Summer mt. biking in Bethpage
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Summer mt. biking in Bethpage
It's nice that that the local mt. bike club volunteers for CLIMB do an amazing job keeping the trails pretty clear, so I am actually riding BP in summer, when I never could. I did discover that when stopped, the knats would swarm to my face. Seems they have a maximum speed though, as when I rode at anything under 8 mph, they stayed with me, 8 and over, no knats. Who knew ?.
#2
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How's the tick situation?
I remember riding past Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware with a friend and we were pursued by big biting flies. We had to maintain about 18mph on loaded touring bikes. We could see the trailing flies behind each other.
I remember riding past Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware with a friend and we were pursued by big biting flies. We had to maintain about 18mph on loaded touring bikes. We could see the trailing flies behind each other.
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Ive been out a few times this summer, no ticks yet. I think BP is relatively lacking in ticks, maybe as theres no real deer population, yet. Some have been sighted, not by me. The trails are also pretty clear as the CLIMB volunteers and trail steward diligently cut back the vegetation.
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BP stays reasonably clear of ticks, though they'll still turn up. Some of the parks can be ridiculous with ticks but Cunningham is another one that's pretty clear of ticks and nice to ride.
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The ticks spread via deer or small rodents. Very few deer in BP, is why I think ticks are somewhat uncommon.
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The weather has been largely keeping us off the bikes but the wife and I had to get in a couple kid free rides despite the heat. We gave up on riding to montauk but headed to the Bronx to ride the South County Trail. Can't remember the name of the park but it started us about 1.5 miles from the start of the trail markers. South County wasn't too bad with all the shade, we hit North County and it was a whole different game; no shade, bright sun, and the humidity felt worse. We'd ridden that length of North and while its nice, it isn't as nice for a few miles till after you get back to railroad grade. The wind shifted and the humidity climbed for the ride back but the shade kept it bearable and we did 44 miles in 3 hours including a lunch break and the assorted crossings. Should have snapped some pics of the various bird houses along the trail.
Next day we hit Edgewood and were 30 min in when I snapped the spindle of my XT pedals on the mtb. New ones on order but wasn't happy to have to walk to the old road and then kick one legged back to the car.
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Thats a NYC park - Van Cortland Park. I assume its paved now ??
Agree that the section of the NCT in Bedford is less then interesting as well as hot. Rt 100 was built right on top of the Old Put grade, so no place to put the NCT except alongside the highway.
Agree that the section of the NCT in Bedford is less then interesting as well as hot. Rt 100 was built right on top of the Old Put grade, so no place to put the NCT except alongside the highway.
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Thought I was posting in the Long Island thread, not the bethpage. Wanted to hit bethpage today but still waiting on pedals for the MTB.