the Way of the Turtle

17.1 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Friday, August 13, 2010

I had originally hoped to do a long-ish run today, but during yesterday's jaunt through the Pine Bush I strained my right knee and thought it better to give it a day or two of rest, since I've got at least 11 miles of reasonably rugged trails coming up at Savoy on Sunday. After a day spent mostly at the computer I finally managed to get my backside out the door for a ride on the bike path, and predictably ended up wishing I'd gotten my act together sooner so I might have stayed out for another half dozen miles or so.

I took the path west all the way to the first entrance to GE R&D, just beyond the currently mis-named "Wildflower Meadows" (which this year have been mowed... not many wildflowers left!) I was surprised to see that the path on the side of the old landfill has been re-paved... I knew the fencing had been replaced but had no idea they were planning to put down fresh asphalt. While the smoother surface is nice, it looks like they put the new layer down on top of the old pavement, which has leaves a 2-3 inch drop on both sides of the path. Anyone who comes whizzing down that hill and strays to close to the edge of the path is in for a very unpleasant surprise... not an issue here, since I always take it easy going down that hill after crashing there back in August 2006... just barely under 4 years ago, in fact.

Along the way I saw several herons and an egret that seems remarkably undisturbed by the construction of the new Niska Isle bridge... at least I'm assuming it's the same one I saw perched on a ladder several weeks ago. One of the eagles was also in the dead tree at the edge of the Lisha Kill outlet. I was surprised to see very few rabbits out this evening... usually they're all over the place near dusk but tonight I only spotted one.

My knee seemed Ok with the riding, other than grumbling occasionally on some of the climbs or when I put it in an awkward position... so it should bounce back in plenty of time for Sunday's race.

JMH