Palisades is where the river's western cliffs begin: a long wall of dark basalt rising some hundred metres above the Hudson, running north from the George Washington Bridge into Rockland County. The nearest fuel is in Yonkers across the river or in the towns of Bergen County, so fill the tank before you go.
The cliffs have a history of protection. In the late nineteenth century, quarrymen were blasting the rock for building stone and paving, and the damage so alarmed local women and conservationists that the Palisades Interstate Park was created in 1900 to stop it. Today the park includes more than thirty miles of shoreline, with hiking trails and old carriage roads. The Palisades Interstate Parkway, which runs along the top, was built in the mid-twentieth century and remains one of the most beautiful roads near the city, curving through hardwood forest with stone-faced walls and bridges.
For a rider, the parkway is a treat, with long, gentle curves, smooth tarmac and no trucks, though police enforce the fifty-mile-an-hour limit rigorously. In the early morning, with mist in the trees and few cars, it feels private. Alpine Lookout, a short stop on the way, offers a wide view over the river toward the Hudson Highlands. Birds of prey migrate along the cliff in autumn, and the hardwoods turn bright in October.
Weekends bring crowds of cyclists and families, so choose a weekday if possible. In winter, the road may be icy in shaded places, and salt and sand make it slippery. The day's route, north to the Hudson Highlands and the Catskills, follows the river through some of the loveliest country in the Northeast. Starting here, you leave the city's edge and follow the Hudson upriver, past Piermont and Nyack, and the countryside widens with every mile.