[Leica] Biking and photography

[lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

Javier Perez describes his bike trips around NYC. Great stuff. But there is
a lot less traffic on this trip


 If you are a dedicated biker take a short ride on the Hudson North commuter
train. You can take your bike with you for a very small fee. Get off the
train at Tarrytown just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge. This puts you within
a short bike ride of an extraordinary number of scenic areas. The
Rockefeller estate at Pocantico Hills is within a few minutes ride. It is a
"must" stop for art lovers. Kykuit, the home John D. Rockefeller built for
his family, is festooned with the modern paintings and sculptures that
Nelson Rockefeller spent a lifetime collecting. This is one of the great
private art museums of the world. Admission to the museum and grounds also
entitles you to visit the Union Church of Pocantico Hills featuring stained
glass windows by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall. You can also ride over the
bridge at Sleepy Hollow following the footsteps of Ichabod Crane, Brom
Bones, and the Headless Horseman, all memorialized by Washington Irving.

Extending about a mile and a half into the river, Croton Point, 8 miles
north of Tarrytown and 35 miles above Manhattan divides Tappan Zee from
Haverstraw Bay. This spur of land is the terminal moraine marking the
southernmost reach of the last glacier to cover the area during the ice age.
It is a beautiful county park. Van Cortlandt Manor is a 2 minute ride from
Croton Point. This was the family home of the Van Cortlandt family, the
Dutch settlers that owned most of the land between Croton and Connecticut.
The home and grounds have been restored to their 18th century splendor and
serve as a living museum illustrating the life and times of the landed
aristocracy.

Another 15 minute ride up the Croton Gorge will take you to the Croton Dam.
This dam is the third largest cut stone structure in the world, exceeded
only by the Great Wall of China and the Great Pyramid of Giza. The dam was
built during the late 1800s to impound the waters of the Croton River and
provide fresh water for the growing city of New York. A gravity aqueduct
carries the water 40 miles from Croton to the city. If you have a mountain
bike, you can ride the Aqueduct trail back to NYC.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Larry+biking+at+Croton+Dam.jpg.html

But don't stop there. The Hudson Highlands are incomparably beautiful.
Especially this time of year when the leaves are in full color. The river
cuts through the Appalachian range and the mountains border portions of both
shores. Many have called it the most picturesque stretch of navigable
waterway in the USA, rivaling the Norwegian fjords. These views were
immortalized by the Hudson River School of painters.

Finally, bike to Peekskill and cross the Bear Mountain Bridge. Perkins Peak,
in Bear Mountain Park offers a spectacular view.  On a clear day you can
catch a glimpse of New York City 50 miles to the south and see almost as far
up the Hudson to the north.

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Biking+at+Perkins+Peak.jpg.html

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Hudson_+N_+from+Bear+Mtn_+bridge.jpg.html

If you decide to take the trip, give me a call and I will be waiting with a
cold beer.


 Now for some hard learned advice to would be photo-bikers: For a number of
years I biked ten miles to and from work every fair weather day. It's not
that I'm an eco-freak but just that I was willing to trade a half hour ride
each way for the hassle of auto traffic and parking. My son and I were
members of a bicycle club and took long rides through the countryside on
Fall weekends. When we were younger and more fit, my wife, a less dedicated
biker, and I would occasionally take our bikes on vacations to National
Parks and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I still bike around the Adirondack
foothills near my home. As you can guess, I have definite opinions on
suitable bicycles for casual riding and associated photography.

First, unless you have a very good suspension system on a bike, any
container or bag attached to the frame will be subject to jolts and severe
vibration unless you stick to the smoothest of roads. Particularly bad are
bags attached to a carrier over the rear wheel. Suspension systems are
designed to ease the ride for the rider, not the bike itself. If you carry a
camera on your bike trip, keep it in a small day bag or pack worn on your
back. Clearly weight is important so get the lightest equipment you consider
adequate.

Second, bikes are low security vehicles. In many venues you cannot leave a
bike unattended for more than a few minutes and expect it to be there when
you return. In a few decades of riding, I have had entire bikes stolen,
wheels removed, and expensive components snatched, even through the bike was
tethered to a rack or lamp post by a presumably unbreakable lock or cable. A
bicycle thief wielding a chain cutter can steal a bike in 15 seconds. Moral
- do not leave your new M9 in a bike pack while you relieve yourself in a
pissoir.

Third, bikes have no weather protection. If it rains, you will get wet. Your
camera should be able to handle dampness and the container should be
waterproof.

All that being said, I've found that the best film cameras are small P&S
types. I used to use a trusty Rollei 35, then experimented with a number of
less costly P&S cameras before settling on a relatively weatherproof Olympus
Infinity Twin. That's the one with two lenses, a 35 mm and a 70 mm. Now that
the photo world has gone digital, I carry a venerable 5 mB Canon S500 Elph
P&S. It takes clear, sharp pictures and is cheap enough so I won't cry if it
gets stolen or damaged. Of course, if you want to take really great photos
while biking, carry the best equipment you can afford but be very, very
watchful and have good insurance.

  Larry Z