Biking - A long very windy river ride

Holly's bike group was doing one of my favorite rides today, to Karen's Produce and Ice Cream on NY5S near Fort Hunter, using the Erie Canalway Trail. They were starting east of Amsterdam, resulting in a fairly short (for me) ride, so I decided to meet them there at their starting time by starting earlier from Schenectady County Community College in Schenectady. It was supposed to be a day with strong gusty westerly winds, but the worst wasn't due in until afternoon, promising a sweet return trip. Unfortunately, the winds were strong enough even at 8-9 am that it was a pretty tough 14 miles getting westbound to Amsterdam. Then, just to make things more interesting, I had a flat rear tire. After a quick change, I caught up with the group in Fort Hunter, and we continued on to Karen's for a light lunch.

On the way back, we met a couple on a loaded recumbent having lunch at La Cucina in Amsterdam. They were doing the Canalway Trail westbound, and we chatted for a while. Leaving the group to head home, I met another family of four east of Amsterdam doing that same trip, also fully loaded. They were looking for some local info, which I provided, and then I continued east, often hitting 20 mph or better with the tailwind. All told, I did 48.25 miles, my second longest ride of the year, and probably my last ride locally before I leave for Oregon on Friday.