Another good run is to start from Englewood, running direct to Hackensack—that is, as direct as the road will permit. The road-bed is good all the way. On reaching Hackensack, run southward through the town; then turn westward, and run out through Dundee to Paterson. From Paterson the road is in more or less good condition out towards Tuxedo, running through Ridgewood Junction, Ridgewood, Hohokus, Allendale, Ramseys, to Sufferns. Proceeding thence towards Tuxedo, or turning eastward and running through Tallmans, Monsey, Spring Valley, Nanuet, Clarksville, and West Nyack, to Nyack. Still another run is from Englewood to Hackensack, and thence northward to Sufferns, through Arcola, Paramus, turning to the left at Ridgewood, and running on through Hohokus.
Any of these roads can be picked out easily from the map, and you are pretty sure to find that in the main those roads marked in heavy black are good bicycle roads. The hotel accommodations are none of the best in any part of this country, with a few exceptions. In the summer-time the Prospect House in Nyack is probably the best hotel within a radius of many miles, but it is closed in the fall and winter. Reasonably good accommodations can be had at Hackensack and Paterson, but the smaller towns usually have but one hotel, which is apt to be of the road-house type, and one must make up his mind, if he finds it necessary to stop over night anywhere, to take what comes in an optimistic spirit. The hills of the country are in some cases rather steep. Close to the Hudson, after one has once got on top of the Palisades, there are not many which cannot be ridden. The road running from Hackensack up the Hackensack River valley, through Overtown, Westwood, Montvale, Middletown to Nanuet does not run over many hills, but further back from the river, north of Paterson, the wheelman is likely to find more irregularities in the surface of the country.
Note.—Map of New York city asphalted streets in No. 809. Map of route from New York to Tarrytown in No. 810. New York to Stamford, Connecticut, in No. 811. New York to Staten Island in No. 812. New Jersey from Hoboken to Pine Brook in No. 813. Brooklyn in No. 814. Brooklyn to Babylon in No. 815. Brooklyn to Northport in No. 816. Tarrytown to Poughkeepsie in No. 817. Poughkeepsie to Hudson in No. 818. Hudson to Albany in No. 819. Tottenville to Trenton in No. 820. Trenton to Philadelphia in No. 821. Philadelphia in No. 822. Philadelphia-Wissahickon Route in No. 823. Philadelphia to West Chester in No. 824. Philadelphia to Atlantic City—First Stage in No. 825; Second Stage in No. 826. Philadelphia to Vineland—First Stage in No. 827; Second Stage in No. 828. New York to Boston—Second Stage in No. 829; Third Stage in No. 830; Fourth Stage in No. 831; Fifth Stage in No. 832; Sixth Stage in No. 833. Boston to Concord in No. 834. Boston in No. 835. Boston to Gloucester in No. 836. Boston to Newburyport in No. 837. Boston to New Bedford in No. 838. Boston to South Framingham in No. 839. Boston to Nahant in No. 840. Boston to Lowell in No. 841. Boston to Nantasket Beach in No. 842. Boston Circuit Ride in No. 843. Philadelphia to Washington—First Stage in No. 844; Second Stage in No. 845; Third Stage in No. 846; Fourth Stage in No. 847; Fifth Stage in No. 848. City of Washington in No. 849. City of Albany in No. 854. Albany to Fonda in No. 855; Fonda to Utica in No. 856; Utica to Syracuse in No. 857; Syracuse to Lyons in No. 858; Lyons to Rochester in No. 859; Rochester to Batavia in No. 860; Batavia to Buffalo in No. 861; Poughkeepsie to Newtown in No. 864; Newtown to Hartford in No. 865; New Haven to Hartford in No. 866; Hartford to Springfield in No. 867; Hartford to Canaan in No. 868; Canaan to Pittsfield in No. 869; Hudson to Pittsfield in No. 870. City of Chicago in No. 874. Waukesha to Oconomowoc in No. 875; Chicago to Wheeling in No. 876; Wheeling to Lippencott's in No. 877; Lippencott's to Waukesha in No. 878; Waukesha to Milwaukee in No. 879; Chicago to Joliet in No. 881; Joliet to Ottawa in No. 882; Ottawa to La Salle in No. 883: Jersey City to Englewood in No. 890.
This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.
Belgium has just issued a new series of stamps in commemoration of the exhibition to be held in Brussels next year. These stamps can be used throughout the kingdom, and no limit as to time for such use has been made. Consequently the S.S.S.S. will probably not put them on the list of stamps not worthy of collection.
The stamps are about twice the size of the current issue of Belgium, and all have the sabbatical label attached. The design is St. Michael and the Dragon, with the Brussels City Hall and Palace of Justice in the background. The 10 centimes is a rich brown, the 5 centimes a violet, and the 25 centimes, for postal packets, black and green. The design is very handsome, and the stamps make a good appearance.