I’m having trouble finding a good place to test my FTP around Westchester, NY. I can’t find any roads that are flat or uphill for about 20 minutes without a lot of lights. Does anyone know of any good routes?
bear mountain.
bear mountain
THIS.
If you start all the way at the bottom of 9W near Iona Island, it’s 4.5m at mostly 4-6% grade the whole way.
Plenty for 20+ minutes of “FTP testing”.
I always did it coming in past the Bear Mtn Inn, and from that circle to the beginning of the parking lot up top (huge boulder on R is the finish line), it’s 3.85m.
Even though that was “only” 17-20 mins for me, depending on fitness/fatness, I always called it close enough for my purposes.
I don’t know enough of the roads around there, but having done the Westchester tri a bunch of times, and ridden from the home of my sister in Larchmont numerous times, I can’t find a better place for an FTP test than your trainer!!!
I just got a trainer so maybe I should just use that but I feel lazy changing my tire all the time.
Route 100 near where it intersects with Rt 35 might give you a long enough stretch of flat with minimal traffic lights.
I just got a trainer so maybe I should just use that but I feel lazy changing my tire all the time.
Get an extra cheap wheel and an extra tire and a low end cassette…unless of course your powermeter is a powertap in which case disregard what I just wrote.
I do all my TT tests on Rte 100 south of 35. It’s 10min one way between lights and pretty easy visibility - and if you pick a good time, reasonably low traffic - to hook a U-turn at either end giving you 20min with a single quick turn that should not skew power.
Another viable option, though it has more turns, is to go 22 North (from 35), right turn to go up 116 around Titicus Reservoir, right turn on 121 to go into Salem. There is a light at the 138/22 intersection in Golden’s Bridge, but MOST of the time, it’s green.
And, lastly, you can drive up to Harriman and do the Harriman bike course. It’s hilly - and that screaming downhill to hard left turn can be a nightmare - but you can also time it so you miss the big downhill as part of your 20min test.
But for me, Rte 100 has always been the place.
I will give route 100 a try, I’m very close so it should be for a good ride.
A few spots i really like is route 121 starting at 35 and going toward route 6, near I84. It has some good rollers, nothing to steep up OR down and the road is pretty nicely paved, until you get into putnam county. get to route 6 and turn around and hammer back to route 35. no lights at all. not even stop signs
I just got a trainer so maybe I should just use that but I feel lazy changing my tire all the time.
Suggest you buy a cheap wheel and use that.
Re FTP test. I do mine always inside on a trainer.
Why not do loops in Rockland State Park or similar?
I don’t want to cross the bridge.
I’m trying to the only hard part is I’m going to switching an 11 speed soon and I kind of don’t want to waste money on another cassette.