the Way of the Turtle

21.5 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, October 8, 2011

Summer made ducked back through the door today... though the speed with which the air chills down near sunset shows that fall is only taking a break, it's not gone.

I was a bit tired from getting up early to have some work done on the car (exhaust system from the catalytic converter back, $$$ unfortunately - thank heavens the catalytic converter wasn't also rusting out.) But it was too nice a day to stay indoors, and as the hours of daylight continue to decrease opportunities to ride in the sunshine will be few and far between. Besides, there is something strangely ironic about riding the approximate distance I'll be running tomorrow...

Niskayuna Lions Park is open again, with a shiny new parking lot - and since it was a warm sunny day, the lot and the path were pretty busy. Rode east almost to the Colonie town line, then on the way back popped into Colonie Mohawk River Park and rode down to the boat launch, where I spent a few minutes looking at geese, gulls, and a heron - as well as swatting the &%^*$$!! mosquitoes. You'd think the cold nights we've had would've wiped them out!

On the way back continued past the park and over to the base of the old landfill. Stopped at Lock 7 along the way - looks like they had more threats of flooding there, with several new dirt and stone dikes set up to keep the dam from overflowing.

Lots of birds out and about, though honestly I heard more than I saw... another advantage to not using headphones when I go outdoors... and chubby squirrels everywhere frantically stockpiling fat and food for the upcoming winter...

JMH