Undergrads… riding bikes?

Warning: We are armed with bikes, and we know how to use them.

The Stony Brook Biking Club is a new club that formed last semester, who conducts rides leaving from Stony Brook campus. With us, you can explore the pretty back roads of Long Island’s north shore and go to destinations such as Old Field Lighthouse and Cedar Beach. Our rides are varied in length, with some short 45 minute loops up to 3 hour trips with a snack break. There is even a tour to Montreal planned for the summertime.

If you would like you join us, all you need is a bike, some comfy clothing, and a desire to ride. We’ll choose a pace which is comfortable for everyone in the group, nobody will be dropped behind. You’ll also learn in the process how to ride on the road confidently and safely, and techniques for riding with groups, such as hand signals.

Our rides are posted on a mailing list available on the web, or you can send an email to sbubc-subscribe@googlegroups.com to get on the list. You can also join our Facebook group if you want to keep track of our discussions.

Hope to see you out on the road

P.S.: Graduates are welcome too

Ride 8/30: Bike and Wine on the North Fork

Mattituck, by Collin Harty

This Saturday (8/30), I’ll be leading a tour of North Fork wineries by bicycle. My plan is to meet at the Riverhead train station and do a twenty mile bike ride that encompasses a half dozen vineyards. We’ll roll through downtown Riverhead and work our way into the farm and vineyard country. The terrain is flat to gently rolling and the roads are mostly two lane highways or farm roads bordering the Peconic Bay. The wine-tasting group that I lead will be making lots of stops and taking a very easy pace, but if there are enough people to form a second group that wants do less wine-tasting and more exploring there is a lot of territory to cover.

Experience the North Fork in the waning days of summer, when the temperatures are less oppressive and the fruits are ripening on trees and vines. In addition to wineries, there are also a lot of farm stands in this area. This destination is unfortunately not a secret, which means there will be many more automobiles on the roads than bicycles. Which brings me to the “not-fun” parts of this post.

YOU MUST:

• WEAR A HELMET
• PROVIDE YOUR OWN WATER AND FOOD
• SIGN A LIABILITY RELEASE/SAFETY WAIVER
• YOU MUST BE 21 OR OVER TO SAMPLE WINES

Wineries on the North Fork of Long Island

I intend to stop at the following vineyards in this order: Paumanok, Jamesport, Macari, Palmer, Martha Clara, Roanoke

The Route

Meeting Location: Riverhead Train Station Parking Lot (just south of the station at Railroad Ave. and Cedar St.)

Meeting Time: 11:20 we’ll leave by 11:45

Trip Length (Mileage): 20 miles

Riding Speed: Slow, leader will wait at turns for the whole group to catch up.

Trip Length (Time): Several hours. We’ll be making several stops for wine tasting, farm stands, and lunch, and possibly dinner. we’ll be back in Riverhead by 6:30 at the latest.

If you take a vehicle to Riverhead and plan to drink wine, please make sure that you have someone in your group to act as a designated driver.  There is also a train on the Ronkonkoma line that arrives in Riverhead around 11:20am.  If you have a bike permit for the LIRR, you can take that train.

Manhattan Ride: coming soon

I am in the planning stages for a Manhattan ride.  The plan is to start in Brooklyn, head over either the Williamsburg bridge or another, ride the bike trail ALL the way around Manhattan, from the Battery to Fort Tryon Park.

I did this a while ago.  It is about 30 miles, and only hilly in the extreme north of Manhattan. It’s a great ride, you see lots of cool neighborhood and we can all grab a delicious lunch at a fancy restaurant or something.

Here is a link to the proposed route

I am suggesting that we take this ride on a Sunday.  DATE TO BE DETERMINED

Proposed dates (vote in Comments Section):

August 3

August 10

August 17

August 24

August 31

Summer Bike Rides

We had a great ride on Friday from West Meadow Beach to Cedar Beach and back. Aman, Chris B., and I started in the Stony Brook area and picked up Noto in East Setauket, Ben B. in Port Jeff, and Ben N. in Mt. Sinai along the ride. Went swimming at Cedar Beach and barbecued in Old Field when we got back. Good Times!

Hopefully there will be some photos to post shortly.

If you have suggestions for bike rides this summer, email fwcoord AT gmail DOT com or post your ideas here in the comments.

In the meantime enjoy this pleasant video about a family bike picnic!

Picnic from James Hutchings on Vimeo.

BEACHES TO BEACHES, Setauket to Sinai Ride

Tomorrow, Fourth of July, we are going for a ride from West Meadow Beach in Setauket to Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai. This will probably be an early afternoon ride (meeting at noon), but I will update when I’ve confirmed a time. We’ll meet at the head house of West Meadow Beach, ride through Old Field, Setauket, Poquott, Port Jefferson, and Mount Sinai to the Beach. Here is a meandering, 30 mile version of the route, with stops at several beaches or waterviews along the way.

Here is the more direct, 20 mile, there and back route.

• We’ll determine the route at the start or as we go along.
• Make sure to bring water, sunscreen, and a snack.
• You might also want to bring along or wear a bathing suit, because there will be lots of opportunities to get in the water along this ride!
• If you are interested in joining us, please email FWCOORD at gmail dot com

The Paul Simons 2nd Annual Memorial Bike Ride

The Paul Simons Foundation is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Memorial Bike Ride on Sunday, June 22, 2008.

There are two routes. The first is a 3-mile ride to be ridden as many times as participants wish between 9am and 11am, beginning and ending at the SAC Loop. The second ride begins at 8am and must be registered for in advance by mail (or presumably one can drop it off at the office on Harbor Road in Stony Brook). This is a 30-mile ride from the SAC to Mt. Sinai and back.

Please see the following link for the registration form and more information:

http://www.avalonparkandpreserve.org

Old Field Lighthouse Ride

IMG_1420

Originally uploaded by freewheelcoordinator

Another great day and another great ride! J. Matt and Pat joined me for a 11 mile odyssey to the northern shore. Quite a lot of wildlife was seen and fun was had by all.

I have started a new set on our Flickr account with pictures from our recent rides. You should check it out and see what you’ve been missing.

Any ideas for rides over the summer? Let us know!

Old Field ride tomorrow?

I thought it would be neat to take a trip out to Old Field and visit the Old Field Lighthouse and the surrounding beach. I’ve never been there before so I’d like to go. We could also make a stop off at Flax Pond on the way back. I have mapped out a potential route here, which is about 10 mile round trip (if we go to Flax pond). There will be a few moderate hills along the way. If you’ve never been out in this direction I think it’s worth the trip. It should be a beautiful, warm day so make sure to bring sunscreen and water.

So who’s game? Meet at the fountain at 8 am? Let me know in the comments section.

West Meadow Beach Ride

So, Jenny and I were the only two to go on the ride this Saturday, but I’ll say you all missed a beautiful day out there on the road. The first stop was West Meadow Beach, which is still a little too chilly for swimming, nonetheless fun was found amidst the playground swingsets and giant tic-tac-toe board (it was a tie). Next we headed down West Meadow Rd towards Old Field Rd. where we then made a stop at Frank Melville Memorial Park–a place teeming with wildlife (well…turtles and swans at least). But seriously it is a cool place and within easy biking distance of SBU. It is a really beautiful and serene place to visit. On our way back to campus down North Country Rd. we noticed that the Three Village Historical Society was holding a huge yard sale with more bric-a-brac than you could shake a stick at. All in all it was a great day for a great ride on a route that is easy for anyone to make on their own. If anyone is interested in taking this ride leave a comment and we’ll put together another ride for over the summer.

Early Saturday West Meadow Beach Ride

This weekend, Jenny will lead a local ride at an earlier time. Please RSVP in the comments section if you intend to ride. Here’s what she has in mind:

“I’m ready to lead an early ride on saturday. I propose to depart from the fountain @ 8 a.m. and go to West Meadow beach to enjoy the sunrise and walking on the beach. Stop at Anne Marie’s farm stand on the way back. Return early enough to get a good day’s worth of work done.”

This is a nice, local ride of easy to moderate difficulty. There are only a few hills, traffic is fairly light, and the scenery is nice. The round-trip distance (if you go all the way out to the tip of West Meadow Beach) will probably be less than 10 miles.

Here’s a hypothetical route from campus to West Meadow, with a stop at Anne Marie’s on the way back.