This Department is conducted in the interest of Bicyclers, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on the subject. Our maps and tours contain many valuable data kindly supplied from the official maps and road-books of the League of American Wheelmen. Recognizing the value of the work being done by the L.A.W., the Editor will be pleased to furnish subscribers with membership blanks and information so far as possible.
Copyright, 1896, by Harper & Brothers.
The third stage on the general route from New York to Newburgh by the west bank of the Hudson is given in the map accompanying the Department this week. We spoke last week of the road running from Hackensack or Paterson to Sufferns. This road is perhaps the best route for Newburgh, as it runs through beautiful country, and, on the whole, the roads are the best.
On leaving Sufferns a short run brings the rider to Ramapo, thence a mile or more brings him into Sterlington, and following the railroad he can run direct to Tuxedo Park. The road is very attractive about there, and the road-bed good. From Tuxedo Park continue on to Southfield, keeping to the right here, and following the railroad track to Arden, there crossing the railroad, and running on to Central Valley, Highland Mills, Woodbury Falls, and so on. This is the direct route for Newburgh. A good run, however, is to turn westward at Southfield, leaving the railroad and running to Monroe, and thence through Oxford to Washingtonville, returning thence to Blooming Grove and Chester, through Dutch Hollow to Greenwood Lake, and down the west shore of the lake, turning eastward at this southern end, and running up to Sterlington and Ramapo again through Kingwood and Eagle Valley.
The roads from Tuxedo Park to Greenwood Iron-Works and Central Valley, westward, on the Hudson are not good riding, as there are many hills, and the road-bed is not well cared for. The wheelman is advised, therefore, if he is taking a series of runs through this country, to keep either to the bank of the Hudson, or to the country back from the river. The best way to get from Sufferns (supposing the wheelman to be there) to the Hudson is to run southward through Tallmans, Clarksville, and West Nyack to Nyack, then turning northward, through Upper Nyack, New City, Haverstraw, Dunderberg, to Fort Montgomery, which appears on the accompanying map. This road runs along close by the bank of the Hudson, and most of the time in sight of the river. It is an attractive road, but the road-bed is not in as good condition as the turnpikes in and around Greenwood Lake. At Nyack there is a good stretch of road close by the bank of the river running southward for several miles, which is in capital condition, and is one of the picturesque stretches in this part of the country. No one who rides up this side of the Hudson should fail to take this short run at some time during his trip.