The Ride
Today’s coffee ride would be relatively short as we’d stay in Westchester County. Plugging in the address for Don Carvajal in Irvington, NY, to the Beeline Moto showed just 20.9 miles as the crow flies. I was aboard the BMW S1000R for today’s ride. While that bike is usually happy running at high speeds through twisty roads, it’d been a while since I’d ridden it last, so it was the bike I pulled out of the garage.
Departing Cross River, I headed west along 35 and south on 100. 100 just north of Millwood is a very rough road surface. It’s probably better for an adventure bike but is a pleasant road with gentle curves. If it were repaved, I’d highly suggest it as a good cruiser road, as the gentle curves encourage you to relax. On a stiffly sprung sports bike, it is not an ideal route.
Route 100 joins with 9A in a separate highway section parallel to the Taconic State Parkway, so I was keen to get off that road onto some more backroads. I took the exit for Route 117 and headed west just briefly.
Then onto 448, heading south. This passes the old Rockefeller estate lands of Pocantico Hills. I passed the Stone Barns Center, part of the original estate. Beyond it is the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. Route 448 continues through the hamlet of Pocantico Hills as the road leads to the Tarrytown reservoir. I head west along the reservoir and make a turn near the old Marymount College campus. Tarrytown’s hilly topography doesn’t allow me to follow the compass directly, so I use zigs and zags to navigate the Hitachi America campus.
I passed by Carollcliffe, sometimes called a castle due to the crenelated towers. Initially built in 1897, it sits atop the highest point in Westchester County. In recent years, it served as a hotel, spa, and event space. I attended a wedding for my parents’ friends there, but sadly, it closed last November & its future is uncertain.
I eventually found my way to Route 9 and headed south, passing the entrance for Lyndhurst and then Washington Irving’s Sunnyside. A turn onto Main Street led me to angled parking in front of Don Carvajal, with a great view of the Hudson River as I arrived.
On the other side of the Hudson, you could make out the Piermont Pier, which sticks out pretty far into the Hudson.
As I pulled into a parking spot in Irvington, Rever indicated I had ridden about 29.5 miles, so it was a relatively quick ride. I didn’t find the most exciting roads to get there, but it had some incredible scenery and passing of history. See the route below.
