Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Yesterday I went on an exploration without a camera to scope out places to shoot.
Discovered that the Hell Gate pathway into Port Morris is open so from my location in East Harlem it is pretty easy to get to the South Bronx via Randels Island. Basically faster than the subway. Also know I like the early morning and late afternoon light in the industrial areas.
Scoped out a spot to shoot the ruins on North Brother Island, but a long lens is required.
A weekend ago I discovered a stairway that led to a pedestrian bridge that connects Hudson River Park to Inwood Hills Park.
Anyways I intend on doing some bike and shoots. Last summer I wandered into City Island.
Cal
Discovered that the Hell Gate pathway into Port Morris is open so from my location in East Harlem it is pretty easy to get to the South Bronx via Randels Island. Basically faster than the subway. Also know I like the early morning and late afternoon light in the industrial areas.
Scoped out a spot to shoot the ruins on North Brother Island, but a long lens is required.
A weekend ago I discovered a stairway that led to a pedestrian bridge that connects Hudson River Park to Inwood Hills Park.
Anyways I intend on doing some bike and shoots. Last summer I wandered into City Island.
Cal
kbg32
neo-romanticist
Let me know Cal. I might be able to get away for some urban riding and shootin'.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Fred,
Either side of the Island's paths will get you there. On the way to the Bronx I hugged the East River, passing the institution for the criminally insane and made my way past the Ichon Stadium. On the way back I came back on Central Road and used the roadway for parking to stay off the pedestrian path.
When you get to the Bronx anything south of the Bruckner is kinda vacant being all industrial and you basically have the road to yourself on a Sunday, but to connect to Mott Haven or Hunts Point one must venture into the service road for the Bruckner. Anyways this is a lot safer and is flatter than going over the Triborough or Third Avenue Bridge. You end up right by the New York Post Plant. The blocks where the Amtrack elevated tracks are have beautiful light in the mornings, and I would expect more of the same in the late afternoon.
I see some of the dedicated bike and pedestrian paths that are actually very green and safe. I used some of these to get to City Island and Orchid Beach are pretty easy to connect to. As always I try not to get pancaked by avoiding traffic if I can.
Back in the day, when I lived in Williamsburg I did this loop into Astoria and somehow via Flushing I ended up in Forest Hills and then crank down Metropolitan Avenue near Fresh Pond Road. Somehow in the process I made my way though some parks by Jackie Robinson Parkway.
Anyways with the Triborough Bridge I'm at a great crossroads.
For staying local and putting time in the saddle I take Hudson River Park north; take this stairwayed pedestrian bridge into Inwood Hills Park and do a climbing workout; and then do the Harlem River Drive prom-man-aid sprint home from Dykeman all the way down to 152d Street. For me Saint Nick-O-lus seems to be the best/safest way to get uptown to near the old Polo Grounds unless I head up Third Avenue until it ends.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Keith,
You have your son, but I have Beagle-Face my rescue dog as my responsibility.
If you want to start doing some rides for training I intend on doing intense workouts to exploit Inwood Hills Park for climbing, and the Harlem River Drive Prom-Men-Odd for sustained sprints. The Harlem River Drive is a place where you can blast it and hammer because it goes from 152d Street all the way to Dykeman in Inwood. No cars, no intersections, and very few walkers, runners or other bikers.
Realize that I have slicks on my Ibis and 63.5 gear inches with a freewheel.
I'm trying to stay young. The Hudson River Park leg is only a warm up. Kinda convenient for you since you live in Harlem.
Also the ride into the South Bronx is well worth it for shooting, but you want to catch that light between 9 and 10:30 AM. After that it would be say a ride to and from City Island, Orchid Beach, or the park that borders on Westchester.
Basically I need to put some time in the saddle.
Cal
jszokoli
Well-known
You guys mean the triborough bridge, right. I don't think Amtrak / New York Connecting Railroad would like you riding on the tracks...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triborough_Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Gate_Bridge
They are right next to each other even though both of the above sites make them look alone.
Joe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triborough_Bridge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Gate_Bridge
They are right next to each other even though both of the above sites make them look alone.
Joe
Pretty crazy how long it used to take us to get to that area compared to this route huh? I took it over to the Bronx a few months ago and had some beers at the Bronx Brewery.
Only right in the beginning... I find that having to get off your bike to go up or down stairs is the annoying part of that trip.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
John,
At one section there is a ramp with a switchback, unless I have my bridges crossed. On a single speed it can be a bit of a grunt getting up. Definately not good for the knees if you are a big guy.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Fred,
Only times I crossed the Verrizano was doing the 5 Borough Bike Tour which I did back in the day 3 or 4 times. Rudy was mayor back then. The mile long downhill is where you can approach 50 MPH even on a mountain bike, but this was on the roadway.
It does seem like Randel's Island has become a biking hub to exploit with many bridges. That ride to orchid Beach/City Island is like riding on a private bike path, and at some point you might think you are not in the Bronx because it gets to look like Forest Hills Gardens.
BTW when I was younger (kid) I could always outrun any cop. LOL. Basically I was ac hellraiser/bad boy. One reason why I didn't become a criminal was I never got caught. LOL.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
John,
I can be under the Amtrack tres-sells in no time to catch that morning light.
Also it is cool to wander on a bike. I found a spot to shoot the Amtrack railyard from above by some food depot. Also the abandoned structure on North Brother Island is interesting if you have a mega long lens. This is where Typhoid Mary and others were interned.
The place where that cop was killed (shot in the head) Randel's Island Bridge is very close to my house.
Cal
I was only thinking of going to Astoria, not coming back. My exercise route is to go to Astoria that way and come back over the 59th st bridge.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Joe,
Basically the path is right under the tracks through the tres-sells.
You end up right next to the New York Post plant.
Cal
jszokoli
Well-known
Cal,
So you talking about crossing from Randal's island to the Bronx, I have a fuzzy memory of something like that doing the TA century years ago but if you had asked me I would have thought I was under the Bronx leg of the tri boro. Where is that Post plan, the south bronx? BTW that nasty switch back is on the south GWB bike path. there are a bunch of stairs on the tri boro but no nasty switch backs. The GWB path can be crowded, the trip boro is really quite lonely.
Joe
So you talking about crossing from Randal's island to the Bronx, I have a fuzzy memory of something like that doing the TA century years ago but if you had asked me I would have thought I was under the Bronx leg of the tri boro. Where is that Post plan, the south bronx? BTW that nasty switch back is on the south GWB bike path. there are a bunch of stairs on the tri boro but no nasty switch backs. The GWB path can be crowded, the trip boro is really quite lonely.
Joe
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Joe,
Hallucinating again. LOL. When I ran the NYC Marathon "off the couch" I saw this sign "4 miles to finish" four times. After a while I got very angry cursing that Central Park is not that big. LOL.
For those that do not know the urban legend: I basically was given my friend's bib and only had one full day to get ready to run a surprise marathon because he had overtrained. I finished just 26 seconds under 5 hours, but my half marathon was around 2 hours 10 minutes. I made a serious mistake of stopping for 7 minutes to pee in Greenpoint. The second half marathon was a painful struggle because I was determined to finish under 5 hours, even if it killed me.
Instead of ending up in Mott Haven (South Bronx), you end up in Port Morris the next run down forsaken poor neighborhood, but just a little more east.
The area differs in that Mott Haven is populated, but Port Morris is all industrial south of the Bruckner. On a Sunday it is rather vacant and lonely. Mucho trucks and tractor trailers landscape the area, especially under the Amtrack tressles.
The bike path is directly under the Amtrack, and basically you are riding on flat terrain through the tress-L''s for the tracks above. The New York Post plant is along side the bike path. I like this path because it is flat and fast.
Also want to know if the TA Century is worth doing? Also would it be crazy to do with a 63.5 gear inch single speed? You know me: if it ain't crazy it ain't worth doing. LOL. My legacy is to being known as half man-half testicle.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
John,
You seem to like the death ramp on the Madhattan side that has that Jersey Barrier at the bottom of the downhill with that hairpin turn
For others who were not there: you had to see John speeding down this death ramp at speed with no helmet moving his camera at high speed into shooting position to get a shot of a guy sitting on the side railing.
I ended up slowing down a lot, just in case of a crash I didn't want to run John over by being on his tail.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
Fred,
I love the East End and the North Fork. Back in the day I was a bike bum, where I was like a surfer: I lived to bike and my whole life revolved around biking.
In a way biking and my friend Mike saved my life. At the age of 32 I simply had to learn how to relax because my body couldn't take the intensity that I lived with. I was still in a wired out 1970's mode and I didn't need drugs to resemble a speed freak. It was a matter of choosing life or death.
Anyways I spent mucho time mountain biking in Rocky Point's RCA Grounds and out at exit 70 in the pine barrens near Hot Water Street. In the summers I rode every Saturday and Sunday with the Wall Street crowd out in the Hamptons. I mostly rode the "B" rides. The "A" rides were hyper aggressive. To me the "B" rides meant the "B" was for "babes" which meant pretty girls that did not need makeup and with gym bodies that were engineered for Lycra.
I think the guy who invented Lycra should win a Nobel Prize BTW.
I loved the light and the fresh air in the East End. At "Rotations," the bike shop in South Hampton are these organized rides that assemble at 8:00 AM. Generally about 60 miles.
If you want to do a surprise century park at Gracies at exit 70 and just ride east to Orient Point which is 50 miles away. Lots of rolling hills through vineyards that were once potatoe farms.
Cal
Yes, that downhill is a good reward for, what I consider, I pretty rough uphill... since it is long on a single speed. Allows me to cool off. However, after splitting my head open, I'm not as crazy without a helmet these days. I either wear the helmet or don't go as fast.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
John,
Really glad you now wear a helmet. Brain injury is pretty easy to do.
In the past one of my knicknames among my biker friends was "Crash." This was mostly attributed to my IBIS Mountain Trials which is a very aggressive bike with steep geometry and a 39 inch wheelbase. Anyways some of my friends considered my bike "unridable." LOL. Consider riding a twitchy bike on narrow hiking trails filled with roots rocks and rolling hills.
Anyways it was easy to flip my bike when riding the IBIS, but I could do things with that bike I couldn't with another weaving through trees that were narrowly spaced.
Now I own a titanium version of my IBIS Mountain Trials, and shortly it will weigh in under 17 1/4 pounds even thogh it is basically a mountain bike. LOL.
BTW my friend Mike, the pro fashion photographer, charged down that death ramp on his fixed gear road bike that features no brakes. At the last minute Mike does this hop and locks his wheel, and upon contact with the ground again starts skidding and fishtailing to scrub speed. Pretty much was like trying to snap a chain or wear a hole in the tire to cause a blow out. Anyways it was like an "E" ticket ride at DiZ-ney. Somehow Mike lived. LOL. Pretty much I thought Mike would become an orange sponge. LOL.
Anyways lots of my friends are wack jobs. Wack jobs are fun. LOL.
Cal
I think that might be the only way to stop on a fixed gear bike without brakes no? I use single speed bikes, but with coaster brakes. Haha.
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
John,
Basically Mike likes living right at the edge. Stopping a flywheel like that has to stress the spokes and chain. What happens if the chain snaps violently, or if one spoke snaps will the wheel unravel and collapse? Worse yet what happens if you can't stop and you hit a Jersey Barrier at great speed. Could be deadly, but I would expect mucho damage. Also know that Mike wears no helmet.
Basically Mike one day might become an organ donor.
Anyways one of my Professors, Dr Haj Ross of MIT said, "If you are not almost out of control you are not racing." This was in reference to juggling which is kinda big at MIT as a philosophy with the concept is never say "I can't juggle," but say I'm working on it. Anyways this interdisciplinary seminar was likely the best course I ever took because I learned all these warped ways of thinking.
BTW I have hand brakes on my single speeds. Call me a wimp, but my single speeds have freewheels, but know I have White Industries flip flop hubs so I eventually can go fixed gear into "Mike Mode." I don't ride fixed gear (I have in the past on a track bike), but I say at this point I'm working at it.
One of the best best bike crashes I ever saw was taken of two guys riding a tandem down a switchback, of course at high speed. Tandems are crazy fast and can go very-very fast for sustained periods. Of course this was a race and "Captain Dundo" was one of the riders. The series of shots were taken with a camera with a motor drive as a tandem rounded a sharp switchback at speed, but rolled a tire, which means the tire from great force gets separated from the rim.
Anyways the result is grinding metal of the rim against the pavement, and perhaps a small roostertail of sparks caused by friction and hot metal being worn away like a very creative improvised belt sander. LOL.
What makes the perhaps 9-12 shots is the writing. Captain Dundo I think was the writer who was a featured writer of "Bicycling Magizine," but for this last page of the magazine Captain Dundo decided to tell the story like a first grade reader; like Dick and Jane.
It went something like this:
See Joe and Captain Dundo ride. Go Joe and Captain Dondo go. See Joe and Captain Dondo go fast. Go-go-go.
Watch the tire separate from the rim. Oh-no.
Hear Captain Dundo curse. Bad Captain Dundo. Captain Dundo bad.
See the bike slide. Oh-no.
Anyways it was really funny and memorable, but talk about an ugly crash.
More recently there was a crash in a major race and the rider died. Not sure if it was in the Tour de France.
Cal