Bear Mountain

Today I rode with Super Todd to the top of Bear Mountain. It was an epic day with close to 8 hours in the saddle. Our pace wasn’t anything to write home about, but the hills and the company made this a quality ride.

I wanted to start out at 5am, but in deference to ST’s desire to proceed at a more sensible hour, we compromised for a 5:30am start. By the time he dragged his bike down from his 6th floor walkup, it was 5:45am before we finally headed out of Brooklyn.

ST took me up the West Side bike path, which continues right through Riverside Park. It was the first time I have ever been on the path and I must admit is a very pleasant and expedient way to get to the George Washington Bridge. We passed many interesting sites along the way. These included rusted out hulks of metal semi-submerged in the Hudson, riding under the Henry Hudson Parkway and riding along a path only feet from the waters edge.

While in sights of the bridge, I remembered the time last year when I missed the right turn on 165th Street off Riverside Drive and wound up near the entrance to the Henry Hudson. At this location, a staircase exists that appears to take you up to the GW Bridge. In actuality, all this staircase did was to deliver you to the depths of hell on earth. After ascending a few steps I knew I made a mistake and encountered Heroin addicts, homeless people and a cesspool of discarded trash and human excrement. I immediately feared for my life while wearing a fancy cycling outfit and carrying a bicycle worth several thousand dollars. Fortunately, I was able to walk back the way I came unharmed. But I digress…

Finally after 1.5 hours we arrived at the GW. Riding over this bridge would be very pleasant if it weren’t for the blustery wind and the incredible noise from all the traffic passing across. The views are incredible, but I’ve never had the desire to stand around to admire them. The noise, wind and traffic make the GW bike path a fairly hostile environment. We did stop though to snap a quick photo.

After crossing the bridge we headed towards 9W and headed north. Not much happened during this time other than miles passing and hills climbed. After another 40 miles of riding we entered into Bear Mountain Park. The most remarkable thing to happen along the way, was the crossing of 9W by a large Gobbler Turkey. Seeing this large bird cross the road, did beg the question why?

Soon after entering the park, a couple of riders passed us riding down. I couldn’t help but think that this should be me passing other riders as normally I would be well on my way home. I punished ST for making me be the late bird by dropping him on the climb to the top like a bad habit.

Just as I was reaching the top, I saw someone running the climb. I thought to myself that is the way to do hill training and admired the person’s tenacity. It turns out that I knew the runner. It was a fellow member of my tri club – Asphalt Green Triathlon Club, http://www.agtri.com/, who fittingly enough, coaches the Thursday night hill workouts. I guess his weekly sessions have paid off. He hung out with me while I waited for ST to arrive and we all snapped pictures of each other once ST graced us with his presence.

The ride down from the summit was thrilling as ever - quick, steep and slightly chilly. Descent complete, we ground out the 40 miles back to the GW Bridge. We saw lot’s of riders heading in the opposite direction. It must be nice to have the leisure to get a later (and warmer) start on the day.

My original plan was to bail out of riding once I reached the Manhattan side of the GW, since at that point I would have over 100 miles and hate riding through the midday city traffic. ST didn’t like that plan and wanted to ride home. My legs were still fresh once we hit Manhattan, so I decided to ride home with him.

Unfortunately, I returned home too late to go to my son’s soccer practice. So I had my son call ST and complain that he rode so slow that his daddy couldn’t see him play. I made it up to my son though later on. After fueling and hosing myself off, we went to Prospect Park and played some baseball and wrestled in the grass. Just the perfect ending to the day.

Here are the ride stats:

Elapsed Time: 7:54:19
HR: 128/161
Dist: 118.5
Ascent: 6340
Calories burned: 5123
Calories Consumed: 1500 (29 percent)

Click this link for elevation profile

Beast and ST crossing the George Washington Bridge


ST and Beast at the top of Bear Mountain