718 Outdoors Micro-Tours are diverse, inclusive and welcoming to riders and campers of all experience levels. Don't let these images fool you, each trip has a good percentage of beginners.
2025 Micro-Tour 3 was a self-supported 1 night bikepacking trip from New York City to Mountain Lakes Park in North Salem, NY, covering 58 miles each way.
Check out the cameras I brought in our Micro-Tour 3 Camera Report
Bikepacking Micro-Tour 3 Ride Video
Ride Description
The big story for Micro-Tour 3 was the rain and the cold. It rained most of Saturday (Day 1 of trip) with wind and temperatures that never rose above 37 degrees.
This bikepacking trip left at 7am from lower Manhattan in about 37 degree weather with rain. The temperature never rose at all all day
We headed north on the Empire State Trail (known locally as the South County and North County Trailway), through Elmsford, over the Croton Reservoir and through Golden's Bridge. For bikepacking out of New York City, this is a great, safe route north.
There was no doubt that this was a tough day of bikepacking. Of the 28 initial sign-ups, 12 made it to camp, with only 7 electing to ride home the next day. The great part about these bikepacking trips is that there is always an "escape route" in case one needs to step off.
Heading north, the weather really didn't let up! This was a cold, wet and windy bikepacking trip
We arrived at camp about an hour slower than what I would consider a "normal pace". Our rest stops were short due to our small group size, so I attribute this to our group speed being a full 2 mph slower than normal due to rain and headwinds.
Everyone on this group used the promise of a warm campfire to keep them going...I know I did!
Once we arrived at camp, the rain finally let up. The temperatures remained consistent throughout the evening and overnight at 37 degrees.
As promised, we made a huge campfire where most folks were able to cook, stay warm, and dry out their wet gear.
On Sunday morning, we got the group rolling at around 8:30am. The temperature climbed to around 40 degrees by 9am, and was at 50 degrees by noon. There was even some sun...this was a great reward for making the ride back home!
In conclusion, a tough bikepacking trip full of Type 2 Fun...full of memories that will last for many years, and bonds of friendship that will hopefully last as long
Image Gallery
Click image for gallery
Ride Data
Maps
The data the primarily concerns me on a bikepacking trip is my average moving speed, and our overall ride time (including stops).
Weather
I have been using the Epic Ride Weather App for awhile now...its great as it gives you weather as you are traversing along a route
About The Author
Joe Nocella
Joe Nocella is the Owner of 718 Outdoors, and has taken many hundreds of people on over 150 bikepacking trips since 2014
Joe's Essential Gear
This is a collection of things that I wouldn't be caught without on any of our bikepacking trips. I have led over 150 group bikepacking trips, and have developed an affinity for things that just work.
The list may grow or shrink, but will always contain items that have been tested on many, many bikepacking trips. Every one of these items is packed in my bags on every bikepacking trip I go on.
