Last year, around this time, I hosted the first New Jersey area RBR Gathering. The ride started in Northern New Jersey and went into NY State through Harriman State Park to the top of Bear Mtn. Then we came down, the cycling friendly, Route 9W along the Hudson River before heading home. It was a great ride and a bunch of us that only knew each other by our RBR handles finally met face to face.

I’ve fallen a bit behind this year but I’m going to do it again. We’ll do a similar route but we’ll do it backwards just to mix it up. The date is set for Sunday, October 17<SUP>th</SUP>. The start will be in Wanaque, NJ (same as last year). It’s far enough into the burbs to avoid congestion but right off Interstate 287 and easily accessible.

The route will head North and East to the Hudson River. We’ll travel North up Rte. 9W. This is the same road NYC riders love to escape to. We’ll then climb Bear Mtn. from East to West. It ends up being a 1200' climb at about 5-6%. The access road has recently been repaved. It will be easier going up and much more fun coming down. After that we’ll meander through Harriman State Park. This park offers great scenic views and fall colors overlooking the lakes along Seven Lakes Drive. We finish it off by riding through Sterling Forest and along the Wanaque Reservoir.

I’ll be scouting the route and creating a cue sheet and profile this weekend. I estimate the loop to be about 85 miles. It does involve considerable climbing. Bear Mtn. is the most challenging but there are a few others and plenty of rollers in between.

Feel free to reply or send me a Personal Message if interested or have questions. I’ll provide further details including exact start location, time, etc. next week after scouting the route.

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Sounds like a great route. I'll definitely try to be there barring unforseen obstructions. Nothing is in the way as of right now. Thanks for trying to put this together.

I scouted the route over the weekend and made a cue sheet. I haven't had a chance to make a profile though. I'm not sure if I'll get to it.

The route will be 81 miles. Start time is 9am (roll-out by 9:15) in Wanaque, NJ. For directions to the start go here: http://maps.yahoo.com/dd Plug in your address as the starting point and the following address as the destination.
20 Union Ave.
Haskell, NJ 07420

Give me a courtesy shout if you plan to attend just so I know who to expect.

See you there,
biknben

Here's the route and Profile...

A bunch of us got together on Sunday for the Bear Mtn. ride. There were no takers from the RoadBikeReview crowd but I had plenty of Skylands Club members to keep me company. There were 8 of us alltogether.

Temps were a bit cool in the low 40's at the start with partly cloudy skies. I dressed minimally with hopes it would warm up. This came back to haunt me later.

Here I am getting ready at the start. Wow, I'm looking pretty bald! :eek:

At the first traffic light I take moment to get pics of the group.

First up is Carmen...

Next is Kelley and John...

Then James, one of our newer club members....

Also Kevin and Barry...

We head out towards the NJ/NY border along Rt. 202.

Into NY and another red light offers more opportunity for pics. One quick one over the shoulder and another taken by John.

Once on Rt. 9W we hit a Deli for our first rest stop of the day. We pee and refuel. Kelley discovers she has flat. How many guys does it take to change a flat??? :D I stayed out of the way!

After a long, friendly debate about who has the best CO2 inflator, we continue on. Things has been pretty gentle up to this point and we all stayed together for the most part. Now headed North on 9W we were about to get our first taste of climbing.

I passed out my remaining cue sheets and stayed true to my promise to play sweeper during the ride. Catherine and I took the climbs at our own pace and let the others go ahead. Check out the nice fresh pavement. Smooth!!!

After a few hills we hit the base of the biggest challenge of the day. The others had gone ahead but forgotten to look at the cue sheet. They, originally, missed the big "Bear Mtn. sign but later got themselves back on track and caught up to Cath and I at the top. Slow and steady nearly won this race. :p

Bear Mtn was surprisingly jammed with traffic. I'd never seen it so crowded. The road to the top has recently been resurfaced. I love the smell of asphalt in the morning!

Nearing the top, things get silly. A large group of girls are walking up the road. I didn't understand and I didn't bother to ask. All I know is it must have been a long difficult walk.

We finally make it to the top, enjoy the view, and grab a bite to eat.

We headed back down after refueling, jump on Seven Lakes Drive, and head back to Jersey. I didn't remember noticing a tailwind on the way out but there certainly was a headwind on the way back. It was cold too. I grabbed a few pics of the fall colors. We were a couple weeks early for peak colors but it is coming.

After a couple more climbs, Kelley decided to keep Cath and I company. ;)

Things got ugly for Barry. Barry was riding a relatively new Kestrel Evoke frame. This frame is on its way back to Kestrel. The chainstay broke right at the rear dropout. Oooops!?!

Shortly thereafter Brian's rear hub starts squeeling like a pig. Although it stops after a couple minutes it certainly gave us reason for concern. With one broken but rideable frame and a bad hub be stopped at a cross-roads to assess the situation.

Rather than continue the route, we cut it short by a little bit. For Barry it was not short enough as he was forced to ride slow with the bad frame. He would eventually call for a ride.

Thankfully, Brian's hub made it home without further incidents.

I was getting really cold so the camera stayed in my pocket for the remainder of the ride. I ended up with 82 miles for the day in just under 6 hours on the bike.

Looks like you had a good time. Sorry (Mostly) I missed the ride, I just couldn't swing the driving part of it last weekend--or this weekend. I'll be in Ridgewood for Thanksgiving weekend, though.

Awesome scenery. Now you're really making me regret I had to miss the ride. As if I wasn't ticked off enough having to spend my weekend finishing up a multi-threaded webserver project. Didn't even get a single mile in that weekend at home....... such is life.

Was Kelley in the Lake Nockamixon ride this year north of philly, PA?

Somewhere near the end of august or the beginning of september..

probably was someone else.



At the first traffic light I take moment to get pics of the group.

First up is Carmen...

Next is Kelley and John...

Then James, one of our newer club members....

Also Kevin and Barry...

Was Kelley in the Lake Nockamixon ride this year north of philly, PA?

Somewhere near the end of august or the beginning of september..

probably was someone else.
I wouldn't know the answer to that. She's not from that area so I doubt it. Sorry