[CR]Old Croton Aqueduct trail ride (NYC-Westchester) -- Sunday, 10/29

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Subject: [CR]Old Croton Aqueduct trail ride (NYC-Westchester) -- Sunday, 10/29
Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2006 16:31:52 -0400
Thread-Topic: [CR]Old Croton Aqueduct trail ride (NYC-Westchester) -- Sunday, 10/29
Thread-Index: Acbj01yFo8TTRxY6QDaoWWEtmskjzAD9MoQg
From: "Silver, Mordecai" <MSilver@iso.com>
To: "Classic Rendezvous" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>


Hearing these reports of vintage road bikes being ridden on unpaved roads in L'Eroica, I thought that some CR members from the NYC area might be interested in the 3rd annual iBOB Old Croton Aqueduct trail ride, starting in the Bronx and ending at the Croton Dam (see http://www.aqueduct.org/). Unlike L'Eroica, this ride is flat! It would be great if we had a CR contingent this year too, in the spirit of the local iBOB/CR rides that we used to have a few years ago.

In the past two years, all riders except one have ridden lugged steel, but more modern than vintage. We've had a lot of Rivendell bikes of various sorts (Rambouillet, Atlantis, Waterford-made Rivendell, Quickbeam), and a Bilenky, an old Schwinn touring bike, and a Bridgestone XO-1, to name a few. I'm planning to ride my commuter this year, a Univega Viva Sport from the mid-'80's, set up as a fixed-gear.

I've ridden this (and plan to ride it again this year) on 27x1 1/4 tires at 60 psi; sufficient, but wider tires at lower pressures would be even better. Cyclocross tires would work quite well.

We meet at Grand Central Terminal on 42nd St. in Manhattan, and take the train to the start. Details below in Tom McMahon's e-mail to the iBOB list.

This ride is great fun. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Mordecai Silver NYC

-----Original Message----- From: MyiBOBemail@aol.com [mailto:MyiBOBemail@aol.com] Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 10:27 AM To: internet-bob@bikelist.org Subject: The 3rd Annual NYC-area iBOB Ruff Stuff ride

Hi Gang,

It's once again time for the greatest of the Fall Classics: The Third Annual NYC-area iBOB Ruff Stuff ride up the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail on Sunday, October 29th.

The OCA trail is a dirt path set atop the 1830's aqueduct that runs from the Croton Dam down to NYC. It's flat, almost all hardpack and gravel, peaceful and pretty. It's about 30 miles long, one way. Lots to see - ruins, mansions, forests, suburban backyards, Son of Sam's secret seance spot, Sing-Sing Prison, and the infamous Rambou-gobbling Bridge of Sighs! Google it for lots more history, or e-mail me for what little I know.

The itinerary will be the same as before. We'll meet at 8am (clocks "fall back" the night before, so there's an extra hours sleep) at the info kiosk in the center of Grand Central Station, take the IRT 4 subway to Woodlawn, hit the trail in nearby Van Cortland Park, and ride away. We'll pick up lunch to-go at a deli in Ossining (bring bags or a musette), and carry it up the trail another 5-6 miles until we literally hit the wall at Croton Dam Park. Eat-drink-hang, and then back down the trail to Ossining (at least, we can continue further south, or not) for Metro North train back to Grand Central.

Equipment? Well, a buddy of mine did it on his Litespeed with 700 x 23's once, but said he wouldn't wanna try it again. Goon K. did it Fixed on his Quickbeam, impressed the heck outta me. Maybe Mordecai will do the same this year. Though it's far from "technical" MTBing, there are scattered rough and loose patches, exposed roots, and a lotta curb hops, so a set of reasonably chubby tires are a good idea. Other than that, anything goes, whatever works, - road, 'cross, MTBs, new stuff, old stuff, one gear or 30... Also, it's a good chance to get up close and personal with the Walnut Creek product line - we've had Rivs, MBs, RBs, XOs, Atlantises, Quickbeams, Rambous, and a Saluki. Maybe this year we'll even see the A Homer Hybrid!

Since the trail runs pretty much parallel to Metro North's Hudson Line, there are lots of options available. We're never more than a few miles from a railroad station, so if you want, you can take a train or drive up part of the way, meet us somewhere along the trail, and bail out almost anywhere. You oughta have (they ask, sometimes) a $5 MTA bike pass - if you don't have one, I'm pretty sure you can purchase it at the station that morning, or e-mail me in advance and I'll pick one for up you (I work just a couple blocks away).

It's always a good time, and I'm sure that tradition will continue. Hope to see you there!

Tom McMahon
New York City