Scouting Riverhead

I've built a new ride for the 5BBC. Its taken quite a few twists and turns as it evolved but I've done the preliminaries and scouted the route. I wanted to combine a ride where adults would have a chance to ride full-out then have a chance to meet up with our kids who we would then take on a kid-paced ride to someplace fun that wouldn't bore adults to tears.

The result is that I and Jesse Brown are taking a train to Patchogue this Sunday 8/31, hopefully with a few folks along for the ride, and escort our group through the Central Pine Barrens in Manorville / Calverton / Riverhead. While the initial trek up Ocean Avenue and east along the LIE service road isn't the most scenic we should make good time to Yaphank, where the good riding really starts on South Street: nothing there but road and trees. From there until we get to Main Street (NYS 25) Riverhead, there's mostly just trees, farms and a few houses. Brookhaven Town has been busy repaving some of the roads, so we'll have some real fresh macadam on which to ride some of the trip.

In Riverhead, I've arranged for us to have a tour of North Quarter Farm, where they raise bison for breeding stock. After that we'll cycle back to the downtown waterfront and picnic, then those of us who want to will go to the Atlantis Marine World Aquarium. I'm not sure we'll take the tour boat, my daughters are intrigued by the idea of getting pictures taken of a seal kissing each of them. Everything has a schedule and we'll see if the seal show schedule finishes in time for us to take the Peconic River / Bay tour boat.

I'm going to have to build another ride that rides more of the Pine Barrens and makes its way out to the North Fork without time pressure to meet the kids.

Any such idea has to go to next year's schedule. I already am scheduled to marshal the NYC Century Sept. 7 then on Sept. 14th I ride sweep for Ed Defreitas on his Manhattan Perimeter ride.

Sept. 30th the High Holidays cycle starts. Somewhere in there (October) I've got to scout my Nov. 2nd ride to West Orange for kosher Chinese (Chopstix from Riverdale opened a branch in West Orange) -- and lots of hills, such as one gets when the hills are really just glacial moraine eroding a 500-odd foot high plateau. December 25th I am running my Teaneck kosher lunch trip: this will make the third time in a year I've run the ride, though its also the first time as an official 5BBC day trip.

Bronx Perimeter with Ed DeFreitas

A pleasant ride through the Bronx riding sweep for Ed Defreitas. Ah, the Bronx. Such...scenery






We stopped at the SUNY Maritime College up on City Island.
Lovely views.