the Way of the Turtle

20.4 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway
Monday, April 30, 3007

A nice (albeit windy) evening for a ride, though my start was delayed a bit by having to change a tube... apparently I pumped it up to full pressure and then when the sunlight heated the tire as I was driving to the trailhead - POW.

I haven't been on the bike path since back in March, when I was running back and forth to prep for the Eastern States 20 Mile Road Race. All the trailheads are far enough from home that no car meant no bike path. So it was nice to ride along the river on car-free pavement.

The trees are starting to turn green! Some are flowering, but I saw many tonight with leaf buds. Before long we'll be out of the brown, brown, brown, and into green, green, green!

Wildlife encounters - a duck, lots of birds, some geese... bunnies, a woodchuck, and a red squirrel. But probably the most interesting was the snapping turtle stomping across the path just before I got back to the car. He was making pretty good time until I stopped to watch him... then he hunkered down where he was and waited for me to leave. Watching snapping turtles always makes me glad I'll never have to face one of their giant prehistoric cousins...

Overall a good ride, and one that makes me think I'm doing pretty well in getting ready for the Rochester Spring Classic Duathlon in about 2 1/2 weeks. At this point I'd guess that my running will be slower than last year, and my riding will be about the same or maybe a tiny bit faster, depending on weather conditions. In any case I'm looking forward to doing the race for the third year in a row... it's a bit repetitive but Mendon is a pretty place to run and ride, and the folks from Yellowjacket Racing put on great events.

JMH