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Tag Archives: Nyack

Back to Bricks

Posted on June 19, 2012 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Training: Cycling, Training: Running, Triathlon 1 Comment

If you asked Coach, I don’t think she would agree that me surfing out at Rockaway Beach was on the training program. I did bike after that, so I think she was appeased, especially since she had me queued up for a serious brick on Sunday.

My younger brother Jeff, number 2 out of 6 of the famous Baker Tracy Gang of Brothers, had expressed interest in biking out to Jersey so I invited him along.

We set out at 8:30AM under overcast and cool skies. It was actually perfect. The Sunday morning Manhattan streets were very quiet and we easily made our way up to the epic George Washington Bridge. Once over, I had given him 2 options. Option 1 was to ride 9W straight to State Line while option 2 was to (as I call it) take the low road and blast through Pallisades Park. He chose option 2 as it would be more scenic. It was a good call.

Pallisades Park is a fast ride through a tight windy forest. I liken it to the speeder bike chase scene in Return of the Jedi, minus the lasers. I noticed (as we passed this stealthy looking fellow) that he jumped on my brothers tail and started a draft. Jeff and I were already drafting each other. You know why? Because we are brothers and not total strangers looking for a free ride. No biggie though, I figured we’d pull him along for a few minutes. Then, it got a little out of hand. Not that I mind, but we had a long way to go and I didn’t want us to bonk later. I pretended we needed to stop and look at something and he zipped past. He did, however, say thanks as he departed. That’s cool.

We felt the fury of that last super long hill at the end for sure. Anyone who has ridden the course knows exactly what I’m talking about. Slow, burning, pain.

Out on 9W I asked Jeff what he wanted to do. He seemed fine so instead of doubling back we headed toward State Line.

Next, at State Line we had a conference and yes, we were pushing forward again. This time, as we barreled down State Line Hill we had just committed to the full ride. I love State Line Hill as it’s this long slow descent where things can get a bit hairy. We topped out at 40.3 MPH which made me happy because I had promised Jeff some good speedy attacks.

Once we entered the Piermont and Nyack areas we kind of just enjoyed the scenery. I took him to Runsible Spoon because their muffins are not to b missed. I had their Chocolate Chip Banana one on my mind since the start of the ride. We chilled for a hot second enjoying our snack before heading back.

I had told Jeff that the ride home was fast than the way there with just 2 uphills. He would later yell that I was a liar.

If you think riding down State Line Hill is fun, you should try going up it. They don’t make a gear small enough. This is where all my Colorado friends are shaking their heads going, “Wuss. You have no idea what a hill is.” Indeed! But you, my friends have no idea what pizza is. Or bagels.

Jeff’s chain started popping off as he hit his low gears (note the grease on his face). It looked more like we had been mountain bike riding through some bogs.

We made it back safe and sound. We had traveled 53 miles in 3:15:00 which I think is impressive since he had never done the ride.

We parted ways and I jumped into my running shoes for 30 minutes of pain. Actually, I felt really good running after the bike. I even got yelled at by Coach for running too fast. Who knew?

After a shower I ate like a maniac then met back up with Jeff and his fiance Allison to have some dinner in drinks in remembrance of our father. It was a pretty solid weekend.

Oh, and thanks Kompetitive Edge, my new helmet is here!

brick Nyack

Bike Adventures with Baker

Posted on September 25, 2011 by admin Posted in All, Fitness, Training: Cycling 3 Comments

The 5th Avenue Mile is one of my favorite races. Last year I completed a dream, which was to run a sub 5 minute mile at the race and since then its always had a place in my heart.

Unfortunately running 1 Mile as fast as you can has NOTHING to do with Ironman training.

I was set to run the 5th Avenue Mile, then tack on anther hour and a half of medium paced running. Sunday was to be my long ride, a very important component to IM training.

As Abbe and I sat having coffee looking at the weather Saturday morning she said, “You know, it’s not supposed to rain today. Tomorrow is the big rain forecast.” Biking in the rain, aside from being dangerous, plain sucks. Running in the rain I can deal with. The decision was made then and there to skip my race and hit the road for my 5 hour long ride.

I set out, geared up with 2 water bottles of ‘fuel’ and a Clif Bar, headed towards the George Washington Bridge. My goal was to make it to Bear Mountain. I had never been and was really curious what all the fuss was about.

As I neared the GW I noticed a heavy amount of what appeared to be novice riders. Using my super sleuth skills I deducted that, yes, there must be some sort of group ride.

Once on the oh so familiar 9W I set controls to autopilot at around 20-22 MPH and just took in the scenery, sipping on my ‘fuel’ cocktail every so often. I felt great, perhaps due to Abbe’s Truffle Pasta from the night before compounded with my Irish Oatmeal.


I always find it funny when you pass the Welcome to NY sign because… that’s where I was coming from! Did I just time travel, or maybe pass into an alternate dimension, or maybe the state is just shaped funny?


Hitch hikers? Really? Yes, I must have time traveled to 1972 when everything was safe! I started looking to see if cars had seat belts right after and realized I was still in the present.

I hit Nyack 1:30 into the ride and blasted forward, marking uncharted territory for me. An adventure… yes, lets have an adventure!

I went through a series of small towns and occasionally hit a stoplight. In my head I was marking off places where I could either pee or get more food or both.

I passed Rockland Lake State Park which was really beautiful. There were swans out on the lake and it was really peaceful. Soon after we hit a ‘T’ in the road and I instantly flashed back to my first Century Ride from 2002! We passed through this very spot heading in the same direction!


I passed these crazy cliffs and took a picture because they seemed very Lord of the Rings-ish and I pictured Frodo and Sam climbing them all starved cause they are out of Lambas Bread.
We went through a few more towns, Stony Point being quite quaint.

It was right around here I said to myself, “Where the hell is this goddamn mountain?”

I entered what appeared to be a wilderness area, or rather, a place where humans dared to live. The hills became fierce and I knew I was close to my destination. It was also at this point I realized that one of my water bottles full of ‘fuel’ jumped ship! This worried me slightly as I needed that energy to make it back home.

I took a left into Bear Mountain State Park and started going up Hell-o-Hill. Seriously, I rode for 30-40 minutes in my lowest gear, knees bleeding, straight up the mountain. For what it’s worth, the park is gorgeous. I was all by myself in dense forest with streams, brooks and all kinds of nature-y things around me. I was moving at 7 MPH the whole time and I was dying to see what was at the top of this thing. It had better be awesome.

It was. Clear views of the Hudson for as far as the eye could see. Pretty amazing. I think it’s so cool to live in Manhatty, in the heart of the urban jungle, and yet I can ride my bike over to a mountain!


After taking a breather, I hit the road. It took me 8 minutes to descend the mountain and you better believe I had my hands on the breaks the whole time and was still going 30-35 MPH! It was wet and I didn’t want to slide off the side of the cliffs to my doom.


The second part of the ride seemed easier for some reason. Maybe it’s because I knew the terrain now, or perhaps I was just warmed up. I don’t know?

I had been riding without music on the way there, but on my return blasted some Drum n Bass to keep me company. It gets lonely out there on the open road…

Close to Nyack there is a Toga Bikes. I popped in and got a new water bottle and grabbed some snacks for the road.

As I neared the GW and was coming up on 90 miles I started to feel a little winded, but then I realized my ass was just sore.

My total distance was 97.7 Miles at 5 hours, 45 minutes.

It was a glorious adventure.

Bear Mountain Nyack
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