DRINKING IN THE SIGHTS

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE SOMERS RECORD (03-09-23)- Please remember small business in your town during this coronavirus pandemic

 

     On President's Day we were treated to rare, upper-50-degree weather, perfect for a bicycle journey on the upper Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. The nice thing about a bike ride in the middle of winter is that with all the leaves off the trees, you can see for miles. And it's a very pretty trail, overlooking the Croton River gorge and with occasional Hudson views in the distance. It's a ride through history, and if you ride fast enough, you'll catch right up to the present.

     Underneath you, the old underground conduit carried water 41 miles into Manhattan from its completion in 1842 until 1955, when it was supplanted by the New Croton Aqueduct and the Delaware Aqueduct. It had the immediate impact of curbing disease and helping transform New York City into a modern metropolis.

     Since Croton falls, engineers quickly realized the gravity of the situation, and things went downhill from there. Which translated, means that the lower elevation of Manhattan compared to Croton meant that the water could flow naturally with no means of propulsion. It took the water 22 hours to make the journey, so you might want to bring a crossword puzzle with you when you fill up your bathtub.

     A giant collection reservoir stood at 42nd Street and 5th Avenue to receive the precious drops. It was torn down in the 1890s, but if you are thirsty for knowledge instead, it is currently the site of the New York Public Library. I can almost imagine what drinking water that came from a reservoir in midtown Manhattan would be like today. I picture turning on the tap, and a few pieces of gently used chewing gum, some pizza crusts and a hub cap come out. If you add some single-malt scotch you'll hardly notice the difference.

     As you ride down the trail you'll notice periodically a round, smokestack-type structure made of granite bricks. These were ventilators, used to keep air flowing throughout the system. Some had entrances to the underground waterway, in case engineers needed to get a closer look at the air. There is other evidence of the old system, such as gate houses, weirs (for diverting the flow for maintenance) and a keeper's house in Dobbs Ferry. 

     We rode the upper portion of the trail on our e-bikes, and before you carry on about what a poor physical specimen I am for riding on a power-assisted two-wheeler, let me assure you that I am in shape. Let's not forget that there are a lot of different shapes out there, and I'm sure there is one for me that is geometrically viable. Yes, I might be over-represented in the rhombus area, but I defend the use of e-bikes for people like me who weep uncontrollably at the sight of long hills. I recommend a model like ours, which can be used as a regular bicycle, with a motor to help you pedal if you need it, a little or a lot. It will open up your horizons. Along the trail you may run into dog strollers, roller-bladers and exercise walkers, and if you do, next time watch where you're going.

     The trail took us to the top of the Croton Dam, where you can ride across and take in the picturesque reservoir on one side, and overlook the park on the other. If the weather is nice you can bring a picnic and spend the whole dam day there.

     It brought me back to my high school years, when my friends and I would ride our dirt bikes on the old railroad bed (now the North County Trailway) from Millwood up to the Yorktown railroad bridge trestle. That was if I could get that little workhorse working. I was so proud of taking the transmission apart once to fix it, and I would have been prouder still if I had been able to put it back together. Once I had it all in one piece, I realized there were supposed to be many more pieces than just one. You know when people say, "I found an extra gear?" Well, I found two of them on the floor after I was done assembling my crankcase.

     I guess I shouldn't have been riding around where I probably wasn't supposed to be, and definitely not on the slowest motorcycle. If you're being chased by the police, the same rule applies as if you were being chased by a lion. You don't have to be faster than the lion, you just have to be faster than the guy who's with you. I picture the police catching up to me, and I say, "I guess you're going to give me a ticket for riding on private property." And he says, "No, littering- these three gears dropped out of the bottom of your transmission."