When we talk of the great rivers of the world, our minds go immediately to storied waterways such as the Nile:
And the Mississippi:
And of course the Amazon:
But we don’t think of Saw Mill River, renowned as far away as Tuckahoe as the Euphrates of Yonkers:
Sure, great steamboats don’t ply its murky waters, and you’ll only occasionally find a baby in a basket on it. Nevertheless, the bike path that runs alongside it is one of the most vital velocipedal arterials in the greater New York area, and the crafts that navigate it are many and varied–everything from whirring electrical contraptions to stately human-powered machines of great beauty:
But this is far from the only place to ride north of the city, and one can also venture into the lush forest interior:
These trails are not within easy riding distance of my home and so I don’t visit them regularly, but as it happened my younger son was attending a birthday party right nearby and so once again I tossed the AMP in the back of The Car That I Own so I could romp around while he romped around. The biggest change since I’d last visited was the construction of a “skills park,” which is conveniently situated right by the parking area:
I have no use for a skills park since I lack skills, and at this point in my life I am not looking to hone them:
But it was impressive nonetheless:
And 40 years ago I’d have been all over it:
Fortunately there’s also plenty of “normal” riding here:
Though it can also be challenging:
However I remain up for the sorts of cycling challenges that don’t involve my wheels leaving the ground:
Indeed, keeping my wheels on the ground while experiencing changes in terrain is my favorite thing about cycling, and I’d go so far as to say it’s the entire point of cycling. Why spend all that time fussing over tire tread and pressure if you’re just going to take to the air and hump the ol’ watermelon?
That’s what I tell myself, anyway.
In all it was a short yet highly enjoyable ride that had me questioning why I don’t come here more often (even though I know the answer, which is that it’s kind of far, see above), and in my post-velocipedal bliss I even considered signing up for this:
[Is there a vintage full suspension bike category?]
I mean I almost certainly won’t, but you never know.
