offManhattan

On Sunday of Labor Day weekend, the Westchester Cycle Club is putting on an all-level bike ride that goes throughout Westchester and ends with a lunch. At least 1,000 riders are anticipated to attend the Golden Apple bike ride, which covers a range of routes—25, 50, 75, 100 and even 125 miles—over the Croton Gorge, through horse country, and stopping atop a dam for the rewarding views. Longer, faster rides leave earlier. The shorter, slower ones will leave later, at times ranging from 7:30am to 9:30am. When you register, you’ll get links to route maps and turn-by-turn cue sheets (or you can just follow the crowd). Food vendors and marshalls will be staged along the route, and bike shops will have booths at the finish, where lunch is provided.

What: Hudson Valley Ribfest

Where: New Paltz, NY

When: August 21-22, 2010; Saturday 11a.m.–10p.m., Sunday 11a.m.-5p.m.

Why: To save trees by licking your fingers instead of using napkins. Now in its sixth year, Hudson Valley Ribfest lets teams duke it out over who is really the grill master. Summer isn’t summer without barbecue and what better way to enjoy it than sampling the best of the best? In between taste testing pizza, skirt steak, shrimp (Saturday) and chicken, ribs, and brisket (Sunday), enjoy live music and the chance to see the NASCAR Show Car up close.

· Make your way to newly opened Brooklyn Farmacy in Carroll Gardens and celebrate what’s in season by ordering a Strawberry Sundae, Strawberry Special, or Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. [gothamist.com]

· The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival at historic Boscobel Mansion has begun with performances of Troilus and Cressida and Taming of the Shrew. [hvshakespeare.org]

· If Eco, Luxury, Volunteering are all keywords that heighten your travel experience—and if you also like free Chipotle and Brooklyn Brewery beers—mark your calendar for the ecotourism film festival event, “Global Sustainability: Central America to Maine,” at Eastern Mountain Sports SoHo on Sunday, July 22. [greenlivingproject.org]

· Bamcinematek’s Cary Grant film series starts this weekend with the Thirty Day Princess, Charade, and North by Northwest. [BAMcinématek]

· Those looking to purchase contemporary pottery or learn the art of crafting clay should head to the Old Can Factory in Brooklyn for the free Meet Your Maker and Your Potter event this Sunday. [ceramicsbrooklyn.com]

· Grill, hula hoop, drink lemonade, and dance about in support of the Adopt-A-Farmbox initiative bringing farm and health education to four local schools this fall. [Potluck BBQthon]

· Sport your Spain or Netherlands (or USA!) jersey, and enjoy the hat tricks and vuvuzeling at the final World Cup game at 2:30pm on Sunday; pick from one of these fun six places in Brooklyn, Queens or Hoboken. [oM]

· Walk through the home of Alice Austen, a female pioneer of photography, at the opening reception of the Alice Austen House Museum this Sunday in Staten Island; it’s worth the trip on the free ferry. [dailycandy.com]

When the piping hot pavement and overcrowded parks replace a love of Manhattan with the annual summer in the city claustrophobia, don’t duck and cover in the Hamptons. Consider Scotland instead.

There is such a place in the Hudson Valley that’s got everything but the bagpipes. Just 40 minutes north of NYC, Castle on the Hudson is that mysterious, medieval-style stone hotel, tucked away in 11 hilltop acres overlooking the Hudson River. You may have seen the clouds tiptoeing over the century-old towers as you crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge into Tarrytown.

You can only learn so much watching The Food Network. Put down the remote control and pick up a whisk at one of these culinary destinations near New York City—from the Culinary Institute of America in the Hudson Valley to a quaint bed and breakfast-hosted food and wine pairing in New Jersey. You may just find your inner Julia Child. Even if your soufflés fall and your cookies crumble, a good time (and a new take-home chef’s hat) is all but guaranteed at one of the following six gastronomical getaways–all accessible without a car, of course.

Less than a two-hour train ride north of Manhattan, Rhinebeck is a quirky slice of New York history with all the trappings of a quaint upstate town. Home to the state’s Sheep and Wool Festival and the big annual Dutchess County Fair, this village in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains packs a pleasant punch, between the natural beauty of the Hudson Valley, non-commercial shopping avenues, time-honored traditions, and “hiya neighbor” local spirit; don’t be too surprised when a stranger invites you to an open house for dinner—and you find yourself wanting to extend the weekend just one more day.

If this were James Cameron’s world, following a dreary winter and a rainy spring day like today, the line for flights to Pandora would be considerably long.

But he’s only got real clout in the film world, so we earthlings must set our sights on the next best thing. The setting in mind, 60 minutes north of Manhattan in the Hudson Valley, is 500 undulating acres of lush land filled with striking pieces of art. Here, you may think you’re high even if you don’t touch the stuff. Storm King Art Center is one of those places you hope will remain unfettered, and this warm Thursday, April 1, the outdoor museum reopens for a monumental season. On June 5, it will celebrate 50 years with two new exhibits—5+5: New Perspectives and an indoor tribute, The View from Here: Storm King at Fifty.

From the first whiff of fresh mountain air at the train station in Rhinecliff to the old white churches long since converted into homes that dapple the road to your hotel, there is an absolute release of stress that comes with a sojourn in the Hudson Valley. The gravel parking lot at the Peekamoose tap room is packed and the smoky tendrils from the outdoor fire pit follow our shuttle as it zooms by. The Catskill Mountains sandwich both sides of Route 28 and you’ve forgotten all about skyscrapers and a steel-blocked horizon.

Light years away from Manhattan, the Emerson Resort & Spa is a long, intriguing stretch of property that includes 26 opulent suites, five duplex loft rooms, a family-friendly lodge, two restaurants, an eco-friendly spa, country store, the world’s largest kaleidoscope, and 40 some odd copies of Emerson: Poems by the Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets.