the Way of the Turtle

A GORGEOUS EARLY FALL EVENING...
15 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Monday, October 1, 2012

This was one of those evenings that initially looked like it would be a bust - mostly grey and cloudy - but as the sun went down some of the clouds cleared away and left things a bit nicer. It also didn't get as chilly as I expected, so I was pretty comfortable the whole time - despite my gloves initially being wet from yesterday's race and having to wear a heavier jacket than usual (because my usual one was still packed in with the rest of my transition gear from yesterday.)

Stopped at Lock 7 and was surprised at all the gulls there, especially at the end of the concrete pier alongside the entrance to the lock. There was even a black-backed gull in with all the ring billeds... those guys always seem huge compared to the ubiquitous ring bills. Heard ducks and geese out on the river as I rode to the base of the old landfill. On the way back it was getting dark so I finally put my headlight on, more to keep myself visible to the oncoming riders than to help me see. Along the way I heard a bid trilling out on the river, a very eerie sound - I wish I had an easy way to scan bird calls and ID it.

I ended up riding over to just past the old railroad bridge and spent a few minutes admiring the view out on the river before heading back. Some time recently much of that section of path has been re-paved, so where it was previously a constant bumpy ride over frost heaves, now it's pretty smooth. Unfortunately the new pavement is about 2 inches above the shoulder, which will make pulling off onto the grass trickier.

Once I got back to the Lions Park, I decided I wanted to keep riding a bit longer, so I did an out and back to the Lock 7 road crossing. On the way back I stopped to look at a small toad that was on the path and then took a break by the Niska Isle bridge to take some photos of the moon coming out from behind the clouds, and was also treated to glimpses of the beavers cruising around down in the water. It's good to see that they're still around - I'd been worried that between the construction and low water levels they might have moved on. There was also some sort of bird calling off in the wetlands, couldn't tell what though. I really wish I could have spent more time out there - what a gorgeous night it had turned into, and all the wildlife definitely made me happy.

Unfortunately, the trip back to the parking lot also included something which made me very unhappy - I spotted a 2nd toad, and when I stopped to check him out it turned out he'd been partially run over by a bike, probably one of the other guys who came through in the dark, though there's a possibility it was me on my first time through that spot. Poor little guy was still alive but couldn't really move at all - at the very least his back legs were crushed. That made me really sad, especially since there was nothing I could do to help him.

Back at the Lions Park, the moon was really shining through the clouds and reflecting off the river - a really beautiful scene after the sadness of the crushed toad. While I was taking pictures a plane came in low for a landing at the airport, so I got some nice shots of the lights passing underneath the moon. Also heard several muskrats splashing around down in the river. All in all, I have to say I'm really glad I overcame my post-work inertia and got out for a ride, even though a lot of it was in the dark (admittedly, I thoroughly enjoy being out in the dark... especially on an evening like tonight.) Too bad I had to head back to the city when it was all over...

JMH