Difficulty Rating:
2 out of 5
Walter's is a 100 yr. old landmark roadside pagoda between Larchmont and Mamaroneck. They basically sell hot dogs and thick milk shakes. Yeah, you can get curly fries or an ice cream cone or a float, but you're there for the dogs (secret family blend of beef, pork & veal) and shakes (homemade ice cream). You eat at picnic tables outside in the shade - plenty of room for the bikes, and don't worry about locking them up. But try to get there by 11:30; by Noon the line is 30 deep.
The route has lots of turns, but that keeps you mostly off the main roads and through some pretty suburban areas. Oh, and there are hills - nothing you can't handle, but enough to earn your lunch.
Notes: At mile 30.1 you turn onto Robins Rd. Halfway down, the road is blocked off by a white fence, but there's an open gate on the right that you can ride thru and continue on.
At mile 30.6 you make a left onto Hillcrest. But New Rochelle Rd (which you're on at that point) can be busy. If it looks awkward to make that left, instead make a right onto Lockwood Ave just before Hillcrest. Then make an immediate left into the parking lot behind the row of stores. Go straight thru the lot to the next street (Parkway Plaza), turn left, then make a left at the light back onto New Rochelle Rd. Then you can make an easy right turn onto Hillcrest.
At mile 32.4 you make a left onto Prospect Ave. This also can be a difficult left because of traffic, so instead make a right onto Prospect and swing a wide U-turn to line up at the light on Prospect ready to cross Columbus and continue on Prospect.
And finally, if anyone is overwhelmed by either the hills or the hot dogs, you'll pass the Larchmont Metro North station about a mile after lunch; or when you get to Nereid (mile 34.7), people can make a left instead of a right and find the #2 train a couple of blocks up.
cw 9/2018
