The day before I travel, I usually like to clear my head by getting on the road bike and logging around 40-60 miles. It’s a big chunk of time to set aside but in the end, it’s worth it. Prior to heading to Vegas for Interbike, I took the morning and afternoon off and rode to Piermont. This time I left my Canon G10 at home and took my Olympus Stylus 35mm camera. Armed with my bike and $0.99 store film, I headed out of the concrete jungle and into the woods.

Check out nine more photos below.

Get around the city anyway you can. Just don’t be this guy.

My route is fairly easy. I head to the 59th street bridge, through Central Park, up through Harlem and to the George Washington bridge.

From here, the city looks a lot more green than it does downtown.

From the GW bridge, I head into the Palisades. Also known as River Road, the Palisades takes you up and down a series of hills and you can even get to water level.

But if you chose to head there, you’ve got a big climb back up to 9W.

Riding through the woods, miles outside the city is exhilarating.

Then you come to Alpine climb. A gnarly s-bend climb from the water all the way back up to the streets. It’s really steep and almost as fun to go down as it is to climb up.

Here’s where I take a break. Usually around 4:20, a few hours before the GW Bridge closes to pedestrian traffic.

From there, it’s time to ride home. The sky was so foreboding that day, looking like it was going to pour at any moment. As the sun sat, I became anxious knowing that I had to be in Vegas the next morning. We all saw how the trip turned out so I think this ride was the best thing for me that day…