The winning photo from our 2010 Bike the River Valley photo contest, taken by Seth Smoot
Bike the River Valley
A Nice Day of Cycling Along the Hudson
Sunday July 17th, 2011
• No Fundraising Required •
Routes for Beginners and Experts
40 miles • 70 miles • 100 miles
Photo by Frank Wolfe
Optional Transportation Available from NYC
The Best Rest Stops • Superb Support • Marked Routes
Free Hot Showers at the Finish Line • Free Post-Ride Meal
Free Massage • All Ages Welcome (Kids ride free!)
★Free Custom-Made Racing Socks for the First 500 People to Register★
Glen here, your bike ride tour director and humble servant since 1997.
We are off on a swell day of bicycle riding, perfect for beginners and experts.
Take a look at these cool photos taken along the bike route, and then read below for all the details so you can come ride with us and have a blast.
Photo by Mike Brown
Frank Gehry-designed theater at Bard College
Photo by Sabina Eberle
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Two different house styles, both in Rhinebeck, NY
NOTE: This ride does NOT go up
Bear Mountain, or anywhere near it!
(Thank goodness!)
• • •
We’re off on a really spectacular day of bike riding and we hope you’ll come along. We provide superb service and support so you can have a great day in the country -- the best rest stops, a fully-marked route, S.A.G. (bicycle rescue) on Demand, free post-ride massage, free all-you-can-eat post-ride meal... .
ALL routes start and end at the High School in Highland, NY. (If you are taking our optional transportation from NYC it just means that we drive your bike and you to the Highland start line and then drive you back to NYC when you’re ready).
You can see a ROUGH version of the route here. This is by no means a route map -- we’ll give you detailed directions on ride day -- this is just to give you an idea of the areas we’ll pass through.
After a light breakfast we’ll start by pedaling over the Walkway Over the Hudson car-free bridge from Highland, NY to Poughkeepsie, NY -- the world’s longest pedestrian bridge.
From there we’ll stop at three incredible mansions: FDR’s home in Hyde Park, the Vanderbilt Mansion, and the Mills Mansion. There’s no need to hurry, so we hope you’ll take some time to explore these places if you wish before re-joining the route. We’ll provide some details on the best places to visit on the mansions’ grounds.
At this point it’s time for the 40s to head back to the start finish line, making them the only cyclists who get to cross the Walkway Over the Hudson twice (the prettiest part of the ride). The 70s and 10s press on to Bard College.
After visiting Bard the 70s cross over the Hudson again via the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge (Great views!) The 100s head north through the beautiful countryside around Germantown before heading over the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge too and re-joining the 70s on the other side of the Hudson.
The 100s and 70s pedal through Kingston, NY and the Rondout -- once a working waterfront, now becoming museums and cafes. We’ll continue over the backroads with a surprise or two before you’re back at the start line for free hot showers and a free all-you-can-eat meal with options for vegetarians and meat eaters.
While we are always proud to donate to local charities along the bike route there is NO fundraising for this ride. Ready to sign up? Just click here, or keep reading for more info.
We Love Your Butt
... and we want it to stay lovely. That’s why we are proud to provide free samples of
thanks to our friends at Paceline.
And We Love to Eat!
For years I have purchased Larabar energy bars at full price because they are my favorite -- the only energy bar I actually put in my own mouth. Now the Larabar folks have joined us as a sponsor and I couldn’t be happier -- enjoy them at our rest stops. (By the way, when I say that Larabar is now a “sponsor” that means that they are giving us free Larabars, and that’s great! It does NOT mean that they have given me piles of cash or a new carbon-titanium custom bike. Yet.)
Questions? Comments? Always glad to hear from you.
OK? OK!
Glen
Your tour director and humble servant
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