Jersey Fall Foliage Ride (about 40 miles)

I had hoped to time my trip to New York such that I would catch the trees in full autumn bloom. But as we've learned in the past, for instance like when I tried to time my trip to Japan to hit the cherry blossom explosion, mother nature likes to fart in my general direction. So, predictably, the fall foliage was late this year due to unseasonably warm weather well into October. However, after consulting the local area foliage report, we figured we might catch the edge of the autumn wave by riding north into New Jersey. And in fact we were victorious, and saw many leaves of red, yellow, orange, etc. Take that, Nature!

To get to New Jersey we followed the Hudson River Greenway up to the GW Bridge, which connects Manhattan with New Jersey. Even from half way across the bridge, we could start to see small patches of fall color on the Jersey side.. vibrant reds and yellows instead of the muted browns we had seen up to that point.



Once across the bridge we headed northwest along the 9W highway, where I experimented with some action! shots-- basically trying to take some photos while riding. After several miles we turned back towards the river and followed the wonderfully scenic Henry Hudson Drive back towards the bridge.

Once we returned to the city we did a quick loop around Central Park. J said that this was a rite of passage for cyclists in NYC, and who am I to argue the point?

Animules: only the domesticated kind
Total Distance: 39 miles
Elevation Gain: 3600 feet
Route (on bikely.com): Jersey Fall Foliage with Park Loop