Walk - Ushers Road State Forest

Rain overnight lingered through the morning, but it looked like there might be a couple of dry hours early this afternoon, and before the high winds arrived later. So Holly and I got out for a short walk in the Ushers Road State Forest, in nearby Clifton Park. This is a small oasis in the middle of civilization, with about 1.75 miles of total trails, but just enough for our purposes.



The northern part of the loop winds through a pretty forest of very large and old hemlocks and white pines, while the southern half is more open. The extension to the northwest was pretty wet today, but we explored it anyway. Since I'm responsible for the map of this area for the next edition of the ECOS "Ski Tips" cross-country ski areas booklet, I needed to field-check things anyway. We got spritzed a couple of times by brief rain showers, but nothing major. It was nice to go someplace so close by where we'd never been before.

Geocaching - Woods Hollow Nature Preserve

Rain was forecast for later in the day, but this morning, though murky, was dry and fairly warm for November. So Holly and I got out for a walk and some geocaching in the Woods Hollow Nature Preserve, near Ballston Spa. There are 3 geocaches here, a 3-part multi-cache and two others. We had found the multi many years ago, but memories fade as we age, so we added it to today's list again. In all, we needed to zero in on five different locations, and we found them all, a better success rate than on many other recent outings. These were all pretty easy, but provided a nice focus for a walk in the woods on another warm November morning.

Walk - Featherstonhaugh State Forest

Finally got the spelling right after all these years - there's no "e" after the "n".

With the moonlight snowshoeing season fast approaching, and with heavy logging still in progress at Featherstonhaugh, I decided to take a walk and see where things stood with the ski trails there. It was a short walk. Things are basically a mess.



I started at the parking space at the low point on Lake Road, and first headed back toward Tidball Road on the ski trail, but didn't get very far before I gave up. That eastern side of the forest is where the main logging focus has been. So I turned around, crossed the ski bridge back near the car, and headed in the other direction. This part of the forest is very wet when not frozen, but I got past that part OK. But then I lost the trail markers altogether, along with any trace of anything like a trail. Parts had been flagged to get around obstacles, but there was no more of that either. With a light drizzle beginning to fall, I admitted defeat and headed back to the car.

I don't think that the eastern side of Lake Road will be the location for this year's moonlight snowshoeing, though this place definitely looks better with a deep coating of snow. We'll have to use the figure-8 trails on the other side of the road.

Hiking - Taconic Crest Trail

Today was to be another rare sunny November day in the upper 50s, a perfect day for a hike. Today I joined a joint ADK/Taconic Hiking Club trip on the Taconic Crest Trail along the NY/MA/VT border. It's an 8.4-mile ridge walk with a lot of up and down, starting up high at Petersburg Pass on NY-2, with a steep 1400-foot descent at the end to the cars we'd left there earlier.

It was a crystal clear day, and we could easily see the Catskills to the SW and Albany to the west from some of the earlier viewpoints.

Next, we came to the Snow Hole, a local attraction. It's a deep fissure in the rocks that usually contains snow all year. The men, or "little boys" as we were called by the women, all scrambled down into the hole and explored its depths.



After another mile or two, we stopped for lunch on the ridge, knowing that the preferred lunch spot, another viewpoint, was still too far off. We reached it just before the steep 1 mile descent back to the cars below. Vermont lay below us, with distant northwestern Massachusetts off to the far right.



We'd covered the 8+ miles in about 5 hours, not a bad pace for a not-so-young group, especially with all of the continual climbing and descending.

Hiking - Mt. Utsayantha and Mine Kill State Park

Today was expected to be sunny and in the mid-40s, a fine November day. So Holly and I headed off to the western Catskills, near Stamford, NY, and climbed little Mount Utsayantha. Actually, at over 3,200 feet, it's not so little in the overall Catskill scheme of things, but it's an easy 1-mile walk up a dirt road, gaining only about 700 feet from the parking area. The road would even be driveable in good conditions, but after the snow of the past day or two, we wouldn't see any people driving it today.



Near the top, there was a nice view off to the east.



Somebody is apostrophe-challenged. This drives me crazy.



It didn't take long to reach the summit, where the views from the fire tower were outstanding. The white building was once an "observatory", not the astronomical kind, but the kind that tourists would flock to in droves for the views. Stamford, 1,400 feet below us, was once quite a popular resort with many big hotels, and the summit of Utsayantha was a major local tourist attraction, now being lovingly restored. The kiosk on the summit tells the whole story.



To the south, we were trying to figure out what summits we were looking at, since we rarely see the Catskills from this angle.



The walk down took even less time, so we stopped on the way home at Mine Kill State Park. It was just too nice a day to quit that early.

Opening the trail register at the trailhead for the Long Path, we found it had an inhabitant. There was quite a nest in here, and this guy wasn't the least bit shy about posing for pictures.



Leaving the Long Path shortly, we followed the yellow trail, a portion of which in winter is the designated "expert" cross-country ski trail. We agreed that it deserved this rating, with a long twisting downhill ending at the Schoharie Reservoir. The dam in the distance maintains this reservoir as part of New York City's water supply, and also provides flood control for the communities downstream. There's also a pumped-storage power generating facility on the opposite shore.



This is a large park, with plenty of trails to explore. We'll probably be back here someday, but now it was time to head home. Darkness comes early now that daylight savings time has ended.

Walk - Christman Sanctuary

With a couple of rainy days coming up, and not feeling especially inspired to bike, I decided to at least get out for a walk. And the Christman Sanctuary, near Duanesburg, is one of my favorite places. Today, the water was low enough that I was able to cross the stream easily and walk the orange loop on the other side of the stream. This gave me a longer walk, and also some scenery other than just the usual cascades and waterfalls.



Most of the leaves were down, creating colorful patterns on the forest floor.



The last hangers-on were the golden beeches and the bright yellow tamaracks.



There was still plenty of green in the more shaded areas, with the ferns and moss growing beneath the tall hemlocks.



Crossing back over the stream at the end of that loop, I visited the main waterfall at the end of the yellow trail, as well as some other pretty cascades along the way.





From there, it was a short walk back to the car. I hadn't seen another soul in the Preserve on a very bright crisp fall day.

Geocaching and Letterboxing - Ballston Lake Bike Path

After some fall yard work at Holly's house, we got out for a short walk on the Ballston Lake Bike Path. There were two new (2010) geocaches and one letterbox within the first mile from Ballston Lake, and we found them all easily. It was a cool, crisp, but sunny afternoon and a nice time to be out. We saw very few other people, just a couple of dog-walkers, and had the path mostly to ourselves.

Trail Maintenance - Northville-Lake Placid Trail

Twice every year, usually in May and October, Holly and I visit our 3-mile adopted section of the Northville-Lake Placid Trail for some routine maintenance. This is our 17th year doing this, and it's generally in pretty good shape. But there are always drainages to be cleared out, encroaching brush to cut back, and the occasional downed tree to try to remove. I usually lead this as a Schenectady Chapter ADK outing, but this fall we were going to be on our own, until a couple of friends volunteered to help us out.

The four of us spent about 4 hours in a cold rain getting the trail in as good shape as we could under the circumstances. It was wetter than any of us had ever seen it, and the current rain wasn't helping. We did what we could, had a quick chilly lunch in the lean-to at Stephens Pond, and then retired to a Stewart's Shop in Indian Lake for hot liquid refreshments. It was a pretty miserable day, but the company was good, and we met our obligation for this fall.

Biking - Indian Ladder Farms and Lunch

Almost 70 degrees. Sunny. October 28. Wow! Despite feeling kinda biked out for this season, this was not a day to be wasted. So I saddled up and headed for lunch at Indian Ladder Farms, a local orchard near Voorheesville. They have a nice cafe with some interesting menu choices, and I can make a fairly easy 30-mile loop stopping there for lunch. The only problem today was the wind, gusting to near 40 mph.



Fortunately, the wind was mostly from the south, and my route took me to the south at first, then west and then north, before turning east for home. So I got the southbound part done just as the wind was picking up, and had the SW winds on the return trip.

I like to route my loops through French's Hollow if I'm headed that way, since it's a very scenic spot. The Normanskill was running high today after all of the rain over the past few days. The dam here is the outlet of Watervliet Reservoir, best seen along US20, and trains are often seen here crossing the trestle.



Continuing south to Voorheesville, I turned west to my lunch spot, where I had a very good wrap and some fresh apple cider. Leaving the farm, the route turned north toward Altamont, with great views of the colorful Helderberg Escarpment towering above.



By now, I'd worked out some of the kinks of this past lazy week, and was feeling pretty good. So I extended the ride just a bit and finally came in with a little over 35 miles. The wind was now blowing hard, and every which way, so it was a good time to be finished. But we may not see another day like this for quite a while, and I was glad I took advantage of it.

Trail Maintenance - Featherstonehaugh State Forest

The Environmental Clearinghouse of Schenectady (ECOS) has a stewardship arrangement with NYSDEC to maintain the cross-country ski trails at Featherstonehaugh State Forest, near Mariaville. Every fall, we go in and cut back brush, blowdown, and undergrowth to get the trails ready for the winter ski season. Today, we had a group of 12-15 people and left the western figure-8 loops in pretty good shape.



The main ski loop, on the other side of the road, is in an area that's currently being heavily logged, and that whole section is quite a mess. It may or may not be skiable this winter.

Biking - A Long Flat River Loop

Today was one more nice day before the rain and cold arrives. I wanted to bike, but needed a reason, and not just another loop to nowhere. I decided to hook up with Holly's biking group, the SOBs (Seniors on Bicycles), which was doing an 18-mile ride on the Erie Canalway Trail between Amsterdam and Auriesville. I would extend that ride by biking from Schenectady to Amsterdam, meeting them at their starting point, and riding back to Schenectady afterwards, making my ride about 50 miles.

The temperature was about 35F when I left Schenectady, and there was no wind whatsoever, making for great riding conditions, with the right layers of course. I attached one rear pannier with an extra layer, and also to use later once I started shedding layers as the temperature approached 60F. I reached Amsterdam in a little over an hour, and the group headed on to a rest stop at Schoharie Crossing. The river was like glass, reflecting the remains of the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct, which once carried the Erie Canal across Schoharie Creek.



A little farther along, Bob and I rode up a short steep hill to the Auriesville Shrine, while the rest of the group turned around and headed directly back to Amsterdam. The parking lot at the shrine provides a great view up the Mohawk River valley.



Leaving the shrine, we stopped at Karen's Produce, where I picked out a pumpkin to stuff in my pannier and take home. On the way back to Amsterdam, we stopped at the dam across from Lock 11 for another photo opportunity.



We caught up with the rest of the group shortly after they'd reached the cars, and then I headed back toward Schenectady. I crossed the NY-30 bridge to cycle on NY-5, making this a loop ride. Shortly after I got going eastward on 5, an annoying easterly headwind appeared, making the last 10 miles a little tougher than I was expecting. Fortunately, it's pretty flat, and I've become used to much worse.

No more riding for a few days, as we turn colder and wetter. I guess it must be almost November.

Biking - Adjustments and a Test Ride

After arriving home from this summer's tour, I'd been having problems with both the rear brake and rear derailleur. Both seemed sticky and sluggish, most likely from the rain, mud, salt, and sand of the past several months. After spending several hours getting everything feeling right again, I got out for a ride this morning to check it all out. Any excuse for a ride! I also needed a little more exercise than yesterday's relatively glacial pace on the Erie Canal historic tour. Despite some swirling winds, I cranked out 16+ miles in slightly under an hour, and the bike now feels great. I was riding harder than I usually do, but with that short a ride, it was good to get something of a workout out of it.

Biking - Local Erie Canal History Ride

Today, the Albany Bicycling Coalition, a local advocacy organization, offered a historical tour of Erie Canal artifacts between downtown Albany, the Canal's original terminus, and Cohoes, about 12 miles to the north. Many of the 18 former locks in this stretch have been nearly lost or forgotten, and the original canal long since paved over. But with a little research, it's possible to find them, and our leader did just that. We probably saw stonework or other evidence from at least 12-14 of these old locks, and many were far off the beaten path and covered with weeds. Others, like Lock 1 in North Albany, have been excavated somewhat and preserved as historic sites. This one was actually a "weigh lock", one of only 3 on the system, where canal boats and their cargoes were weighed to determine the appropriate canal toll.



Continuing northward and passing many of the other 17 locks, we finally arrived in Cohoes, where the falls of the Mohawk River were running high and were spectacular. Click on the picture for a larger image.



After lunch in Waterford, we headed back south, crossing into North Troy and then back into Watervliet, where we joined the Corning Preserve Bike Path along the Hudson River, and back to our starting point. It was an interesting and relaxing way to spend a fine October day.

Biking - Grant Hill Loop

Got all the Delaware sand cleaned off the bike, and headed out for my first ride since returning home. I decided to climb Grant Hill, and see how that felt with new legs and no baggage. The big difference I noticed while riding was that if I gave the pedals a little extra kick, the bike actually accelerated immediately, instead of sluggishly as it did when loaded. I wonder what a 15-pound carbon bike would feel like?

Grant Hill Road seemed like nothing, and I was up it with 3 cogs to spare. Back in June before I left, I'd needed 2 of those cogs to get to the top comfortably with only one to spare.

I didn't extend the ride, because I'm having a few minor rear brake problems I need to address, so headed directly home through French's Hollow, for about 21 miles total. It felt good to be riding on another spectacular fall day, especially with rain coming in for the next few days.

Hiking - Lenox Mountain, Lenox, MA

I'm glad I got home in time to enjoy fall in the northeast. I would have really missed that.



Today, Holly and I climbed a small mountain in the Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, between Pittsfield and Lenox, MA, a short drive from home. There are plenty of trails here, but we chose the "Trail of the Ledges" for its purported views and destination atop Lenox Mountain. On the way up, we came to the aptly named "Farviews" viewpoint.



Continuing on to the summit, at 2,126 feet, we had great views to the west and northwest, with Richmond Pond directly below.



A family we met on the summit told us about another viewpoint a little further north on the ridge, so we spent the 15-20 minutes to take that one in as well. That's Mt. Greylock in the center, and Pittsfield to its right.



Descending, we followed the Overbrook and Bluebird Trails back to the car. There were many small waterfalls as we descended back to the valley, as well as some very large white pines. We probably covered about 4 miles total on a beautiful October afternoon.

Great trip, but it's good to be home

Dipped my front wheel in the Atlantic on Friday, October 8th, drove home on the 9th, and am in the process of sorting out and getting back to normal after 3 months away.

Stay tuned for more adventures, but on a MUCH smaller scale.

All packed and ready to go - will return here in October

Tomorrow, I'm flying to the West Coast to begin a bicycle journey across the country. While on the road, I won't be updating this blog, but I will be carrying a small laptop, and updating my progress as I ride. You can follow my travels by clicking either on this link or on the US map at left:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/bikeusa2010

WiFi is now pretty widely available, and if all else fails, most libraries are also online, so stay tuned for the adventure and the pictures.

If you know what RSS is, you can also subscribe to the trip journal that way, and be notified of updates as they happen. Just click on the "RSS" icon at left, and add me to your favorite feed reader. I'll also be passing the journal updates to FaceBook, if you'd rather follow me there.

Once you're on the journal site, be sure to sign the guestbook and say hello once in a while. It's fun to know who's actually reading this stuff.

I'll return here in early October, and continue with these less exciting updates as before.

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.

Biking - A hilly windy 32 miles

The legs are ready. If I had any lingering doubts about that, today blasted them to bits. 32.6 miles, 1,255 feet of climbing, strong winds, and the old 10-speed. It was a great ride, and I've never felt stronger.

My friend Judy and I did a nice varied loop around Guilderland, Voorheesville, and Altamont, with lots of relatively short hills and plenty of recovery time between them, except for the constant winds. A stop at Indian Ladder Farms for a fresh (still warm!) apple turnover and a big glass of cider also helped the cause.



My other bike and panniers will be arriving in Seaside, Oregon, today, and I'm watching UPS closely for their delivery. I only have a few more things to do here before I leave to join them on Friday.

Canoeing and Hiking - Mount Blue

At over 2,900 feet, Mount Blue towers above Garnet Lake far below at about 1,400 feet. There is no trail to its summit, but the views are extraordinary. Getting to the summit requires paddling about 0.8 miles across the lake to the Lixard Pond trailhead, stowing the canoe and gear, hiking about 0.7 miles up a marked trail, and following a compass bearing about another 0.8 steeply to the summit.



Garnet Lake was beautiful this morning as we arrived at the hiking start point and looked back the way we had paddled.



Starting up the hiking trail, we soon found our point for jumping off on the bushwhack to the summit. The route was nowhere near as straight as the red line above shows. This side of the mountain had a major forest fire in 1908, leaving lots of bare rocky patches that made the going much easier, if not quite as direct. The best view we had all day was from one of these rocky patches, since the summit itself is mostly wooded, with a few ledges looking out various directions. This view was wide open toward Crane Mountain, with Garnet Lake far below. Our hike had started at the narrows at the bottom of the picture.



For only a 3-mile round trip hike, this seemed a lot tougher. It's quite steep in spots, and on a warm day like today, climbing the south slopes was pretty hot and dry. The ice cream stop in Warrensburg on the way home was most welcome.

Biking - SWC Thursday Night Beer and Pizza Ride

Since I won't be attending next week's ride, this was my last SWC ride of the season. Tonight's ride was on pleasant roads in Glenville, starting out with a climb up Snake Hill, Closson, and Ridge Roads, and generally flat or downhill from there.



With my touring bike now on its way to the west coast, I was on the old 10-speed again. The climbs were tougher than they would have been on the other bike, but I was still near the front of the pack on all the climbs. I also seemed to have more energy or strength than usual tonight, and was able to really keep up the pace better than on some of these rides. These Thursday night rides always seem to push a higher pace than I usually like, but tonight I was as guilty as anybody. Beer, a great assortment of pizzas, and lots of conversation afterwards made for a nice evening out.

Next week's ride is a bit far afield, and I have a 6 am flight to Portland the next morning, so will be skipping that one. Will try to get in a few more rides next week, maybe including another longer hilly one, before leaving for the west coast on Friday 7/2.

Biking - Another river loop

Today looked like the one good morning this week, so I needed to get out for a ride. On last Thursday night's hilly ramble, I noticed that I was having trouble shifting the rear derailleur into the lowest gears. I failed to check the reason when I got home, but remembered to look today before I set out on the ride. The problem was that the end of the derailleur cable housing was shredding and fraying, causing the shifting problem. This was not a good thing to take out on another hilly ride, so I changed my plans from the Grant Hill loop to another flat river ride. Again, I never shifted on this ride, muscling up the minor rollers, and getting in a good ride. I'll try to replace the short piece of housing this afternoon to get me thought the rest of the season, and replace all cables on the old bike this winter.

The good bike and baggage are getting picked up this afternoon for shipment to the West Coast.

Biking, Mini-golf, and Gutter Repair

It was a hot sticky Father's Day, and I enjoyed a low-key day. I watched Lance Armstrong finish 2nd in the Tour de Suisse, did some cleaning up around the house, and then went over to Holly's house to seal up some drippy gutters and then go for a bike ride. There's a mini-golf and ice cream place a short ride from her house, and we enjoy going there for both offerings. When I got home, I watched the end of the US Open golf tournament, had dinner, and enjoyed a phone call from daughter #1. As soon as the house cools down, I'll be calling it a night.

The biggest thing I got done this weekend is that the bike and gear are all packed and ready for shipment to the West Coast on Tuesday. This whole dream is finally starting to seem real, and it's a little hard to believe it's all happening.

Canoeing - A short paddle and another picnic

Dinner found us at another potluck picnic, this one for one of Holly's church committees. The host's house was located on the banks of the Mohawk River in Scotia, and all were invited to bring canoes or kayaks and get out for some paddling before dinner. Holly and I were the only ones to take them up on it, and went for a short paddle around the Isle of the Oneidas, one of five Iroquois-named islands in the channel near Schenectady.

Biking - Short ride and a picnic

Holly rides with an "older" bike group twice a week, and today was a beautiful day for their annual picnic at Saratoga Springs State Park. I tagged along, both to loosen up my legs after last night's epic climb, and because the potluck food at these picnics has always been very good. We did a slow meandering 6+ mile ride around the park, and then settled in for the feast, along with some good conversation.

Biking - A hilly loop south of Albany

Some friends invited me to join them for a ride this evening starting from the Delmar Park and Ride, 21 miles and 1375 feet of climbing. Since my good bike is now packed and awaiting shipment, it seemed like a good opportunity to do some climbing on the higher-geared 10-speed, so I joined them. It was a nice evening for a ride once the clouds cleared and the sun came out. We had plenty of time, so added on an optional loop to extend the ride. With a name like "Copeland Hill Road", we should have been prepared for what we found. But a mile of climbing averaging over 7%, maxing out over 13%, was not what we expected. With a low gear of 34 gear-inches, I struggled with this one, stopping twice to catch my breath and get back my legs, but eventually made it to the top, much of it standing out of the saddle. The rest of the ride was hilly but much more manageable, and a good workout. Afterwards, we stopped for pizza and beer at Smith's in Voorheesville, topping off a good night of riding.

Biking - Relaxed, relaxing river loop

After a few wet days, and some frustrating time spent trying to fit my large bike into a small box, I needed to get out today on a beautiful morning. This was not a training ride, a fitness ride, or anything of the sort. It was just a ride for its own sake, to blow off some of the increasing tension related to my approaching departure date and all that needs to be done. I chose the old reliable flat river loop, with a few add-ons because I wasn't ready to be done yet.



My one concession to training was to ride the entire loop without shifting gears on the old 10-speed. I muscled up the few very minor rollers and coasted down the other side, without ever touching a shift lever. Kinda fun.

When I got home, I think I've finally succeeded in getting the good bike packed, but only by extending the length of the box to accommodate the longer touring frame. Lots of cardboard and tape construction to make that happen, but it looks like it will work. It's still a tight fit, but that's probably a good thing. A few final tweaks and I'll close it up and be done with that project.

Biking - Last long ride before packing it up

Today was a rare sunny comfortable day when I'm not expected to be in the "office", a perfect day to get in a longer ride. I discovered last night that my first day's ride from the West Coast on July 4th will be 44 miles and 2,200 feet of climbing. Loaded. Yikes! So today, I got out and rode 43.6 miles with 2,300 feet of climbing. But not loaded. The fact that I left the house at 9 am and was home by 1 pm, including a couple of stops for refreshment, makes me think that spreading that amount of distance and climbing over a full day will make it all possible. I'm probably in better shape than a lot of people whose trip journals I've read starting out. Add to that the "riding into shape" effect once underway, a much earlier daily start, a big greasy breakfast, and the massive calorie intake that I mostly skipped today but will require on the road, and I think I can do this.



If I don't get out this weekend because of questionable weather, this will have been the last ride on this bike before I start disassembling it and boxing it up for shipping on June 22. I want to get an early start on that process, including cleaning it up first, since I have no idea what problems I may or may not encounter, especially with fitting this large bike securely into a box. I'll be riding the old 10-speed for the rest of the month once that process starts.

Biking - SWC Thursday night ride

Tonight's beer and pizza ride was at Galway Lake, northwest of Schenectady. We do the same ride from here every year, and since rain was possible, and since a couple of the usual hills begged to be made harder, I took the old 10-speed again. As usual, we kept up the Thursday evening furious pace, and I was pretty well spent by the end. The hills were easier than usual, but the 9%-er a mile from the end was an all-out effort.

It was at least 10 degrees cooler at the lake, so we gathered inside afterwards for, not pizza, but several different pasta and lasagna dishes prepared by our hosts. A strong fast ride, good food, and good conversation made for a great night.

Biking - A hilly, windy 29 miles

I went to bed last night with a grand plan to do a long loaded climb this morning. But reality set in when I woke up and didn't feel 100%, and didn't really want to take on something that big, especially after coming off a very light week and weekend of biking. So I set off on a 30-mile ride that was relatively flat, just to get the legs working again.

On the way, plans changed yet again. I was feeling better once I got back in the saddle, so I decided to sprinkle in a few shorter climbs just to make the ride worthwhile. In climbing Grant Hill Road, the big peak below, I tried sitting up with my hands on the top of the bars. This has never been my style, and you're more likely to find me in the drops than anywhere else while climbing. Well, either it made a huge difference, or my legs benefited from the recent respite. I cruised up the hill with 3 gears to spare, my best ever, and did the same on some smaller climbs that followed. This bodes well for the months to come.



On the way back north, the winds were coming up (from the north, of course), and the sky was occasionally threatening a shower. I didn't actually get spritzed until I was about a mile from home, and then the sun returned.

I'll be starting to disassemble and pack the bike after this weekend, so only a few more opportunities for a loaded climb. Then I'll be back on the old 10-speed for the rest of the month until I leave for the West Coast.

Hiking - Savoy Mountain State Forest, MA

With temps near 70, no humidity, and breezy conditions to keep the bugs away, Holly and I wanted to get out hiking today. It needed to be relatively nearby, not too ambitious, and someplace we'd never been, a tall order since we do a lot of these. Nearby Massachusetts has many state forests in the western part of the state, in the Berkshires, and we've only begun to scratch the surface, so that's where we went, less than 2 hours from home.

Today, we went to Savoy Mountain State Forest, where we first climbed Spruce Hill, about a mile and a half away and 700 feet above us. It was a pretty easy hike, and we reached the summit in under an hour.



Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts at 3491', loomed in the southwest.



To the northeast, we looked down on North Adams, Williamstown, and the Taconic Range on the New York border in the distance.



After having lunch and taking in the views on the cool windy summit, we headed back down to the car to do more exploring in other parts of the forest. On the way to Tannery Falls, we passed a turnoff on an unmaintained road to Balanced Rock. We decided to walk the half-mile rather than take the car over some pretty rough and rutted terrain. This was obviously a popular party spot.



Finally arriving at the parking area for Tannery Falls, we had no idea what to expect. The trail led steeply down to the base of an exquisite 80' waterfall, running well after the heavy rains of yesterday. There were numerous smaller cascades in the gorge along the way, as well as the smaller and narrower Parker Brook Falls (60') just off the main trail.



It was a good day, and we'd had lots of variety in our hiking. We'll definitely be exploring more of these Massachusetts state forests in the future.

Biking - SWC Thursday night beer and pizza ride

After some passing showers early in the day, it turned into a very nice afternoon and evening, a perfect night for the weekly SWC ride. I took the old 10-speed tonight, mostly to try to get in a slower-paced ride than usual on these outings. I also had an inkling of where we'd be going, and relished the thought of cranking up some of the hills on this old bike with much higher gearing. As it turned out, I didn't ride much slower, and a friend and I even called a sprint to a road sign ahead at one point. It was almost a dead heat, but he beat me by half a length after 30-45 seconds of all-out effort. Most of the ride was at a much more leisurely pace, with stops to regroup and chat. The hills were not a problem, though tougher than on my touring bike, and I felt pretty strong pushing the bigger gears. After 16.6 miles, the beer, pizza, and conversation finished off a satisfying night.

Biking - Mohawk River loop, loaded

It's been over a month since I last rode with all the packed bags on the bike, so it seemed like a good idea to do it again. I've been tweaking the packing list, and will continue to do so up until the last minute, when the bike and bags ship to the West Coast on June 22.

Today, I biked from Schenectady to Amsterdam and back, a 32-mile mostly flat loop along the Mohawk River. I had done this same loop in late April, but it was much easier today without the strong winds I had then.