I noticed that Jordan lived not far from
Metro North’s Harlem line, and I figured that setting off from his place would save
a good chunk of time, since I could eliminate the street riding required to
reach the train from my original planned starting point at the George
Washington Bridge. Jordan’s home was also only five miles from my end point on
the trail, just north of Van Cortlandt Park in Yonkers, which was half the
distance back to the bridge!
I had given Jordan a target time between
9:30-10:00, and I got up really early in the morning in order to avoid as much
rush hour traffic as possible. I was flying along until I reached Morristown,
NJ, when I-287 became a bit of a parking lot. Luckily, it was just a local
issue, and when things cleared after a frustrating half hour, I reached the GWB
a relatively short time afterward.
The bridge is always slow on and off, but I
was soon at Jordan’s door, and only a handful of minutes later than planned.
After unloading his bike and parts, I stopped in for a short visit and to see
his collection. I’ve worked on many of his bikes, but he had a couple,
including a sweet Bottecchia from the 1980s, painted in black
and white for the Malvor pro team, and a really cool mid-2000s Look KG 381
bicycle painted for the Credit Agricole team.
After a quick change, I was pedaling the quick
2½ miles to the Mount Vernon West station. Purchasing a ticket was easy,
considering how many times I’ve seen machines in other languages during my
travels abroad. I had heard that a one-time $5 purchase of a bicycle permit was
required on trains, but the conductor never asked me about it. In fact, he was
a very helpful and friendly guy who had a suggestion where to sit, out of the
way with my bicycle (I had the Cannondale with me) and where to stand on the
platform when I had to transfer at White Plains.
I had the added fun of “collecting” a couple
dozen train stations (another hobby of mine) during my trip, some along this
active, former New York Central line, and even a few that still sit along the
defunct Putnam Line (also New York Central) that the trails would follow. I now
have nearly 650 stations on my list that I have visited/photographed across the
country!
The trip was rather typical urban to
suburban scenery until we reached the area north of Katonah, when the tracks
weaved through some of the lovely hills and reservoirs that dominate the border of
West Chester and Putnam counties. My total train ride was about an hour and
twenty-five minutes when I pushed my bike onto the platform at the neat Tudor-style
station at Brewster.
The Putnam Trailway terminus is just north
of town at the appropriately-named Putnam Avenue, and it was obvious this was a
brand-new section with fresh cycling logos and directional markers painted onto
the surface. Although the overall topography of the route isn’t flat, most of
the trail is railroad grade, so it certainly isn’t difficult riding. However, the first few miles included some areas with
more abrupt changes in elevation that required a little pedaling effort –
perhaps where bridges or fills once crossed these small valleys and have since been
removed.
Although the trail condition was still
decent, its “newness” went away as I skirted the Middle Branch Reservoir,
heading toward Carmel Hamlet. The scenery certainly made up for the lack of
immaculate pavement!
I soon
passed Lake Mahopac which was once a thriving resort area until highway
development made automobile travel more convenient. The community evolved into
a permanent settlement as the Taconic State and Sawmill River Parkways handled
(what once was) an easy commute into New York City.
I was now in some areas of deep woods where
the trail saw little maintenance. Sections saw a good amount of upheaving from
tree roots, maybe not as bad as the Henry Hudson Trail was, but the dappled
light coming through the trees made those obstacles hard to spot. I had to stay
focused, as my road bike didn’t provide a lot of cushioning when I hit a
particularly bad crack.
There were also a few rock cuts that had
become frequent waterways, judging by the small creeks flowing through from
recent rain and the heavy erosion to both sides of the pavement. Some of these
cuts never receive a lot of light and had a good coating of damp moss, and I
was very careful riding over these sections!
At about the 17-mile mark, I reached Yorktown
Heights, where a park, pool and playground all featured nicely at trailside. In
the center of town, a restored train station also sat nearby.
A few miles later, I reached a steel truss
bridge crossing the New Croton Reservoir. Although the wooden surface appeared
dry, the planks were waterlogged. I laughed as they made a squishy noise under
my wheels, and water actually shot up at me through the nail holes!
I was soon in the hamlet of Millwood, where
the trail was on-road for about three miles, some of it actually in the traffic
lanes of NY Route 100, but a good portion was in an extra-wide shoulder, separated from autos by a beefy guardrail. The paving was in decent shape, but
I’m not sure if it will see any more maintenance than the road, and I’m
thinking most of the salt and winter piles will pushed into that area. As it
was, there was a good amount of runoff debris in the shoulder from the recent
rains.
As NY-100 came to an end, the trail swung
off into the woods a bit to parallel NY-9A on its west side. Eventually the
Taconic Parkway also merged into this corridor, but despite the road noise of
the speeding cars, this was really a pleasant section of trail, though there
were still some damp areas under the heavy foliage.
Thirty-two miles into the ride, I was back in
Westchester County and in familiar territory, retracing the North County
Trailway that I had ridden with Sue during our Sleepy Hollow-Croton Aqueduct trip in August of 2016. A segment of the trail just above the town of Elmsford
had been newly completed, and I liked the way it followed the winding contours
of the Sawmill River.
By the way, I have to laugh at what some
states call a river. The Sawmill was maybe half the width of our Perkiomen
Creek! Pennsylvania doesn’t mess around – take a look at a list, and you’ll
find only major waterways. When they call it a river, it’s actually a RIVER.
The high of riding on the new section came crashing
down quickly as I soon hit the worst portion of the trail so far. The
washboard texture here was something I’ve experienced before when the paving is
laid directly over the railroad ties that are still in the ground. They
eventually decay and the asphalt sinks into the spaces left behind.
I wasn’t sure if I just didn’t remember it
being this bad or if I was underestimating how much the condition could
deteriorate in a couple of years. I was riding my trail bike last time out
here, so the extra cushioning from the fatter tires could also be influencing my
recollection of the previous experience.
My hands, arms and shoulders were taking a
beating over the next four miles or so, but the conditions flipped around
completely for the remainder of the ride. A particularly smooth section of
tarmac on a gently-curving climb above the community of Nepperhan in Yonkers
provided me with a burst of enthusiasm, and I hit a bit of a groove, spinning
along effortlessly for a couple miles.
At just about the 47-mile mark, I exited the
South County Trail onto Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Place and took on a nasty climb to
the east, 180 feet up McLean Avenue. I remembered this hill from the ride with
Sue, but it seemed worse this time around – maybe because there was no one
cursing behind me to lighten the mood.
The easy handful of miles across Yonkers and
Mt. Vernon provided a nice “cool down spin”, and I followed Nereid and Pitman
Avenues onto Samford Boulevard, to reach my car back in Pelham. I had managed
to get out of there before peak rush hour - which is more like four hours in NYC
- so the traffic wasn’t too terrible, and I had packed in a small cooler a delicious
(driving-friendly) meal to enjoy on the way home.
...and finally, Jordan's Vitus 979:
...and finally, Jordan's Vitus 979:
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