the Way of the Turtle

RIDING IN THE RAIN
20.2 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Sunday, July 20, 2008

Spent a while today trying to decide where to ride without having to do significant driving... and without having to deal with too many hills, because for some reason my legs were feeling just a bit tired... ended up heading over to Lock 8 west of Schenectady planning to ride out on the roads north of the river and then return on the bike path. But once I got there I changed that plan due to the dark clouds (complete with wind, thunder, and lightning) that were rolling in. Didn't want to get caught in a storm on the other side of the river, so I decided to mostly stick to the path.

I lucked out and the first storm blew off to the north, leaving me with just a couple of sprinkles of rain as I rode toward Schenectady. I crossed the river on the route 5 bridge, catching sight of a pair of cedar waxwings as I did so, and then spent a little while wandering around Freedom Park and Collins Park... while I ridden past both before I'd never actually visited either.

Heading back toward Lock 7, I could see more storm clouds rolling in, and it didn't look like this batch were going to pass by to the north. I actually lucked out - the rain started just as I reached the realtively new shelter near old Lock 23. So I pulled in under that, broke out my neon yellow rain jacket, and sat there enjoying the rain and waiting for the heaviest part of the storm to pass. The two soaked fellows who whizzed by on their bikes didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I was...

After five minutes or so the rain eased up, so I headed on my way, passing Lock 7 and heading west toward Rotterdam Junction. At one point it seemed like the rain had basically stopped, so I took off my rain jacket (which gets very warm in the summer... tough to appreciate not getting rained on when you're soaked with sweat!) Of course the rain picked back up a few minutes later and I ended up putting it back on. No surprise, I didn't pass too many other people... one guy walking, two kids riding, a group fishing in the old Erie Canal, and toward the end a runner...

Spotted two wood ducks with ducklings, a kingfisher, and the ever-present geese along the old canal. I'd been planning to ride through Rotterdam Junction and take the short path along the old canal on the west side of town (hoping to see the beavers again) but bagged that plan when I reached Scrafford Lane, it was too dark and rainy for me to risk the mile or so along route 5S, even with my neon yellow rain jacket. So I headed back through the steady rain to Lock 7 and a little bit beyond to the small park just east of the lock, to bring my mileage up to 20 miles. On the way back I interrupted what seemed to be a local catbird convention... about eight of them actually down on the path (and I could hear more in the trees and bushes... they are quite prolific!)

And then it was time to head home and get dry and warm.

JMH