At the Robert H. Treman NY State Park near Ithaca, there's a similar stream that you have to ford to reach the campground. I was there with a buddy on 2 bikes, leading the way across the shallow water. I deliberately slowed down to see if I could cause him to halt and put his feet in the water, but he was too quick for me and went around.
Arghh, you only get to try these kinds of things once.