Overview
This will be a two-day trip that covers the entire D&R Canal Towpath.  Once an important commercial transportation route, it is now a state park, featuring 70 miles of fine gravel and dirt trails.  The first day will comprise of over 50 miles on the trail, and is mostly flat.  The second day will be 20 miles on the trail, almost 40 miles on the roads, with a fair amount of climbing.

There will be no luggage transport, so you need to carry all your gear with you.

Escape New York takes place this year on Saturday, September 20. As always, it's going to be a great day for all the riders (1,700 or so last year). However, we still really need volunteers to help us put on the event, doing all sorts of things such as rider registration, traffic and food at Sakura Park, staffing the rest stops, riding SAG, and marking routes on the day before the ride. We are particularly keen for volunteers who either have cars and are willing to do some driving (marking, SAG, and ferrying folks to the rest stops), or are comfortable driving a van.

I'm planning a long ride on Long Island for Sunday Sept. 14th. The start point is 179th St. on the F. The end is a friend's home in Hampton Bays. I plan to list this as an official NYCC ride for a modest size group,. The route includes a rest stop at my Mom in Dix Hills. and we are invited to BBQ dinner (glatt kosher) at the Hampton Bays home of dear friends of mine. The train home is the 8:27 PM out of Hampton Bays.

The decision that I need to make PDQ is whether to do this the long way or the longer way. The long way is to ride out along the LIE then the North Shore turning south to take Flanders Rd. to eventually get to Hampton Bays. This way is about 89 miles with 2682 feet elevation gain.

As NYPD’s latest bike ticket blitz — “Operation Safe Cycle” – rolls into its second week, here at my law firm we’ve been getting more than the usual number of phone calls and emails from cyclists with questions about summonses. Usually the big question in these discussions is whether to plead guilty, not how to plead guilty. But now it appears that if you pay your fine online for a moving violation while cycling, you’ll probably be paying an $88 surcharge that you shouldn’t be, and getting points on your license that don’t belong there.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/New+York,+NY/Ananda+Ashram,+13+Sapphire+Rd,+Monroe,+NY+10950/@41.0031155,-74.3272917,9z/data=!4m

I am interested in beginning and ending a ride as listed above.  How can I figure out the most bike friendly route for an "overnight or two" round trip?

I did find this route on RidewithGPS.  I guess that this should do it, at least one way.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5716527

Never tried these before so I don't know how these are, but it seems like a good deal.

http://slickdeals.net/f/7142256-cycling-vittoria-rubino-pro-slick-iii-ro...

Note. Thier website seems extremely slow..

Does the NYCC still do a Columbus day weekend of riding in the catskils?

I had locked my bike using a U-Bolt before going ino the grocery store.  The front wheel was secured by an allen-headed skewer, that required a hex wrench to open.

When I came out, someone had removed the front skewer without removing the wheel.  Fortunately, I noticed the fron t wheel was loose before getting ono  bike.  Otherwise, I could hae had a serious accident.

Do people like the Allen-headed screws, or its more avanced cousin, the Pitlok, that requires a special key that you need to carry with you at all times?  Or should I simply return to the more traiditional quick-releas system?

Just got back from the Tour de Frederick- happy to report great roads, scenery, and terrain. Endless miles of stress free riding.

Noticed that there is a Grand Fondo there next weekend. It's a long drive to get there but worth it once you're there.

- to Marek Zarzycki for helping with setup and cleanup

- to the Ride Coordinators who organized

- and leaders who led some 150 members out and back

- to Bill and Jamis Cycles for helping members with bike repairs

- to Events Cordinator John Semel who remembered three of the most beloved words in the English language: "B-B-Q"

To all of you, including anyone whose contributions I neglected to mention ...

Thank you!

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