the Way of the Turtle

FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON
11 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, December 5, 2009

Since I finally have my car back I had originally hoped to go someplace a bit further away to do some riding - possibly the Ashuwillticook Trail over in Pittsfield - but snow falling fairly steadily from late morning on (with calls for heavier snow in the Berkshires) persuaded me to stay closer to home. I even spent some time considering skipping my ride altogether and maybe going for a walk instead. In the end, two things got me out the door for a ride. First, not wanting to strain my knee before tomorrow's run down in Westchester, and second, the thought that now that the snow has started it's not all that clear how much I'll even be able to ride over the next couple of months.

It was cold and wet when I finally got out on the bike path... definitely a very damp day despite to being cold enough to snow. Fortunately it wasn't accumulating on the path, but it still made it difficult to see, both because of the actual blowing snow and because my glasses kept getting wet and blurry. For the first time this season I was definitely underdressed... while I was fine up top, I should have worn a pair of windpants over my tights, and I definitely needed thicker socks. I think more than anything else that underscores how warm it's been so far - ordinarily that would have been a no-brainer for a ride in early December. In the end, I cut my ride shorter than I intended because my fingers and toes were getting wet and cold and it just wasn't much fun anymore.

Not a lot of folks out on the path... a few people walking, with and without dogs, and a runner or two, but I mostly had it to myself. I stopped at Lock 7 because the water sounded higher than it was last week, and startled a flock of pigeons that was roosting on the railings of the bridge across the lock. Heard a few geese on the river, and saw a number of ducks, but not much else. Despite the lack of wildlife and the cold and wet, it was still a pretty cool day to be out. I would have rather been running in the snowstorm... but riding was certainly better than sitting indoors on my backside grumbling about my stupid knee.

JMH