Ben joined my Westchester Cycling Club Wendnesday night ride in Mid July to prepare for his four-week, 1,400 mile cycling trip through Europe. The Journal News wrote about him and how he was using the trip to raise money to fight Multiple Hereditary Exostosis, a disorder he, his mother and brother live with. He been back riding just about every Wednesday in a much less tenitive way. Before he left he struggled to hang with the group but always hung tough, now he’s one of the strongest riders and soft peddles for me to hang on his wheel. Ben’s aterrific young man and will be back for his senior year at Blinde Brook High School, I’ll expect him to win his third journalisim award from this paper next year.

By Ben Lubkin
After biking almost 1,400 miles across Europe, I finally approached the city of Barcelona with adrenaline pumping throughout my body. When I reached the Mediterranean, I stripped down to my shorts and ran into the sea. To be truthful, though, my attempted sprint turned into a dramatic hobble on the uneven sand.
The group trip was composed of a dozen high school students and had begun a month earlier in Amsterdam. Going into the trip I was unsure if my legs could handle the physical stress of the European mountains. I was born with multiple hereditary exostosis, a bone disorder, and underwent 16 operations to remove bony tumors that grew off of my normal bones. My journey across Europe would be both a personal accomplishment and a fundraiser for MHE research.
On the trip, I experienced a few days of tendon and hip pain, though my body functioned better than I expected. I moderated my speed and stretched daily to be successful. Each day our group woke up at 5 a.m. We left camp by 7 and arrived at the next campground in the late afternoon. Our group had morning snacks at bakeries and lunch breaks to buy the next day’s meals. Food, tents and clothes were all carried on our bikes, often creating oversized loads and difficult climbs.
New sights, cultures and cuisine made each day unique. After leaving Amsterdam, we traveled through rolling countryside in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Luxemburg. In Switzerland, we climbed thousands of feet up into the Alps and saw gorgeous snow-covered peaks in the distance.
After a scary, rainy descent out of the mountains, we were greeted by the heat and pastry shops of southern France. Though my stomach would have preferred to remain in France, we soon crossed the nation and arrived at the base of the Pyrenees. Our final three days were marked by 21-mile climbs and breathtaking sights at 6,000 feet.
When we reached Barcelona, I was thrilled to have overcome the challenges presented by my bone disease. However, I would miss the lifestyle of biking and eating European cuisine! I greatly appreciate the generous contributions our foundation received for my fundraiser, and I hope to pursue even greater biking endeavors in the future.
For more information on MHE and the fundraiser, visit the Lubkin Fund for MHE Research web site at www.LubkinfundMHE.org.

This report from writer Will David in Yonkers caught my eye today.

YONKERS – A feisty 17-year-old Bronx girl tussled with two muggers who robbed her of her cell phone yesterday in a parking lot at the Cross County Shopping Center, police said.

The two men who were riding bicycles managed to wrestle the girl’s cell phone away from her, but she held onto one mugger’s bicycle, forcing him to flee on foot.

The girl was talking on her cell phone in the northwest parking lot near Macy’s department store at 4:15 p.m. when the two bicycled up to her, Yonkers Detective Lt. Thomas Cleary said.

The pair tried to take her cell phone and she fought back. They finally got the $300 cell phone but lost a bicycle. They escaped in opposite directions. One mugger ran away and the other rode the bicycle.

The girl turned over the bicycle to the police when they arrived to investigate the robbery.

One mugger is described as a 5-foot-9, 160-pound, 18-year-old black man. He wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans. The second was a 5-foot-5, 140-pound, 18-year-old black man. He wore a long-sleeve black shirt.

The girl was not injured.

You may have read Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy artical in Monday’s Journal News about the Tour de Putnam. Here’s her lede:

KENT – Bill Grimes eagerly awaited his 14-year-old son Andrew’s return at Veterans Memorial Park yesterday morning after his first public bike ride through the scenic and winding country roads of Putnam County.

Andrew, who is deaf and blind, rode on a yellow tandem bike with Ian Diamond, his teacher’s husband, on a 15-mile route as part of Tour de Putnam, a popular cycling event.
Clicke here to read the whole story.

When I saw the photos come in to The Journal News from Kathy Diamond of her husband, Ian and Andrew on the bright yellow tandem I needed to know more. Here’s Ian’s first person report piloting the tandem with a verys special stocker.

Doing the ride was really my wife’s idea. She is a Teacher of the Deaf, and she has been working with Andrew Grimes during his summer school program for the past 5 years. Andrew also goes to “Camp Abilities,” a summer camp for disabled kids. His favorite activity there is tandem bike riding, which he does with one of the counselors. Andrew’s grandmother, hearing about his love for bike riding, bought him the yellow tandem to ride with his mother. Andrew is deaf and blind, so he cannot ride on his own, but it has become more difficult for his mother to ride with him as he grows bigger each year.

My wife, Kathy, suggested that we ride the tandem in the Tour de Putnam. I’ve been an avid cyclist for many years, and she thought Andrew and I would both have a nice time riding together. We decided to do the 15-mile route, which is an out and back to the first rest area. Believe me, it was no cake walk. The route consisted of rolling hills on the open road.
We were riding a single-speed tandem. We struggled up some of the hills, especially on the return, but Andrew never gave up and we kept turning the cranks.

I think it was a special day for Andrew because he had never ridden so far at one time. Also, he demonstrated a great deal of persistence and tenacity in never giving up on those tough rollers on Route 301. It was a special day for me because I was happy to share my love of bike riding with a budding cyclist.

By the way, it would be very helpful to Andrew if you know of anyone who would be interested in fostering Andrew’s growing interest in cycling. I live too far away to ride with him regularly, and his mother has been searching unsuccessfully for someone who would be interested in riding with her son. If you have someone in mind or can refer her to a local cycling club, it would be wonderful. If you would like to help Andrew and pilot his tandem or your own, please contact me at rkwolf@lohud.com and I will put you in touch with Andrew.

This topic up on the Rockland Bicycling Club website.  Thanks for the question Rita!

The new service began August 1st and we’re interested to hear from people who are using the bus to transport a bike to commute?

• Is it easy and secure to place your bike in the rack?


• Have you ever not been able to use the service because the two racks are in use by other cyclists?


• Have there been other problems?


• Suggestions to make the service better?

Susan Elan
The Journal News

The county will soon start construction of a nearly 4-mile stretch of the Putnam Trailway system.

The new $9.3 million portion of the trail system for bicycle riders and pedestrians will run from Seminary Hill Road in Carmel to Putnam Avenue in Southeast.

Putnam’s portion of funding for the project is $1.6 million, with the rest covered by state and federal grants, said John Lynch, the county’s commissioner of planning, development and public transportation.

Putnam has already completed a 7-mile section of the paved bikeway, which runs from the Westchester County line at Baldwin Place to Seminary Hill Road.

Putnam legislators were considering a bond resolution to pay for the county’s portion of the new construction when the Physical Services Committee met last night. It would be voted on by the full board Sept. 2.

Although Putnam faces a tough 2009 budget season, legislators are expected to approve trailway funding.

“We have never denied funding for the bikeway,” said Legislature Chairman Tony Hay, R-Southeast, a fiscal conservative. “It’s one of the best recreational opportunities in the county and one of the best things done on behalf of the taxpayers.”

 Click here for the full story.

Check out The Journal News story from today’s paper. There’s been a debate in the attached forums on riding single-lane and to the right. This photo is the topic of conversation.

Here’s the link if you’d like to weigh in.
How do we have fun during a ride like this on country roads but not upset drivers?

We have to follow the law of the road. During my ride I didn’t see anyone ride in a dangerous fashion. Riders showed respect when cars approached and passed. Even in this photo shot with a telephoto lens the riders are in single file. But, could some be closer to the right side of the road?

Safety is everyone’s responsibility and respect of each other is key. Cyclists have the right to enjoy most roads in our community and so do motorists.

This is pulled from the New York Department of Transpertation website in the FAQ’s
May bicyclists drive side-by-side on a roadway?

• Yes. They may drive two abreast on roadways, but they must drive single file when being overtaken by other vehicles. Bicyclists may only travel more than two abreast on a shoulder, bike lane or bike path intended for bike use if there is sufficient space. However, they must be in single file when passing vehicles, pedestrians or other bicyclists (Sec. 1234(b)).

I’ve received a few comments and emails with suggestions to make next years event even better.

From Lloyd in Rockland.
We were planning on registering for the T de P as a family, but this was not allowed. Definitely NOT a family ride.

Lloyd I heard this from a co-worker as well who thought about signing up her family of four and felt $100 was to much. A family plan seems like a great option for a ride like this. Does anyone know what rides provide this option?

I’ve been surprised that the different ride lengths on many of the large rides do not have higher or lower costs as well. Someone who rides 15 miles doesn’t enjoy the same amount of benefit as the century rider. There’s clearly a base cost for the organization, t-shirts and the after the ride food. But I know I ate and drank more along my 75 miles then someone who rode 15.

From Ben
I was disappointed that the energy drink was Tang rather than a “sport drink” such as Gatorade because the later also has vital electrolytes.

Great call Ben, Tang didn’t hit the spot with me either. Cramps are my ride killer and I also need a proper energy drink. Hymm, isn’t there a large local company that makes energy drinks?

From David
For example on the the 50-mile route, there were no bathrooms at food stops until mile 30 or so.

Also, unlike the food stops at those other three rides, there were no sandwiches like peanut butter and jelly, unless you made you’re own—again, unlike the other three rides, where prepared food is awaiting the participants.

Then, at the end, while there were tasty sandwiches to eat, there were no sweets whatsoever. Compare that with, say, the Westchester club, which serves up cookies and wonderful scoops of Ben & Jerry’s.

David, I’m not sure on the 50 mile ride where the bathrooms where. I know the bathrooms were open and available at Fahnestock Park, this was not a food stop but listed on the queue sheet, at about the ten mile mark. But another bathroom on that loop could be nice addition.

I thought the rest stop food was perfect, one of the rest stops I stopped at did make the sandwiches and others didn’t. Since everyone manning the stops is volunteering, I wouldn’t mind making a sandwich if I needed. In my case I slapped a wad or peanut butter on a Fig Newton. See the other post from a volunteer’s point of view.

Sweets on the other hand hit the spot after a tough ride and are well earned. Something a little more fun then another granola bar. But the lunch hit the spot for me, a terrific wedge and pasta salads, but I’lll bet if there was a cookie there I’d have enjoyed one. Maybe there’s a bake sale opportunity for one of the volunteer groups to raise money. Say if the Dutchess/Putnam REACT group or local fire department had bags of cookies or cakes for sale I’d have been happy to pay a bucks to support those who supported us.

What do you think would make this or other group rides better?

Did anyone experience safety concerns during the Tour de Putnam? That’s always the number one concern.

I also wanted to say the t-shirts are top notch and the fact that we had wide-selection of attractive colors to choose from was a real bonus.

I meet volunteer Bill Sheridan yesterday at my first rest stop as he was cutting watermelon. His rest stop was at a major crossroads of the routes. Here’s his report.

In Putnam Valley, the deer do brunch on Sundays. That’s because all of the residents sleep in late. Much to the chagrin of the deer munching on my Hostas, today I man a rest station at Oscawana Lake Rd and Church Rd. for the tour de Putnam. I always wondered where they get volunteers for these things. Now I know. They ask the Volunteer ambulance/fire departments. I’m from the Putnam Valley Volunteer ambulance corps. If you want a volunteer, you ask a volunteer. –not magic. At 8 am., and the only thing occupying our corner was a portable john. About 15 minutes later we had a truck pull up with a table strapped to the roof, two bags of food, a couple of watermelon, and a few jugs of water. Were now open for business!

We barely set up when our first rider showed up, he started the race at 7:30. No doubt there are skinny deer where he lives. At our station, we had bananas, a PB&J setup, granola fruit bars, watermelon, a water cooler jug for tang, and one for water. He helped himself, because we were still bewildered at the burger flipper in the bag. We found out later, it was for us to stir the tang with. As the race progressed, I was luring riders to our stand by offering Vodka-tonics. It was the oldest trick in the book, bait and switch. (as a volunteer, you need a sense of humor) Everyone was nice, even the guy who brought his own lunch of sardines and garlic cloves. By 9 o’clock we were in full swing. We were chopping up the watermelon slices, and they were disappearing. It was interesting to see people smearing peanut butter on the bananas. Elvis would’ve been proud.

At around 10:30 I found myself shying away from the table. The first to clear out was the granola/fruit bars. The bananas were next, the water and tang were getting low too. We radioed in for more supplies. When someone is busy, you tend to lose track of time. About three hours later, a nervous quiet started to slip into our crew, while waiting for the supply truck. They even took our race directions! First to go was the blue, then they swiped our red directions too. We were watching the last acceptable pieces of watermelon vanish when the supply truck pulled up. Wahoo! He didn’t have enough to replenish what we lost, but we received water, a couple of boxes of granola bars, and a watermelon. He was hesitant to give up the watermelon. Because of that, I asked him how it was going. It turned out that two hundred people preregistered, and another 500 registered at the beginning of the race. He was clearly stressed.

We took what he could give us, and he was off. At the table, we heard that one person needed a bicycle pump. I had a cigarette lighter compressor in my car, but the valve was different. Down the road from us someone needed a spoke fixed. Another rider slid out, and joined the club of road rash victims. Most of the requests we had was to flatten the hills. Sorry guys, cant help there. By noon, the supply side and the demand balanced out. We finished our day with a jug of wartered down tang, and pleanty of PB&J. It was a fun day.

See ya next year!
-Bill S.

Bill – thanks for being part of a succesful event, all the riders thank you and look forward to seeing you next year.

The Tour de Putnam held it’s 11th successful year. As I pulled into Veterans memorial Park there was a sea of cars with people reading their bikes. Many had already headed out down Gipsy Lane and onto Rt 301 by my 8:10 arrival. Here Yorktown cycling riders get ready t o head off.

The registration area was packed with day of arrivals, about 400 pre-registered while more than 200 others showed up to ride due to the near perfect weather. The added riders put a little stress on the organizers as they an out of t-shirts and under planned for the free lunch for all riders at the end of the day. The t-shirts will be ordered and mailed to all riders in the next few weeks.

As I pumped up my tires and pulled road food from my car I realized I had forgotten my two water bottles in the fridge. Luckly the route passed near my home and my wife, Julie meet me at the first rest stop. I set off for my 75 mile ride at 8:30 and enjoyed meeting many people heading out rt 301. The roads were well marked and made safe by volunteers from a number of local organizations.

Here’s 23-year old David Morgante of now of Stormville making the long climb up 301. He sent me an email after seeing his photo. He rode the Tour de Putnam 7 or 8 years ago after graduating high School. He then joined the marines and attened college. Welcome back David.

Part of the fun of rides like this is finding unknown roads that will become favorite training rides. While Dennytown is wonderful as it passes through Fahnestock Park, especially doing the descent as we did today, I really enjoyed the gentle climb on East Boyd Road onto Nimham Road. East Boyd was super rough and called for using the big ring to steady the chain and keep power in the peddles, much like the pros do when riding on the cobbles of Belgium.

Living in the Southwest corner of Putnam I’ve not ventured East past Carmel on my rides, but the route took us east to Patterson and Brewster showing me beautiful and flatter roads.

This comment from Paul Frank, “just finished my first 35.2 mile ride in 2 hours 57 minutes…this was a great test for a novice rider…the last hill on Peekskill Hollow Rd was a true test…great day for me and met some really nice people during lunch…I’m hooked… ”

The breakdown for the ride had over 100 riders planning on doing the century, that’s a great number.

The breaks came at the right points and had a terrific selection of food to fuel the riders. Bananas, watermelon, and Fig Newtons all hit the spot. These were all manned by volunteers who must be thanked. One comment from Ben Kaufman, ” I enjoyed the 50 (actually 46.5 according to my odo) mile ride. I found all of the volunteers to be very friendly and enthusiastic to help. I was disappointed that the energy drink was Tang rather than a “sport drink” such as Gatorade because the later also has vital electrolytes. The road turn signs were lacking or very hard to spot at a few points. This is my first participation in an organized ride so I can’t compare it to others but I would do it again.”

One group I met on the road and later at a rest stop was five riders who hail from Ecuador and now call Brewster their home. From left is Jorge Venega, Carlos Venegas, Rolando Torres, Christian Venegas, and Jonh Alvarez. They stood out in their matching liquigas team kits as they rode the 75 mile loop.

Photography from a moving bike of other riders is a little tricky. If you recognize yourself tap me a comment and I’ll gladly ad your name. Here’s more photos on LoHud.com

Overall this was a terrific day, my 75 mile ride came out at just under 72 miles on my bike computer with an average of just over 16. Not bad for covering most of the distance solo. Which was one surprise on my first large group ride. That with hundreds of people, many of the people rode alone.

The coffee is brewing and breakfast is nearly ready as many others are doing the same for the start of the Tour de Putnam. This is a ride, not a race, it is about seeing the sites, meeting other members of the cycling community, and enjoying the safety of a large organized ride. But I’d guess some will put the peddle down a little harder on this ride just the same, it’s hard not being competitive during an athletic event.

The weather looks about perfect for the day. Lows in the 80’s and humidity is to drop through the morning into the mid-50’s.

If you’re driving today past riders today – throw a hand up and give a wave. It’s a day to celebrate cycling and the best way I know how is in the saddle.