3.8 Mile Walk at Thacher Park
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Friday, August 29, 2014
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
2.9 Mile Walk at the Crossings of Colonie
Friday, August 22, 2014
After spending a while mentally debating about where to run today, I finally decided that the problem wasn't a question of where to run but that I just didn't want to run. And with the rain I didn't really want to ride or walk anywhere particularly muddy - so I opted to hit the paved paths of the Crossings of Colonie, which had the added convenience of allowing me to run a few errands afterwards.
Not too many people - a plus side to the chilly, damp weather - but lots of birds were out and about. Something about that park is ideal for mockingbirds... I've never seen so many in one place, including a couple of of fuzzballs that I suspect were youngsters.
The pond had the usual groups of mallards, with the local geese off in a nearby field getting their dinner. But the treat was an egret near the edge of the pond, picking off little fish left and right. I spent a good while watching him.
There was also a hawk perched on one of the power poles that bisect the southern half of the park, Surprisingly, he didn't fly off when I lingered to take his picture, or when several runners went by.
The one thing I didn't see was bluebirds, which is unusual - typically there are quite a few along the fence line.
JMH
Friday, August 22, 2014
After spending a while mentally debating about where to run today, I finally decided that the problem wasn't a question of where to run but that I just didn't want to run. And with the rain I didn't really want to ride or walk anywhere particularly muddy - so I opted to hit the paved paths of the Crossings of Colonie, which had the added convenience of allowing me to run a few errands afterwards.
Not too many people - a plus side to the chilly, damp weather - but lots of birds were out and about. Something about that park is ideal for mockingbirds... I've never seen so many in one place, including a couple of of fuzzballs that I suspect were youngsters.
The pond had the usual groups of mallards, with the local geese off in a nearby field getting their dinner. But the treat was an egret near the edge of the pond, picking off little fish left and right. I spent a good while watching him.
There was also a hawk perched on one of the power poles that bisect the southern half of the park, Surprisingly, he didn't fly off when I lingered to take his picture, or when several runners went by.
The one thing I didn't see was bluebirds, which is unusual - typically there are quite a few along the fence line.
JMH
Thursday, August 21, 2014
TIRED LEGS
10.1 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Apparently the riding and running I did last weekend and Monday took a greater toll than I had thought... my legs had no juice at all when I got out on the bike this evening. I was able to ride up the first few hills near the old landfill, but in the end it was a real struggle to even last out the 10 miles that I did. All of which tells me that (1) I need to be careful about what I do the week before the Maine Lighthouse Century Ride, and (2) I probably don't want to run a race the next day after all.
Hopefully another day or two of taking it easy and they'll bounce back...
JMH
10.1 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Apparently the riding and running I did last weekend and Monday took a greater toll than I had thought... my legs had no juice at all when I got out on the bike this evening. I was able to ride up the first few hills near the old landfill, but in the end it was a real struggle to even last out the 10 miles that I did. All of which tells me that (1) I need to be careful about what I do the week before the Maine Lighthouse Century Ride, and (2) I probably don't want to run a race the next day after all.
Hopefully another day or two of taking it easy and they'll bounce back...
JMH
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
3.1 Mile Walk at October Mountain State Forest
+ Miles of Driving Down Dead End Dirt Roads
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
One of the limitations of my TomTom GPS is that it really can't tell the difference between a paved road, a dirt road, a jeep trail, and an eroded track that perhaps was a road a century ago and somehow has stayed on the maps. Normally this isn't a problem, but it does sometimes cause difficulty when I'm visiting state forests in MA, which often have all of the above. I should have known I was in for some driving frustration when it routed me over a different route to my destination and I abruptly found myself stopping and turning around because the paved road turned into an eroded mess. The trip out of the forest was even more confused, as I bypassed several jeep trails it wanted me to take in favor of a fairly driveable dirt road... only to end up at a pair of closed gates and a "road closed" sign, which signalled that I would need to backtrack completely and leave by the same roads I eventually arrived on.
In the end, all of this took enough extra time that I ended up abandoning my plan to ride the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail before heading home. Perhaps I would have been better off sticking closer to home today...
So how about that walk? Four years ago I finally got around to visiting the Washington Mountain Meadow trail and found it a fairly interesting place... in the 1980's the plan was to construct a lake using a dam at the southern end, but the dam leaked and was never completed properly, resulting in a wet meadow instead. Beavers moved in at the northern end and built extensive dams of their own, resulting in the large marsh that's there now. There's a trail that goes around the entire marsh, with some sections running through the woods and others over bridges and boardwalks, and the start of the trail runs past cellar holes and an old cemetary. Sections also run through spruce plantations that were planted by the CCC in the 1930's. There used to be a boardwalk/trail that ran across the middle of the marsh, but that had been flooded out when I was there in 2010, with only a few boards remaining visible out in the marsh.
The first thing I noticed when I got out of the car was the swarm of bugs that descended on me... I remember that from every past visit, this is a buggy place in the summer. I was a bit concerned by the sign at the trailhead that said that the loop around the northern end was closed due to flooding, but I pressed on anway because (1) I'd driven over an hour to get there, (2) I'd worn old shoes and brought extra socks in case the trail was really wet, and (3) hopefully that was old info that the DCR hadn't had the opportunity to update.
Most of the trail seemed to point to option (3)... I made it 2 miles and barely got my feet damp, though there were several places where the boardwalks were probably under water not too long ago. Unfortunately at around the 2 mile point my luck ran out and the trail disappeared under water. I spotted part of the boardwalk under the water, but ended up having the wade other sections, with water up to my mid-thighs in spots. But I made it through without a dunking, and that turned out to be the worst part of the walk.
I'm not sure why, but it didn't seem quite as interesting today as it did 4 years ago. Maybe because there wasn't really anything new to see (other than the section I had to wade) and maybe because there isn't much wildlife to see, despite being in the middle of the largest state forest in MA. On the other hand, I did really enjoy the quiet (no traffic noise, no noisy people!) Maybe I should try going back some time in the fall after the leaves have turned and see it in a different season...
JMH
+ Miles of Driving Down Dead End Dirt Roads
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
One of the limitations of my TomTom GPS is that it really can't tell the difference between a paved road, a dirt road, a jeep trail, and an eroded track that perhaps was a road a century ago and somehow has stayed on the maps. Normally this isn't a problem, but it does sometimes cause difficulty when I'm visiting state forests in MA, which often have all of the above. I should have known I was in for some driving frustration when it routed me over a different route to my destination and I abruptly found myself stopping and turning around because the paved road turned into an eroded mess. The trip out of the forest was even more confused, as I bypassed several jeep trails it wanted me to take in favor of a fairly driveable dirt road... only to end up at a pair of closed gates and a "road closed" sign, which signalled that I would need to backtrack completely and leave by the same roads I eventually arrived on.
In the end, all of this took enough extra time that I ended up abandoning my plan to ride the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail before heading home. Perhaps I would have been better off sticking closer to home today...
So how about that walk? Four years ago I finally got around to visiting the Washington Mountain Meadow trail and found it a fairly interesting place... in the 1980's the plan was to construct a lake using a dam at the southern end, but the dam leaked and was never completed properly, resulting in a wet meadow instead. Beavers moved in at the northern end and built extensive dams of their own, resulting in the large marsh that's there now. There's a trail that goes around the entire marsh, with some sections running through the woods and others over bridges and boardwalks, and the start of the trail runs past cellar holes and an old cemetary. Sections also run through spruce plantations that were planted by the CCC in the 1930's. There used to be a boardwalk/trail that ran across the middle of the marsh, but that had been flooded out when I was there in 2010, with only a few boards remaining visible out in the marsh.
The first thing I noticed when I got out of the car was the swarm of bugs that descended on me... I remember that from every past visit, this is a buggy place in the summer. I was a bit concerned by the sign at the trailhead that said that the loop around the northern end was closed due to flooding, but I pressed on anway because (1) I'd driven over an hour to get there, (2) I'd worn old shoes and brought extra socks in case the trail was really wet, and (3) hopefully that was old info that the DCR hadn't had the opportunity to update.
Most of the trail seemed to point to option (3)... I made it 2 miles and barely got my feet damp, though there were several places where the boardwalks were probably under water not too long ago. Unfortunately at around the 2 mile point my luck ran out and the trail disappeared under water. I spotted part of the boardwalk under the water, but ended up having the wade other sections, with water up to my mid-thighs in spots. But I made it through without a dunking, and that turned out to be the worst part of the walk.
I'm not sure why, but it didn't seem quite as interesting today as it did 4 years ago. Maybe because there wasn't really anything new to see (other than the section I had to wade) and maybe because there isn't much wildlife to see, despite being in the middle of the largest state forest in MA. On the other hand, I did really enjoy the quiet (no traffic noise, no noisy people!) Maybe I should try going back some time in the fall after the leaves have turned and see it in a different season...
JMH
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Slow & Steady 2014 - Event #23
Hoosic River Ride Highland Tour
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Well, that certainly kicked my butt. This turtle is humbled by today's many, many hills.
Much of the ride was in NY, but I also spent 10 miles or so in MA and a little less than that in VT. The official distance was 75 miles, I got 77.5 mi on my bike computer and a little over 75 mi on my Garmin. I'm choosing to believe the bike computer, given all the climbing and descending, which tends to cause the Garmin to underestimate distance.
Here are the map and elevation profile.
Note that the elevation profile is somewhat misleading... after that first spike (riding over Petersburgh Pass, an elevation change of a little over 1200 feet in 4 miles) the rest don't look all that bad... in reality this ride seemed to constantly be climbing, often over significant distances (several miles at a time.) The total elevation gain for the ride came out to around 5100 feet according to my Garmin, or 5700 ft according to MapMyRide... yup, somewhere around a MILE straight up. I first "broke" about a quarter mile from the summit of Petersburgh Pass (got off and pushed the bike) and then broke repeatedly after that, never for more than one or two tenths of a mile, but often enough that I lost track of how many times I pushed the bike uphill, and by the time I was 30 miles or so in, I was crawling up hills I'd normally crank my way over.
Actually, I wasn't even sure I'd do the 75 miler until I hit the point where it split off from the 50 mile course... going up the Pass I told myself there would be no shame in dropping down to the shorter distance, given what that climb did to my legs, and during the 2nd 4-mile climb from roughly 21-25 miles, I had pretty much decided to do just that. And then insanity set in and I kept on the course I'd signed up for.
Pretty countryside (other than all those damn hills) and I got a nice view of just how much of a plateau the Rensellaer plateau really is (it's impressive to see from a distance.) And some nice views across the Tomhannock Reservoir. Also, it's amazing how great cold water feels after 6+ hours of warm water bottles and hydration pack.
Overall, I thought the organizers did a nice job, with every aid station open when I got there (though they need an aid station around the 40 mile mark for the 100 and 75 mile riders) and best of all they kept track of who was still out there (apparently they were wondering where I was, since no one else took 7 hr 42 min to ride the 75 miler.) MUCH better than the Greylock Half Century I rode 9 years ago, where all the aid stations closed before I reached them and when I got back to the start, everyone was gone.
But I don't think I'd do it again without a LOT more hill work beforehand.
Also, I'd been thinking about riding up Greylock again, after the debacle 9 years ago... the ride up Petersburgh Pass may have cured me of that... time will tell...
JMH
2014 Event Totals
Run 140.6 mi, 33 hr 02 min
Bike 223.3 mi, 17 hr 55 min
Snowshoe 47.5 mi, 14 hr 38 min
Kayak 4.0 mi, 1 hr 3 min
states/provinces visited: AB, CT, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
Hoosic River Ride Highland Tour
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Well, that certainly kicked my butt. This turtle is humbled by today's many, many hills.
Much of the ride was in NY, but I also spent 10 miles or so in MA and a little less than that in VT. The official distance was 75 miles, I got 77.5 mi on my bike computer and a little over 75 mi on my Garmin. I'm choosing to believe the bike computer, given all the climbing and descending, which tends to cause the Garmin to underestimate distance.
Here are the map and elevation profile.
Note that the elevation profile is somewhat misleading... after that first spike (riding over Petersburgh Pass, an elevation change of a little over 1200 feet in 4 miles) the rest don't look all that bad... in reality this ride seemed to constantly be climbing, often over significant distances (several miles at a time.) The total elevation gain for the ride came out to around 5100 feet according to my Garmin, or 5700 ft according to MapMyRide... yup, somewhere around a MILE straight up. I first "broke" about a quarter mile from the summit of Petersburgh Pass (got off and pushed the bike) and then broke repeatedly after that, never for more than one or two tenths of a mile, but often enough that I lost track of how many times I pushed the bike uphill, and by the time I was 30 miles or so in, I was crawling up hills I'd normally crank my way over.
Actually, I wasn't even sure I'd do the 75 miler until I hit the point where it split off from the 50 mile course... going up the Pass I told myself there would be no shame in dropping down to the shorter distance, given what that climb did to my legs, and during the 2nd 4-mile climb from roughly 21-25 miles, I had pretty much decided to do just that. And then insanity set in and I kept on the course I'd signed up for.
Pretty countryside (other than all those damn hills) and I got a nice view of just how much of a plateau the Rensellaer plateau really is (it's impressive to see from a distance.) And some nice views across the Tomhannock Reservoir. Also, it's amazing how great cold water feels after 6+ hours of warm water bottles and hydration pack.
Overall, I thought the organizers did a nice job, with every aid station open when I got there (though they need an aid station around the 40 mile mark for the 100 and 75 mile riders) and best of all they kept track of who was still out there (apparently they were wondering where I was, since no one else took 7 hr 42 min to ride the 75 miler.) MUCH better than the Greylock Half Century I rode 9 years ago, where all the aid stations closed before I reached them and when I got back to the start, everyone was gone.
But I don't think I'd do it again without a LOT more hill work beforehand.
Also, I'd been thinking about riding up Greylock again, after the debacle 9 years ago... the ride up Petersburgh Pass may have cured me of that... time will tell...
JMH
2014 Event Totals
Run 140.6 mi, 33 hr 02 min
Bike 223.3 mi, 17 hr 55 min
Snowshoe 47.5 mi, 14 hr 38 min
Kayak 4.0 mi, 1 hr 3 min
states/provinces visited: AB, CT, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
Friday, August 15, 2014
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Monday, August 11, 2014
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Saturday, August 09, 2014
Wednesday, August 06, 2014
Tuesday, August 05, 2014
Monday, August 04, 2014
Sunday, August 03, 2014
Saturday, August 02, 2014
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