New York, NY: The Gimbels Ride

Dist: 35.90 mi	Points: 469	Calories: none
Time: none	Speed: 0.0 mph	Pace: 0:00 / mi

Distance	Instruction		Distance to next
0.00 mi	Start	In front of Macy's at the Cross County Shopping Center	Then go 0.04 mi
0.04 mi	Turn Left	West Dr.	Then go 0.12 mi
0.16 mi	Turn Right	Make two right turns onto Central Park Ave.	Then go 8.60 mi
8.77 mi	Turn Left	Aquaduct Rd.	Then go 0.32 mi
9.08 mi	Straight	At traffic circle continue straight on Old Kensico Rd.	Then go 1.09 mi
10.17 mi	Turn Right	Edge Park Ave.	Then go 0.14 mi
10.32 mi	Turn Right	Fisher Ln.	Then go 0.31 mi
10.63 mi	Turn Left	NY 22/N. Broadway	Then go 0.22 mi
10.85 mi	Bear Left	NY 22	Then go 0.59 mi
11.44 mi	Bear Right	NY 22	Then go 3.81 mi
15.25 mi	Bear Left	Continue on NY 22	Then go 0.32 mi
15.57 mi	Bear Right	Continue on NY 22	Then go 2.20 mi
17.77 mi	Turn Right	CT 433/N. Greenwich Rd.	Then go 0.73 mi
18.51 mi	Turn Right	Bedford Rd.	Then go 1.85 mi
20.36 mi	Turn Right	Locust Rd.	Then go 0.82 mi
21.18 mi	Turn Right	Gateway Ln.	Then go 0.07 mi
21.25 mi	Turn Left	NY 120/Purchase St.	Then go 1.36 mi
22.61 mi	Turn Left	NY 120/Purchase St.	Then go 3.82 mi
26.43 mi	Turn Right	Cross over I-287	Then go 0.10 mi
26.52 mi	Turn Left	Westchester Ave.	Then go 0.42 mi
26.94 mi	Turn Right	NY 120/Purchase St.	Then go 0.91 mi
27.86 mi	Straight	Highland Rd.	Then go 0.70 mi
28.56 mi	Turn Left	Highland Rd.	Then go 0.19 mi
28.75 mi	Turn Right	NY 120/Purchase St.	Then go 0.10 mi
28.85 mi	Turn Right	Theodore Fremd Ave.	Then go 0.62 mi
29.48 mi	Turn Left	Hammond Rd.	Then go 0.15 mi
29.63 mi	Turn Left	North St.	Then go 0.22 mi
29.86 mi	Straight	Old Post Rd.	Then go 0.34 mi
30.19 mi	Straight	US 1/Boston Post Rd.

Cross County Start

Location: 40.928267°, -73.854690°
The Gimbels Ride rolls out at 9:20 on the money on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (July 4th, Thanksgiving, etc.). The group meets right in front of Macy's (formerly Gimbels department store). Looking to fuel up before the ride? Hit up the Zaro's in the northwest corner of the parking lot.

Traffic on Central Park Avenue

Location: 40.947670°, -73.848875°
Keep a heads up for traffic entering the road the whole way along Central Park Avenue. Keep an ear out for riders calling out cars and traffic lights. Casual conversation is commonplace on the warm-up; it's all-too-easy to have an attention lapse.

Prepare to stop

Location: 41.054809°, -73.775125°
Be prepared to stop as you turn right on Fisher Dr. before the route crosses the Bronx River Parkway. The light is usually red here.

The warm-up warms up

Location: 41.065197°, -73.765812°
The warm-up pace ticks up a notch on the first climb on NY 22.

NY 22

Location: 41.081017°, -73.758581°
The Gimbels group takes up the right lane on NY 22: do your best not to wander into the left--car traffic passes the group fast on this road. Cyclists may get the right lane, but there are plenty of potholes on this stretch, so pay attention.

Short Ride Turn-off

Location: 41.105582°, -73.729527°
The shortest Gimbels option turns off the to right here on King St/NY 120. The locals know it as Ameri"Can" Hill. This packregroups at the top of this climb and rejoins the regular ride route on Airport Road.

Long ride turn-off

Location: 41.110011°, -73.731308°
Cyclists looking for a longer challenge in the hills turn off here on NY 120. This hilly extension loop takes 120 to NY 117 N, to NY 172 E, to 22 S before joining back up with the regular route on Greenwich Rd./CT 433.

The pace begins

Location: 41.112178°, -73.727961°
Once the long ride splits off, the pace officially amps up as the regular ride continues on Rt. 22. Potholes continue to be a frequent occurrence along this stretch of road: do your best to hold your line.

Bedford Road

Location: 41.114247°, -73.696160°
This is one of the more scenic stretches of the ride, though you probably won't notice it unless you tackle this stretch on your own. Bedford Road winds in, out, up, and down through beautiful real estate. At times it feels like the group has this road all to itself, but stay out of the left lane: there are plenty of blind turns on this road.

Pickett Fence

Location: 41.094069°, -73.704400°
The Pickett Fence climb is the first "selection" point on the regular Gimbels route. Expect a group of riders to hit this steep climb hard to generate a gap. The pace generally slows from low thirties to mid-teens on the climb. If you're in the middle of the pack, expect an accordion-like re-organization.

Turning onto 120/Airport Road

Location: 41.085433°, -73.715730°
This is arguably the stupidest and most dangerous spot on Gimbels. At this point, the ride turns blind onto Airport Road: the first few riders will call out "clear" or "car," but it's always advisable to be ready to stop here, and completely inadvisable to run the traffic light at this intersection--even if you are in a breakaway.

Traffic light

Location: 41.036765°, -73.713970°
This light often turns yellow as the group is approaching at 30 mph. Wisely, the group tends to call out and stop at this light.

The intermediary sprint

Location: 41.014756°, -73.704422°
Hold on tight as the pace amps up for a mid-ride sprint before NY 120 crosses over I-287. Again, some riders in the group look at this stretch as wide-open tarmac, but it's always a good idea to expect cars in the opposite lane and stay in your own.

Descent-Ascent

Location: 41.008144°, -73.698649°
The ride slingshots its pace from the descent on Westchester Ave. onto the ascent up Purchase St.

A tricky underpass

Location: 40.986410°, -73.684037°
Another needlessly dangerous spot on the Gimbels route, many cyclists take this traffic light turn at crit-like speed around stopped traffic and into moving traffic. Use caution here and right around the corner at the turn onto Theodore Fremd Ave.

The Poggio

Location: 40.982458°, -73.687792°
A short climb, the Poggio is another spot where select groups of cyclists will push the pace and try to splinter the group.

Ears open

Location: 40.976448°, -73.692684°
It's not often the oncoming traffic halts the ride here, but keep an ear out for "Car up!" all the same.

Look up for the lead-out

Location: 40.958544°, -73.705044°
Expect the pace to amp up and the group to stretch out as the final sprint approaches. It's tempting to veer left to get to the head of the pack, but this is not the safest place to do so.

The Final Sprint

Location: 40.955271°, -73.714190°
The ride climaxes at the Mamaroneck/Rye town line. Even if you're out of it, keep pedaling through the sprint: you never know who's going hard behind you. From here the pace cools down all the way into New Rochelle. Cyclists returning to points in northern Westchester usually turn-off further up the road on NY 127.

The Bagel Zone

Location: 40.914826°, -73.772271°
After cooling down and catching up along the Boston Post Road, many in the group stop to refuel at the Bagel Zone. After grabbing a bagel and a cup of coffee, cyclists regroup at a small park across the street to rehash the ride before heading home.