kaos joe

Well, you could always try things out on our original Burley Duet. Any color you want as long as it's black.

GlennR

My son was over so we headed out together. With a strong headwind we went north to Woodbury and then circled home. As usual, he dragged my ass up the hills, but I kept up. Either he's getting older or i'm getting younger.

31 miles and 1245 calories.

What an awesome day.

https://www.strava.com/activities/547278550

kaos joe

Definitely was, but the wind has been relentless. We did the Huntington Bay loop through Northport, Halesite etc. for 41 miles.

I think I saw you northbound on the Massapequa bike path on Thursday afternoon, just north of Clark. If not you, another Brickwell ninja.
I was walking my old Labrador also northbound.

GlennR

Wasn't me... I was out on Wednesday.

GlennR

Went out for a recovery ride... turned out not to be.

35 miles and 1300 calories.

https://www.strava.com/activities/548510532

hotbike

https://youtu.be/WW2nkK7CoWo Chicken Valley Road in Old Brookville has been repaved, it really is worth a trip, just to see how fast you can go downhill in high gear...

Good luck, and if you chicken out, , well , that's why they call it "Chicken" Valley Road, LOL

Steve B.

Ummm....OK, you maybe want to add something to this post ?.

A GoPro of mostly a shot pointed down to spanking new pavement, thus I really can't tell where it might be 'cause the camera shot doesn't show much beyond pavement.

Is this a "guess where I am " post ?

About anywhere on the eastern seaboard would be my answer.

GlennR

Look 2 posts up

hotbike

It was a sort-of double post... When the video failed to "embed", I tried it again, so there's a double post...

It was Chicken Valley Road in Old Brookville, and yes the pavement is brand-spanking-new, and it's a long downhill, perfect for testing yourself and your bicycle, to achieve maximum speed...

(I had my headlights lit).

NOTE: I went back and deleted the double post.

kaos joe

"the pavement is brand-spanking-new, and it's a long downhill, perfect for testing yourself and your bicycle, to achieve maximum speed..."

I remember one of the first club rides my spouse & I did on our old Burley Duet, on the rolling hills of Vanderbilt Motor Pkwy eastbound into Commack.....as we cracked 40mph I told her about it and she said to pedal harder!

We're probably a bit stronger as a team now as she was a new rider then, but somehow don't feel the urge to do that any more......

Back to back nice days this week. 48 to Caumsett yesterday, 35 today. I cut it short thinking we'd get out after she got home, but she was delayed by work BS. It will have to wait for the weekend now.

hotbike

Okay. ANOTHER road got re=paved yesterday/ last week, In the city of Glen Cove, Cottage Row has been repaved, this is good news, because it was in terrible condition.... I don't know who would ride on Cottage Row, most people would take Dosoris Lane...

Another Item to Note, West Shore Road between Oyster Bay and Bayville has a sidewalk now...
Bayville - Oyster Bay "Boardwalk" by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

It is very bumpy, due to the "Brick" texture molded into the surface.
The "Brick" strip ends at Cleft Road :
Bayville - Oyster Bay "Boardwalk" by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

There is only ONE break in the Guardrail, at the Pier North of Cleft Road:

Bayville - Oyster Bay "Boardwalk" by AviationMetalSmith, on Flickr

The South end of the path can be accessed through Beekman Beach , which is at the West end of Roosevelt Beach , through a gate in the fence.
It's Not perfect, but at least we know it's there... I rode from O.B. North on this path , took 137 pictures, turned around and came back the same way...
The path does NOT go all the way to Bayville, and parts of it are extremely narrow...
We were promised a Boardwalk back in 1997, and this is all we got!

GlennR

Damn, it was windy today. Just a short before getting involved with Passover this weekend.

hotbike

I had head wind on the way out, crosswind on 25A, but a nice tailwind coming back on Rt107 North. 2

25A is Also Repaved !!!

kaos joe

Club ride rained out this morning, so I went to bed after getting home from work, like a normal sane person. It turned into a lovely afternoon so Mrs. & I snuck out for a 30 miler up into Syosset and back. Short but sweet.

Papa Tom

Was that you at the foot of the hill on Woodbury Road?

GlennR

40 miles with HBC out of Greenlawn.

A bit slow but I had some nice conversations along the way. They stopped at a bagel store... not a good idea on Passover. So i'm glad I brought my own food.

Steve B.

Had a nice 20 with my buddy Kevin, who's recovering from double vertebrae fractures from a mt. bike accident of last November. He's repurposed a 35 year old lugged steel Miyata, now with bar-cons, new tires, brake pads, h-bar tape to replace for the interim his Klein aero bike that his neck can't handle. I've been riding with this guy since early 90's or so. Glad he's slowly making it back.

kaos joe

Might have been, we passed by there.

ChiroVette

Hello, I am taking a bicycle ride from Brooklyn out to Mineola, and I was wondering if anyone knew how bad or "all right" for cycling Jamaica Avenue and Jericho Turnpike are.

I was looking for bicycle paths or lanes on Google Maps and see nothing even remotely near those areas, so I guess I will have to suck it up unless you Long Islanders tell me those roads are untenable for cyclists.

My course I programmed into Garmin Connect and my Edge 1000 is as follows:

-Belt Parkway Bike Path to Howard Beach
-Just a few blocks on Cross Bay (a stretch I have done many times before)
-Right on 149th
-Left on Centerville Street
-Right on 109th
-Left on Lefferts
-Right on Liberty (Have also done the stretch on the last four steps many times)
-Work my way to Jamaica via 177th Street and then 93rd Ave
-Then Jamaica Avenue which becomes Jericho all all the way into Mineola

I wouldn't mind going out of my way to take bike lanes, but other than some really fragmented cycling lanes/paths north of some small parts of Jamaica Avenue, I see nothing. So unless you guys tell me that Jamaica and Jericho are ridiculously dangerous, that looks like the way I have to go.

Thoughts and advice?

Steve B.

I'd do the south shore route, which in any event is my commuter route.

Maybe a tough longer, but less traffic

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13329841

Ferdinand NYC

I am a New Yorker, not a Long Islander. But I live on Jamaica Avenue at the Brooklyn/Queens border, and my mother lives in Westbury. Also, I grew up in Queens Village; so I am very familiar with Jamaica Avenue. The street Jamaica Avenue / Jericho Turnpike is actually pretty ridable out to Mineola, if you just wanted to take that simple route. (The hairy part of Jericho Turnpike is farther east, where it crosses the L.I.E.)

But it seems as though you are coming from a point south of me in Woodhaven, given that you mentioned the Shore Parkway (Belt Parkway) Bike Path.

(Also, I am not following your route. I think you left out a few steps. You said: right off of Cross Bay Blvd. on 149th Ave., then left on Centerville Street. So far so good. But the next thing you said was right on 109th Avenue. That doesn't quite compute, as you cannot take Centerville Street straight from 149th Avenue up to 109th Avenue. Centerville has two disconnected segments; to go from one to the other, one has to follow Centerville as it turns into Hawtree Street, turn right at Linden Blvd., and then follow Linden as it veers left and becomes the continuation of Centerville. Perhaps you glossed over that in the interest of simplicity.)

Even though Jamaica Avenue is rideable, I find the section of Linden Blvd. that goes east from Rockaway Blvd. to be much more pleasant. (I imagine that this comment must come as a shock to you as a Brooklyn rider, considering that the secton of Linden Blvd. that lies in Brooklyn and that crosses into Queens is something of a no-go zone for bikes, being essentially a highway. But, really, the part that begins at Aqueduct and goes east is very nice for bikes.)

At the three-way intersection of Centerville Street, 109th Avenue, and Rockaway Blvd., you could take Rockaway Blvd. down to the start of the good segment of Linden Blvd. But there's no reason to subject yourself to the hassle of Rockaway Blvd. I would suggest taking 109th Avenue, as per your stated route. Then, instead of staying on it as far as Lefferts Blvd., turn right at 114th Street to go south to Linden; then turn left and enjoy.

I would take Linden until it crosses Springfield Blvd. It actually continues past the City line, which is just east of the Cross Island Expressway. But, after Springfield, I would opt for an even nicer street, 115th Avenue, which lies just north of Linden. So turn left on any of the streets past Springfield (217th, 218th, 219th; doesn't matter, as they are all two-way streets), and take it to 115th Avenue, and turn right to continue east.

115th Avenue becomes Dutch Broadway as it leaves the City. You can take this street for about 3 miles, and then turn left at Meacham Avenue to go north. Meacham Avenue becomes Covert Avenue once you cross Hempstead Turnpike (make sure not to get stuck in the right-turn-only lane at Hempstead); you can then take Covert Avenue up to Stewart Avenue. Turn right at Stewart to continue east.

Stewart Avenue is a wide street; how navigable it is depends on the time of day. During rush hours, it gets a bit too crowded. But at all other times of day, it is a very nice bikeable road. I take it whenever I visit my mother in Westbury. During the midday and nighttime hours, this street is very pleasant.

Take Stewart Avenue to Cherry Valley Avenue in Garden City, and make a left to go north. The left turn there is protected by a signal; so you can comfortably be in the left-turn-only lane. Take Cherry Valley Avenue north to where it curves to the right and becomes 11th Street. Go east on 11th Street to the first major intersection, which is Franklin Avenue, and turn left to go north. Once you cross Old Country Road, Franklin Avenue becomes Mineola Blvd., and you're in the heart of Mineola.

ChiroVette

Steve B., that's a nice route, and the first half is very similar to the 5-Towns ride I do through Rockaway, over the Nassau Expwy, then Broadway through the 5 Towns, and then I work my way back toward Laurelton's bike path via Mill Road, Rosedale, Hook Creek (short block), Francis Lewis and then Merrick to Liberty to 101st Avenue, to Fountain, to the Belt Path at Erskine, etc. Cool ride. Thanks for posting that. If I opt for the 10 more miles each way, your ride is definitely a pleasant one!

Thanks, this is awesome! This part is good to know. I will consider it if I decide to go the simplest route, which is what I had originally planned.

But it seems as though you are coming from a point south of me in Woodhaven, given that you mentioned the Shore Parkway (Belt Parkway) Bike Path.

That is exactly what I did. I glossed over the two connecting segments in Centerville, which are Hawtree and Linden, for simplicity. lol I figured anyone looking at the route would know what I meant since it does become Centervile again, but I should have been clearer.


Actually, it doesn't come as a shock at all. I have riden that segment of Linden from Merrick all the way into Howard Beach (well with a few twists and turns, obviously, since it ends at Rockaway Blvd and picks up again at Centerville. But you are 100% correct, it is a beautiful road to ride on in that area. Not sure why I hadn't considered that as it is a really nice area to ride in. And, yeah, it would seem counter-intuitive to most Brooklyn cyclists who get cold-sweats every time they of Linden Blvd, particularly the areas crossing around Ozone Park where it really is more of an extension of the N/S Conduit, not to mention the rest of it from Flatbush and south isn't too much fun either!

But Linden going east of Howard Beach is really nice. I noticed it also has the added benefit of eliminating the need to traverse that mess on Cross Bay over the Belt, since I can simply get right off the path at 84th St I can take 157th to Cohancey. If I remember correctly, I believe that small stretch of COnduit Avenue just south of Aqueduct is very passable on a bicycle, and I can then just take 114th past Rockaway Blvd to Linden, right? Or would you recommend going from Cohancey, to Albert, to Centerville, to Hawtree, to Linden, back to Centerville, then Rockaway to Linden. Like I said, I seem to remember crossing that small stretch of Conduit from Cohancey to 114th with no problem, but I may be wrong.


If you don't like my idea just above to stay off Cross Bay, I will probablty go this route.



This looks like a really nice route and I think I am going to go this way.

Although, you have no way of knowing this, your last leg takes me past where I want to go, which is Bebee and Garfield. How would it be too take Stewart to Nassau Blvd, then right on County Court House Road, Right on Park Ave, Left on Herricks Rd, right on Garfield, and left on Bebee?

Oh, one more thing: Coming home the same basic way, back to Brooklyn, are there any one way streets I need to be aware of so I can avoid them?

Ferdinand NYC

To be honest, I don't remember any section of Conduit Avenue that is comfortable. So I would avoid that street in its entirety. The slightly more roundabout way that you describe (Cohancy St. - Albert Rd. - Centerville St. - Hawtree St. - Linden Blvd. - Centerville St.) is preferable, I think.

And, as I mentioned above, you can certainly take Rockaway Blvd. down to Linden Blvd. from its intersection with Centerville St. and 109th Avenue if you don't mind the hassle. Otherwise, a more peaceful way is to take 109th Avenue east a bit, and then come down 114th Street to pick up Linden.


Nassau Blvd., like Stewart Avenue, is a bit of a magilla during rush hours. But if you are riding after 10am and before 5pm, then you should find it pleasant.

Coming back you can pretty much follow the same route in reverse, up until when you get to Queens. If you were to try to simply retrace everything, you'd find that Albert Road was against you.

So, when you are coming south on Centerville St., and it turns west to form a section of Linden Blvd., don't make the left to go south at Hawtree Street towards the other section of Centerville; just keep going straight west on Linden. Once you cross Cross Bay Blvd. that section of Linden leads you right onto Gold Road, a street with a northwest trajectory; take it for two blocks until it hits 133rd Avenue. Then turn left to go west on 133rd. Take that a few blocks to 88th Street, and turn left to go south.

Take 88th Street down past Pitkin Avenue, where you'll have to do a ziggety-zag (left, then quick right) in order to stay on it. At the last street before the Conduit, which is called Arion Road, make a left. This will get you to a bridge over the Conduit, which is in full highway mode at that point.

Once you emerge from that bridge, you'll see that you can continue south on 88th Street. Go to to the first corner, which is 151st Avenue, and make a right to go west for one block until 84th Street, where you'll make a left to go south. (There is a bike lane on that street, though it was badly faded the last time I saw it, which was in December.) Take 84th Street to its end, and make a right to go west. This street's name is Shore Parkway; it is the Belt's service road. But you'll be on it for only one block.

Make the next left to turn south. The streetsign at the corner will identify this street as 156th Avenue. This is confusing, because Avenues in Queens run east/west. But this road is heading south at this point; it is really the section of 84th Street that you will have already taken to 157th Avenue. A few yards in, you'll see the entrance to the Shore Parkway (Belt Parkway) Bike Path on your right.

ChiroVette

You're probably right. Its only a block, and its the block that circles around on the south side of Aqueduct. As I said, though, I seem to remember not having a problem with that, but I could be wrong.

Tell you what: I am going to program the alternate to that we agreed on (Albert to Centerville to Hawtree to Linden and back to Centerville to Rockaway Blvd and Linden) but I will scope that little stretch of the Conduit out and report back here on it.

It will probably take all of 30 seconds of my day once I come to the end of Cohancey where I can either turn right onto Conduit Ave or left onto Albert. So I will take a look-see but will be expecting to follow the one I programmed into my Garmin course.


I will keep this in mind, but I am going to be going either late morning or early afternoon and not during rush hour. I have cycled large stretches of Rockaway Blvd. many times before with no drama, but I agree with you about 114th and picking up Linden a little further east.

I figured as much. Like I said, late morning or early afternoon, so I will likely go this route.

I never thought of that route. But I did a similar southwest bound route through that area going into Howard Beach from either LI or northeastern Queens, I forget. The way we did it was: Centerville to Linden to Hawtree to Centerville to Eckford to Hawtree (again lol) to Cohancey to 157th Avenue (stopped at New Park Pizza, of course!) then continued on 157th to 84th Street and entered the Belt path.

ChiroVette

Just to report back, I did this round trip to Mineola. I went to my buddy's house there, we spent the day hanging out. I ended up sleeping over and rode home early this morning. Left a little after 7:00 AM to get an early start back to Brooklyn.

As I said I would, I scoped out the little section of Conduit Avenue connecting Cohancey Street to 114th Street, and the biggest problem wasn't the traffic, lol though that was bad! But I could have sucked it up and dealt with the traffic for the 0.3ish miles. But it is un-passable going East since it is a one way with insane traffic going WEST. So I was about to just shoot up Albert to Centerville (etc.) but then I saw a really big sidewallk with NO PEDESTRIANS on it. It was on the north side of the big avenue, lining the south end of Aqueduct's property. So with no pedestrians on it, I just jumped on the sidewalk and pedaled to 114th street.

Coming back, I decided to try the same thing. I still had NO desire to pedal Conduit in the street, even for just that really long block, so I jumped on the sidewalk. It was a little after 8:00 AM, and the entire length of it, there was one couple walking. Since they had the right of way, I slowed down and asked nicely if I could pass them, then I ducked into a little patch of grass to the right, in case they didn't hear me, and passed them safely and SLOWLY.

The rest of the route both ways was as described!

Thank you so much for your directions and the time you took to help me, Ferdinand NYC!!

It made a huge difference. I have pedaled down both Jamaica Ave and Jericho Turnpike for very limited stretches, and while they are both passable, I think, the stress level is not conducive to a fun ride, with cars flying by at warp speed treating cyclists like we don't belong on the road to begin with. While riding on those continuous avenues for limited distances is fine, I had NO DESIRE whatoever to do the 8+ miles from Jamaica all the way into Mineola on that insanity.

I absolutely relished the 4+ mile stretch of Linden Blvd from 114th Street all the way through 216th Street. Granted it was morning both times (8ish AM today and about 10:00 AM yesterday). 115th Ave, Dutch Broadway, Meechum, and Stewart were all really nice riding roads. Nassau Blvd was easy both days, though I expected some trouble today since I left around Rush Hour, but was pleasantly surprised that it was a nice, easy stretch.

All in all, a great ride, enjoyable, laid back, relatively flat throughout, and I lucked out with wind since I had a head wind going, but it was pretty light and didn't slow me down.

Very scenic, too and nice to cycle in areas I never really did before.