15.2 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, June 28, 2008
A tough day today... left the karate school in Utica around 11:30 PM after last night's brown belt tests and needed to be up early enough this morning to get some breakfast before going to class, and the older I get the less well I deal with lack of sleep. But I was determined to get outside for a bit, so once Ann and her brother headed home I changed into riding gear and headed over to SCCC for a spin on the bike path.
I was almost all the way to the end of the path at Scrafford Lane when the skies opened up and rain started coming down in buckets, along with the occasional thunderclap. Initially it was pleasantly cooling, but since I didn't want to get completely drenched I broke out my rain jacket. Finished the ride to Scrafford Lane, found trains blocking the route across the tracks, and turned around to head back. After a few minutes the rain let up, the sun started to come out, and I had to ditch the rain jacket so I wouldn't get too warm.
On my way out along the old Erie Canal I passed several rabbits, a group of geese with goslings that have gained much of their adult coloration, and a rather noisy kingfisher. On the way back I passed the kingfisher perched in a tree along the path... sadly, by the time I'd stopped and gotten my camera out he'd flown off. A ways further down the path I had my run-in with Mr. Muskrat... or rather, he ran into me! Dashed out of the weeds and ran into my bike, then popped off into the weeds on the canal side and jumped into the water... hope he was all right...
Just past Lock 8 on the Barge Canal a series of signs are being mounted which identify various plants and trees along the path... that's pretty cool. Just beyond is a restored lock (old lock 23 - there is a detailed write-up about the history of the lock, which was the first one west of Schenectady and thus a vital part of the "Gateway to the West" on the HistoryLite website and a recent article in the Schenectady Gazette regarding efforts to restore the lock and improve the park there.) I paused to take some pictures of the lock, and surprised a very wet woodchuck who repeatedly popped out of his shelter down in the rocks to see if it was safe to remain out in the open.
My final surprise was a white-and-brown mouse looking for food on the path... clearly a domestic mouse that either escaped or was released into the wild, I suspect he won't last long, since he didn't seem to have much survival instinct. Then it was back to the car, where I fortunately managed to get everything packed up and was on the road before the next burst of rain swept through.
JMH
