15.3 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, April 18, 2015
A warm but windy morning... but at least today the headwind was on the way out instead of the way back.
I rode out from Lock 8 in Rotterdam and headed west to Rotterdam Junction... hopped on the road for a short stretch to ride the path on the western end of town. Turtles, turtles, everywhere... guess they were enjoying the warm sunny morning too! Water levels were pretty low - looks like the town dug out the drain pipe that the beavers had buried. What a waste of time and money - it was first dug out right after the Hurricane Irene flooding, like that was somehow the beavers' fault (when it was the Mohawk River that overflowed its banks!) Still, if I know the beavers - it will be dammed up again in a year or two.
On the way back, I once again noted the two dozen or so big fish dead along the edge of the old canal - did the water freeze so far down that it killed them? I know most sections aren't too deep. I also spotted a goose making a nest - in the photos I shot, it seems pretty clear she's already laid a couple of eggs.
After not riding or running for the past two days, I'd been hoping my legs would bounce back enough for me to run the Hook Mountain Half Marathon tomorrow morning - but it was fairly clear during the ride that my legs are still pretty tired. It's tempting to try running it anyway... but I think I'm going to be smart, and not risk frying my legs even more or worse yet getting injured. But that doesn't make it any less frustrating.
JMH
