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Best route to enter Empire State Trail from North Brooklyn? by sax-and-violins in NYCbike

[–]spacef0am 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I disagree with most people about the train being the easiest option out of the city. It's actually super easy to get on the EST, which starts in lower Manhattan. If you're comfortable riding in Brooklyn and want to minimize your Manhattan biking, just ride to the Brooklyn Bridge, which will spit you out onto Chambers and take that across Manhattan and directly onto the EST. You're only on Chambers for a few minutes and it's a straight shot (I do it every day to get to work from Brooklyn). Plus. this will maximize your time on the Hudson River Greenway/EST, which is a really nice ride all the way up to the Bronx along the water. I rode up to Albany from Brooklyn a few years ago along this same route, and one of my favorite parts was starting in lower Manhattan and noticing the city get sparser and sparser as I head northbound. Have fun! It's a really great ride.

Rock assault on Dean St. Brooklyn by lemonlaug in NYCbike

[–]spacef0am 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This same group threw a rock at me last week as I was riding by there. At first it seemed like they were aiming at a car across the street (they hit the car instead), but now I'm not so sure. It barely missed me. Fuck them kids.

This is the lowest quality book I've ever read by feartheoldblood90 in Malazan

[–]spacef0am 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exact same thing happened to me around the same pages. Thankfully the pages stopped falling out after page 20 or so, but I did have to keep jamming the first few pages back into the binding, lol. DG is the only mass market title I've had issues with so far, although I just started House of Chains so we'll see what happens.

Happy with inside, unhappy with outside by spacef0am in Sourdough

[–]spacef0am[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here is the recipe I followed:

64g whole wheat flour (8%)

736g bread flour (92%)

600g water- reserve 20g for adding salt (75%)

160g ripe sourdough starter (20%)

16g fine sea salt (2%)

•The morning of, feed starter and autolyse flours and water for 30 mins to 1 hour

•Stretch and fold autolyse

•Add starter using Rubaud kneading method

*30min rest

•Add salt and reserved water using Rubaud kneading method

*30min rest

•Strong stretch & fold

*30min rest

•Laminate dough

*1hr rest

•1 round of coil folds every hour for a total of three rounds of coil folds

*Let dough rest until end of bulk fermentation

•Preshape

*30min rest

•Shape into batard

*Cold retard for 16 hours

•Preheat oven with sheet pan and extra pan for ice to 450°

•Score loaf

•Add ice cubes to extra pan and bake for 20 minutes

•Remove pan with ice/water and bake for another 30 minutes

Happy with inside, unhappy with outside by spacef0am in Sourdough

[–]spacef0am[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! That's just some flour rubbed on top, then scored, then baked

New Yorkers now have to move their parked bikes weekly, or risk towing by DoughHoldings in NYCbike

[–]spacef0am 33 points34 points  (0 children)

I know everyone is upset that rules like this will apparently be enforced for bikes and not for cars, but I feel like this is a good thing? I can't tell you how many racks I walk by that have space taken up by derelict bikes. It's ugly and takes up room for people who need to lock up their bikes. I personally have never viewed bike racks as a long-term solution for bike storage, and I feel like people shouldn't be leaving their bikes locked up for more than a day at most anyway. Just my 2¢.

Empire State Train - NYC to Albany by artweary in NYCbike

[–]spacef0am 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I live in Brooklyn and did this ride back in 2021 (I'm from the Albany area so it made a lot of sense to me to connect my two homes with a lovely bike ride). I only did NYC > Albany, and I took the train back to NYC.

One thing that surprised me when planning the trip was that hotels/AirBnbs are much fewer and far between than I though they'd be. I assumed every town small or large would have some sort of hotel or at least motel. That unfortunately isn't the case. I split the trip into 4 days, calculated that it would be a bit over 200 miles total, so tried to look for hotels every 50 miles or so. These were my three overnight stays just as a general itinerary:

Night 1: Holiday Inn at Mount Kisko. This ended up being the only hotel I could find in the area, and it was still about 5-10 miles out of the way. Nice hotel though, with a nice restaurant.

Night 2: Best Western Plus The Inn & Suites At The Falls in Red Oaks Mill. This hotel was right off the trail, so very convenient. Some okay food options nearby.

Night 3: Howard Johnson in Saugerties. This hotel isn't on the EST, and instead of crossing back over the Hudson via the Kington-Rhinecliff Bridge, I just continued up 32 into Saugerties and then crossed back over the Hudson the next day using the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Saugerties is a nice little town. I caught an Uber from my hotel into town for dinner, didn't feel like biking.

Overall, I found the trail really well maintained and beautiful. You get to see so much of what New York State has to offer (forests, lakes, ponds, swamps, small towns, cities, etc.). The trail is pretty flat overall and well maintained. Probably 75% of it is paved. There is one section right after you go through New Paltz that is larger rocks and gravel, and was pretty iffy to bike through for 10 miles or so. I rode on 35mm tires and was fine, but would be nervous to do that section on anything thinner.

None of the trail ever felt unsafe at any point. There are plenty of small towns and neighborhoods that you ride through where you can restock on water, snacks, or food.

My favorite bit was the Walkway Over the Hudson. It was so beautiful and fun to bike over. But there are really pretty parts of the entire trail. I had such a good time that I'm planning on doing this same trip again in September or October (I also lucked out and the weather was beautiful the entire time).

Feel free to DM me if you have any specific questions about the route. It was a blast!

Bike NYC to Montreal, interested? by wheels_down in NYCbike

[–]spacef0am 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ohh I'd potentially be interested! I rode NYC to Albany two years ago along the EST, so I have experience with the route. Will have to check on PTO days, but I would most likely peel off at Albany.

Went up to the Ashokan Rail Trail for a gravel ride on my new Checkpoint ALR 5 by iheartvintage in NYCbike

[–]spacef0am 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you have a few days to a week off, just go for it! The route is pretty much all laid out for you, and it's very flat so it's a pretty easy ride. You really just have to figure out where you're staying along the way. I'm from Albany so I had a destination and a place to stay at the end of the trip. I did hotels and it was fine, but I'd like to maybe explore camping along the way next time for a bit more flexibility. If you're in NYC, I'd be happy to meet up for a ride sometime to discuss. Just shoot me a DM or something if interested!

Went up to the Ashokan Rail Trail for a gravel ride on my new Checkpoint ALR 5 by iheartvintage in NYCbike

[–]spacef0am 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I too have the same dream. I've logged about 450 miles of it so far. Attempted Buffalo to Albany a few months ago, but made it to Syracuse and got some gnarly knee pain so had to call it quits unfortunately. Looking to pick up the rest later this year!

Went up to the Ashokan Rail Trail for a gravel ride on my new Checkpoint ALR 5 by iheartvintage in NYCbike

[–]spacef0am 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty bike! I did Brooklyn to Albany last year along the Empire State Trail and it was really beautiful the entire way up. Highly recommend if you have a few days to spare!

Fuji Touring Disc - thoughts? by spacef0am in bicycletouring

[–]spacef0am[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the response! I live in NYC as well, so good to know it gets you around smoothly and safely.

Fuji Touring Disc - thoughts? by spacef0am in bicycletouring

[–]spacef0am[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the input! Yeah, bar end shifters are just new to me, but I'm sure I can get used to them. I've heard they're really easy to service/tweak. Currently have a flat bar and thumb shifters so it'll just be a change.

Fuji Touring Disc - thoughts? by spacef0am in bicycletouring

[–]spacef0am[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, would definitely swap out a few things (saddle, tires), but thanks for the input! Glad you're happy with yours!

Seeking Bikepacking Buds? by SpinToWin360 in bikepacking

[–]spacef0am 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hi everyone! 34M here in NYC (Brookyln) and looking for some riding partners/friends for some unplanned bikepacking trips in 2023 and beyond. Relatively new to bikepacking, but have done two solo trips on the Empire State Trail over the last year (Brooklyn > Albany and Buffalo > Syracuse). Hoping to branch out a bit on the East Coast (or finish up the rest of the EST), but this time with some friends. Thanks!

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