Mark D. created an excellent route that I hope will be a nice addition to the Sunday Ride repertoire. We started at the New City library and made our way to 9W north. We wisely bypassed Buckberg Mt. and went up and over Dunderberg to the Bear Mt. Bridge. After crossing the bridge we turned right and climbed Rt. 6 while enjoying the vistas of the sun-dappled Hudson. We dropped down to the traffic circle and got on Rt. 9 and then turned left onto Sprout Brook Rd. For the next few miles we rode on rolling, quiet residential roads. Before reaching the Rt. 301 turnoff to drop down to Cold Spring we had to contend with two consecutive brutally long and steep climbs that "burned a few of our matches." Mark led the long descent of 301 to Cold Spring. No matter how hard I pedal or how tightly I tuck I just can't seem to hold Mark's wheel on a descent. I guess it has something to do with his motto: "Inertia, Baby."
We rolled into Cold Spring and stopped at the deli for a quick refuel and rehydration. While we drank our Gatorades we planned our strategy for tackling the cruel rollers of 9D. We took turns pulling and, fortunately, the winds were not unkind and we made it back to the bridge in good order. We gutted out the last 15 miles back to New City to complete a tough but rewarding day in the saddle. We covered 65 miles averaging 16.5 MPH over some very hilly terrain. I tried to figure out the elevation gain on Mapmyride, but I got frustrated and gave up. There was a lot of climbing. Let's leave it at that.
Though at 9:00 A.M. the weather was a bit brisk, by leaving early we got in before the winds really kicked up.Thanks, Mark, for creating an excellent new route for the club and for hitting the roads with me today.
-Ian
