Meet the Gunks

When 30,000 cyclists descend on Manhattan, it's time to leave the city if you want to ride your bike. The Shawangunk Ridge in Ulster County is lovely place to ride and so every year on the Sunday of the 5 Boro Bike Tour I lead a group of cyclists on a Gunks ride. This year, I've done some changes to the route to swing out onto some of the other quiet back roads as well.  The ride climbs both Minnewaska and Mohonk. There is a scenic overlook south/east of Minnewaska.

The view from the scenic overlook sout/east of Minnewaska in the Gunks

The light is better for a nice photo of the view on a clear afternoon,but the weather forecast is for mostly cloudy this Sunday afternoon. So this year we'll climb Minnewaska first, stop for a quick photo opportunity and continue on to Minnewaska State Park. We will then ride downhill to the outskirts of Kerhonkson on a nice long descent until the terrain more or less levels off. This makes the route slightly more than the listed 55 miles but the extra miles are downhill. and we'd probably blow the turn on the slope of the descent anyway. After the descent, we'll  loop around and then climb Mohonk from the west. The golf clubhouse makes an excellent spot for a rest after this second major climb of the day.

When we get back to Poughkeepsie, if time permits we may stop for beer at Annie's. Those who aren't strictly kosher may choose to get some dinner before the long train ride home.