Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/10/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]> 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 July and August 2006 I was living in the Elmsford, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow area and took likes of pix. Mark William Rabiner