I’ve been wrenching my own bike for almost 50 years. Along with all my mistakes, I’ve seen a lot of changes.  When I started, with a five-speed cassette and friction shifters on the down tube, the steel derailleur hanger was aligned with a crescent wrench.  If it “looked straight” it was close enough.

With today’s 10 and 11 speed rear derailleurs and indexed shifters, derailleur hanger alignment is critical for accurate shifting.  Some time ago I bought a Park Tools derailleur hanger tool.  I use it a few times per year - whenever shifts are less than crisp. Modern frames, especially carbon frames, have soft aluminum hangers to protect the frame from damage.  But they do bend easily.

There is a chained barrier across the road at the Underhill Picnic Area. I went around this earlier this month and saw an area where the eastern edge of the road had been eroded. It seemed fine for pedestrians and bikes (i.e, no worse that the rest of the road surface south of the Alpine Boat Basin), but probably not for heavier cars. And no worse that the section of the climb to the Park HQ where there are plastic barriers placed where the road has been eroded.

I went around the barrier this morning and was stopped by a Palisades Parkway trooper who was making his rounds in the park.

My question is basically "what is the status and timing of repairs that will allow cyclists to ride the entire road?"

This subject is worth a post of its own so the following is a repeat of the reply I put on the Metro North post:

We have two relevant policies: liability and medical payments.

Just received the following text from PANYNJ:

Good Afternoon Rob,

Please see below for the Port Authority’s weekend travel advisory which includes GWB lane closure and bike/pedestrian path information (highlighted in yellow). I’d like to bring your attention specifically to bullet number four:

• The bridge’s south sidewalk is scheduled to open at 6 a.m. on Saturday, June 22, but the opening may be delayed by ongoing construction.  E-alerts will be issued to inform bicyclists and pedestrians.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any issues accessing the bike path this weekend.

https://nycc.org/node/80548/93942

Sloatsburg/Sterling Forest singletrack clockwise/Ringwood/Ramsey mountain bike

Rain....

NYCCer (and Englishman) Ben Hatherell brought this bit of down home justice to my attention.

https://mol.im/a/7152963

We still have a few spots available for our C Leader Training class this Saturday.

If you're interested in leading rides but would like a little coaching and advice, we have just the thing. We'll spend the day giving you our best tips and advice while you are learning the key considerations in ride leading. We'll start with a mandatory sit-down class at an outdoor cafe followed by a ride of approximately 40 miles roundtrip to Pascack NJ with some practical on the road coaching.

Please note: This ride is geared toward SIG graduates and/or otherwise experienced riders and it's for those interested in actually leading rides, not for those who just want a nice day out.

Here's the link for additional information and to sign up for the class:

I just received an email with updates on progress on the new bridge.  The part of that email that is of interest here is below:

Between Metro North remaining steadfast in not giving us permission to reserve trains past Croton Harmon on the Hudson Line and none at all on the Harlem Line, and the NYCC Webmaster not placing a "sticky" reminding ride leaders of these limitations, as our Metro North ride coordinator I feel like Sisyphus, but on a very small hill, rolling a pebble; I'm the guy who can't say yes.