[Leica] Biking and photography

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

> Javier Perez describes his bike trips around NYC. Great stuff. But there is
> a lot less traffic on this trip
> 
> 
>  If you are a dedicated biker take a short ride on the Hudson North 
> commuter
> train. You can take your bike with you for a very small fee. Get off the
> train at Tarrytown just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge. This puts you 
> within
> a short bike ride of an extraordinary number of scenic areas. The
> Rockefeller estate at Pocantico Hills is within a few minutes ride. It is a
> "must" stop for art lovers. Kykuit, the home John D. Rockefeller built for
> his family, is festooned with the modern paintings and sculptures that
> Nelson Rockefeller spent a lifetime collecting. This is one of the great
> private art museums of the world. Admission to the museum and grounds also
> entitles you to visit the Union Church of Pocantico Hills featuring stained
> glass windows by Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall. You can also ride over the
> bridge at Sleepy Hollow following the footsteps of Ichabod Crane, Brom
> Bones, and the Headless Horseman, all memorialized by Washington Irving.
> 
> Extending about a mile and a half into the river, Croton Point, 8 miles
> north of Tarrytown and 35 miles above Manhattan divides Tappan Zee from
> Haverstraw Bay. This spur of land is the terminal moraine marking the
> southernmost reach of the last glacier to cover the area during the ice 
> age.
> It is a beautiful county park. Van Cortlandt Manor is a 2 minute ride from
> Croton Point. This was the family home of the Van Cortlandt family, the
> Dutch settlers that owned most of the land between Croton and Connecticut.
> The home and grounds have been restored to their 18th century splendor and
> serve as a living museum illustrating the life and times of the landed
> aristocracy.
> 
> Another 15 minute ride up the Croton Gorge will take you to the Croton Dam.
> This dam is the third largest cut stone structure in the world, exceeded
> only by the Great Wall of China and the Great Pyramid of Giza. The dam was
> built during the late 1800s to impound the waters of the Croton River and
> provide fresh water for the growing city of New York. A gravity aqueduct
> carries the water 40 miles from Croton to the city. If you have a mountain
> bike, you can ride the Aqueduct trail back to NYC.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Larry+biking+at+Croton+Dam.jpg.html
> 
> But don't stop there. The Hudson Highlands are incomparably beautiful.
> Especially this time of year when the leaves are in full color. The river
> cuts through the Appalachian range and the mountains border portions of 
> both
> shores. Many have called it the most picturesque stretch of navigable
> waterway in the USA, rivaling the Norwegian fjords. These views were
> immortalized by the Hudson River School of painters.
> 
> Finally, bike to Peekskill and cross the Bear Mountain Bridge. Perkins 
> Peak,
> in Bear Mountain Park offers a spectacular view.  On a clear day you can
> catch a glimpse of New York City 50 miles to the south and see almost as 
> far
> up the Hudson to the north.
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Biking+at+Perkins+Peak.jpg.html
> 
> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Larry+Z/Hudson_+N_+from+Bear+Mtn_+bridge.jpg.
> html
> 
> If you decide to take the trip, give me a call and I will be waiting with a
> cold beer.
> 
> 
>  Now for some hard learned advice to would be photo-bikers: For a number of
> years I biked ten miles to and from work every fair weather day. It's not
> that I'm an eco-freak but just that I was willing to trade a half hour ride
> each way for the hassle of auto traffic and parking. My son and I were
> members of a bicycle club and took long rides through the countryside on
> Fall weekends. When we were younger and more fit, my wife, a less dedicated
> biker, and I would occasionally take our bikes on vacations to National
> Parks and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I still bike around the Adirondack
> foothills near my home. As you can guess, I have definite opinions on
> suitable bicycles for casual riding and associated photography.
> 
> First, unless you have a very good suspension system on a bike, any
> container or bag attached to the frame will be subject to jolts and severe
> vibration unless you stick to the smoothest of roads. Particularly bad are
> bags attached to a carrier over the rear wheel. Suspension systems are
> designed to ease the ride for the rider, not the bike itself. If you carry 
> a
> camera on your bike trip, keep it in a small day bag or pack worn on your
> back. Clearly weight is important so get the lightest equipment you 
> consider
> adequate.
> 
> Second, bikes are low security vehicles. In many venues you cannot leave a
> bike unattended for more than a few minutes and expect it to be there when
> you return. In a few decades of riding, I have had entire bikes stolen,
> wheels removed, and expensive components snatched, even through the bike 
> was
> tethered to a rack or lamp post by a presumably unbreakable lock or cable. 
> A
> bicycle thief wielding a chain cutter can steal a bike in 15 seconds. Moral
> - do not leave your new M9 in a bike pack while you relieve yourself in a
> pissoir.
> 
> Third, bikes have no weather protection. If it rains, you will get wet. 
> Your
> camera should be able to handle dampness and the container should be
> waterproof.
> 
> All that being said, I've found that the best film cameras are small P&S
> types. I used to use a trusty Rollei 35, then experimented with a number of
> less costly P&S cameras before settling on a relatively weatherproof 
> Olympus
> Infinity Twin. That's the one with two lenses, a 35 mm and a 70 mm. Now 
> that
> the photo world has gone digital, I carry a venerable 5 mB Canon S500 Elph
> P&S. It takes clear, sharp pictures and is cheap enough so I won't cry if 
> it
> gets stolen or damaged. Of course, if you want to take really great photos
> while biking, carry the best equipment you can afford but be very, very
> watchful and have good insurance.
> 
>   Larry Z


July and August 2006 I was living in the Elmsford, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow
area and took likes of pix.




Mark William Rabiner