Excursion to Millerton, NY - Harlem Valley Rail Trail

Last weekend I ended up in Millerton, a quaint town in the northeastern corner of Dutchess County. It's on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail route and it was nice to see a number of bikers eating a local restaurants at lunch.

The Harlem Valley Rail Trail runs through town, which connects Wassaic from the south, through Millerton towards Hillsdale. Fun fact, if you are coming from NYC you can take the Metro North to the end of the line in Wassaic and bike to Millerton for a day trip (it's about an hour ride). The goal is to eventually connect all the way up to Chatham in Columbia County.

The trail entrances in Millerton were worth a few photos because of their design. The divider between north and south had some nicely landscaped medians. Furthermore, the curb around the divider was gently sloped to prevent your pedals from hitting a sharp curb. Details like this are important and when done wrong can cause major safety issues.

Notice the gentle slope of concrete around plantings

I also noticed a some other good elements of this trail head which were bike friendly, and some that not very bike friendly. One nice element was a sign advertising a nearby tapas bar. Another was a bike rack. While a bike rack is better than no rack, the ones where you put the wheel through can damage your front tire and are generally not very theft-proof. Here is a guide of what racks are best to install.

I did not try the 52 Main Tapas bar but I poked my head in and it looked cute.

That being said, some elements of this crosswalk seemed strange for a cyclist. In below photo, you will see what is called a "Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacon" aka RRFB. It is a push button activated flashing sign that alerts drivers when wants to cross the street. When you press the button, the rectangular lights up top start flashing to alert drivers a cyclist or pedestrian is crossing the street. I found the location of this somewhat confusing. You would want to press the button as you are biking on the right hand side of the photo, not cross over to the opposite direction of the bike lane to press button to to get the lights flashing.

Why would a push "beg" button be put on the opposite side of cyclists or pedestrian desire path?

Push buttons, aka "beg" buttons because should be placed at the spot at which someone would want to cross, not on the opposite side...Oh well. Except for that it seemed like a decent treatment. Small details are important.

Even on the Federal Highway Administration's RRFB Info Sheet shows an RRFB on the right side of a trail crossing, not the left.

Easier to press the button to get the lights flashing if you put the RRFB on the right hand side

After nerding out on rail trail entrance, I ate lunch at Oakhurst Diner, which like many in the Hudson Valley (e.g. West Taghkanic Diner) has been hipsterfied. I got some excellent chicken tacos and I saw many others had ordered the Vietnamese Pho Beef Soup, which smelled appetizing, and probably tasty after a long bike ride.

Also right next to the rail trail is Harney and Sons, a well-known tea purveyor in Dutchess County. Their shop has a cafe attached and people were eating attractive salads and sandwiches. I got a $7 matcha lemonade, which was expensive, but very good.

Overpriced Matcha Lemonade ($7) - It was VERY good though I'd probably buy it again

Overall Millerton was worth exploring!

The Myth of the Avid Cyclist

When I started a new job a few years ago, my supervisor introduced me to colleagues as an “avid cyclist”. I politely smiled and nodded as my boss pigeonholed me as some sort of bike-riding freakshow.

Later in the day I had some time to think through what it meant to be an “avid cyclist”. I concluded it's a term people who don’t bike use to describe anyone that rides a bike for transportation. If my boss had known me a little more, they might have learned that I ride a single speed bike, do not own bike shorts, do not have a hat with a tiny brim, don't clip into my pedals, not a member of cycling clubs, and do not fit the description of what they were describing.

here is your standard "avid cyclists"

I use my bicycle for convenience, exercise, and generally as a means of transportation. I only wear bicycling gear for all day rides or or multi day trips. Biking to me is not a political statement about fossil fuels or some way to show off expensive gear I've bought. People do not introduce others in the office as “avid motorists” if they drive to work. I felt like I was being described as some sort of circus freak: “wow you ride your bike, look at you!”

Would you call this person an 'avid cyclist' ??

Look at the picture of me above. This is at the end of a 30 mile ride in Dutchess County at Walkway Over the Hudson: single speed bike, no drop handlebars, normcore shoes, asparagus shirt, a helmet I got for free, and my helmet straps aren't even done right.

What is wrong with the whole situation is that riding your bike should not be considered a political statement. Biking to work needs made as easy as driving to work. That includes end to end facilities for cycling: secure indoor bike parking at both your residence and work, safe protected continuous bicycle facilities (lanes, separated paths), as well as shower and locker facilities at your office.

Showers at the workplace are critical for a few reasons. Part of the perception of the avid cyclist are the outfits, such as the bike shorts and aerodynamic clothing. While I generally don’t wear the gear, many do, and shower facilities give people the ability to wash and change into normal work wear without entering the office in goofy outfits. This also helps with the perception by some that cyclists “smell”. Amenities like showers should hopefully give more office workers the choice bike to work!

5 Boro Bike Tour - A NYC Rider's Perspective

A friend of mine did the 2023 5 Boro Bike Tour in New York City over my objections. I said "Don't do it, it's too crowded, it's full of tourists from out of town. You won't like it."

He went anyway and his thoughts are compiled here:

"There was extreme crowding at the start line in the TriBeCa area, people jostling each other. Disappointed this year because the only merch we got were these goofy yellow helmet covers. No shirts or other swag, nothing cool."

5 Boro Bike Tour Starting Line - Goofy Helmet Covers

He went onto say, "Lots of tourists from out of town. Many different types of riders, so at the starting line you had people who barely could ride a bike next to people with $20,000 bicycles clipped in and head to toe in gear. When it started the high performance riders flew off fast weaving through slower riders."

The next criticism came about with the route. "The route had probably less than a mile in the Bronx. You went from Harlem over the Madison Avenue Bridge into the Bronx for 5 minutes and then back over the 3rd Avenue Bridge. It didn't feel right because the Bronx has so many awesome parks to bike in."

Bronx leg on top of map

During the next leg of the trip there was a rest stop in Astoria park. "The only water they had was coming out of a hose attached to a hydrant. Spartan to say the least. For food all they had was a giant pile of bananas lying on the ground in the park. What are we a bunch of monkeys? For $150 I expected more."

Man eating banana - Astoria Park

Much of the route went over highways, like the Brooklyn Queens Expressway and Gowanus Expressway. This is where the different type of riders clashed: "Some people treated the 5 Boro Bike Tour like a race and were zipping around clipped in weaving etc. If you were doing a leisurely ride you had to really be careful because everyone was going at a different speed. That being said there were lots of parts that were wide open and easy to ride. Biking on the highway was a cool experience."

Biking on Gowanus Expressway

The final leg was over the Verrazzano Bridge and ended at a park in Staten Island. "Biking over the Verrazzanno was cool, but it's a long and boring ride for the most part. The final party area was ok, but they did not have any free food and there were food trucks that had jacked up their prices. One gyro was $19 dollars at the food truck. I decided to not eat."

Five Boro Bike Tour Finish Festival - Fort Wadsworth

"There was also a VIP area at the finish and zero people in it. No one barbecuing, nothing. While the finish festival was ok, I did not realize that it was nowhere near the Staten Island Ferry. After such a long bike ride, it was rather annoying to have to bike another 4 miles after the bike tour was over to get back to Manhattan."

Waiting near Staten Island Ferry Terminal

There was an enormous wait for the Staten Island Ferry."I SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT THAT STUPID $19 GYRO. I waited nearly 3 hours at the Staten Island Ferry area on the Staten Island side. Complete shitshow. I was starving by the time we boarded the ferry. Everyone was so jammed together waiting for the ferry I couldn't even go to a deli to grab food for water. My girlfriend had suggested I stop the 5 Boro Bike Tour in Bay Ridge and bike back to Manhattan. I should have done that."

I had also suggested to him he could have biked over the Bayonne Bridge up through Bayonne and Jersey City and taken the PATH or a ferry from there. It would have definitely taken less than 3 hours.

On the Staten Island Ferry - Finally

All and all my friend said he would not do the 5 Boro Bike Tour again. "Much more fun to do rides in a small group or on my own." He indicated it was not worth the $150. "Maybe for tourists it's cool, but I can have a lot more fun biking around NYC on my own terms. Not worth the hassle."