialized Roubaix there and am planning a 200k in the mountains. I’m looking forward to the ride, less so to the bike. I’m spoiled.

John

medicalwriter.net

Finally, the long-promised new route…

Before we begin, though, I just want to note that my previous post was meant to be funny. Dry humor, you know? If you’re in a 5-hour drivers’ ed course you have to take your amusement where you can.

Now, back to the regularly scheduled post:

My friends and I have been riding the east side of the Hudson—mainly Putnam and Dutchess—as well as 9W up to Bear Mountain on the west side for some time, but we hadn’t gone farther north on the west side of the Hudson. In part, this was because of its relative inaccessibility, and in part because of a failure of our collective imagination. After all, there was a lot to explore on the east side, and all of it easily accessible by train, whereas the only way to get over to the other side was via the Bear Mountain Bridge, the Newburg-Beacon bridge, or the Poughkeepsie bridge. We didn’t think going over to the other side was worth the effort.

Of course, now I know that’s wrong. Ulster offers considerably more rugged terrain and is far less civilized than its counterparts on the east side of the river. All of which makes for great riding, if you’re not afraid of being far from civilization, a relative lack of services, and no cell phone contact in places. All in all, it makes for a more genuine adventure than riding in Putnam and Dutchess. Don’t get me wrong, though—the east side of the river makes for some fine riding in beautiful country…it’s just different and in some ways easier.

The route begins in Beacon, New York. It’s easy to get there from Grand Central Station—see the About page for train schedules and general guidance. You’ll go over the Beacon-Newburg Bridge to get to Newburg on the west side of the river. (This image is actually from an earlier ride where we attempted to go from NYC to Poughkeepsie. We abandoned in Newburg because, due to construction, all the traffic from the highway was rerouted onto our route…worst ride ever!).

From Newburg, you’ll continue west to the little town of Walden. There is some traffic along the way, and a few crossings of busy roads, but overall it’s a safe and fast trip to the good stuff. In Walden, you can stop for drinks or food; I believe this roadside stand is open year-round.

Finding the start of the bike path itself in Walden can be tricky. I redrew the route to make it easier. You’ll know you’ve arrived when you see this funhouse chute. If nothing else, it will give you a chance to practice your bike handling skills. It’s like getting on the south path of the GWB, times nine.

I recommend jumping the rail and riding the dirt path on the right.

The first part of the bike path is paved and dead flat. Depending on your attitude and abilities, you can view this as either an opportunity to get it over with quickly, or a nice respite before the work begins (not that there’s much work to do on this route!)

At about mile 18-19, you’ll arrive in Wallkill, home of the famous correctional facility. Some maps will show the bike path going right through the prison grounds, but sadly that is not allowed. You will need to detour around the prison. There are a few hills, but nice views.

Here is where we encountered a helpful prison guard, who directed us around the prison. I’ll admit we looked suspicious riding around with our bags full of who knows what. Personally, I had a cake and a file in my saddlebag. Please don’t tell the man.

You’ll want to go up that hill on the right.

Make sure you turn on Dennison Road.

From there, it’s only about a quarter mile to the bike path, which–as you can see–is more of a cow trail in this area. I didn’t mention this earlier, but wider tires are a good idea, although, as usual, I rode the route on 25 mm tubulars.

The bike path hides some baby head sized rocks, so perhaps it isn’t advisable to go this way in late fall, when the rocks and potholes are covered with fallen leaves.

You’ll pass through New Paltz at mile 31, which has a number of excellent restaurants, and ultimately you’ll emerge in the town of Rosendale at mile 38, which also has several good places to eat.

We stopped for lunch at Market Market Café (hours here), which has an outdoor seating area and was actually quite good. Note that the outdoor seating faces Route 213, so there is some traffic noise.

We had originally planned an out-and-back route, but we found the bike path far from challenging. We decided to return to Poughkeepsie the hard way. Luckily, Guy carries paper maps (and a fountain pen, of all things!) and he created a cue sheet to get back to the train station.

Here we are on the backroads to Poughkeepsie.

Where I took a picture of an extraordinarily handsome goat.

The route gets more challenging here, because you’re on real roads in the hills. The climb out of Rosendale is steep and long enough for the road to warrant a separate climbing lane for cars, and there are a few steep but short climbs along the way. Overall, you’ll do half of your total climbing (which is minimal—only 3300 feet in 55 miles) in the last 15 miles.

You’ll end in Poughkeepsie, where you’ll cross the world’s longest pedestrian bridge. This is a photo from the bridge, looking south.

If you have dallied too long at–for example–the combined cheese/used clothes store in Rosendale, and have arrived after dark, the pedestrian bridge will be closed. No problem…just head south a quarter mile and cross the bridge pictured above. It’s actually easier to get to the train station from that bridge.

Is it worth the trip? Yes, depending on your needs and who you are riding with. Personally, even if I still lived in New York City I wouldn’t bother doing this again. It’s not challenging or remote enough for my tastes.

However, this route is a nice introduction to Ulster. It is fast, easy, and suitable for beginners in moderately good shape–or those who just want to go on a fun day ride. It includes a long segment on a very flat bike path (which I try to stay away from unless I’m riding just for transportation) but there are plenty of services along the way and several places to stop for food. Contrast that with riding in the mountains, where there are few services and you are, in fact, lucky to see more than 20 cars on an 8-hour ride.

Finally, here’s the route.  Click on the link for GPS.

I should have a good report and route for you on Wednesday or Thursday this week…I took Wednesday off to do a 200-kilometer double-crossing of the Hudson with a couple friends (ah, the lifestyles of the self-employed!) Stay tuned for that route and a lot more. If I survive the anticipated freezing rain, that is.

Enjoy!

John

medicalwriter.net