the Way of the Turtle

21.1 Mile Ride on the Erie Canalway Trail (Fort Hunter - Randall)
Saturday, December 5, 2015

That ended up being a lot tougher than I expected, in part because of a headwind as I headed west to Randall, but mostly because the path was much softer in most spots than the other times I've ridden on it... I'm not sure if that's because of the damp weather we've had recently or if the state has put more stone dust down over the last couple of years. In most spots it took a lot of effort to maintain forward motion, and I really appreciated the short stretches of pavement I got to ride on.

As I was riding I found myself once again thinking of the Canalway Trail End-to-End program... I had tentatively thought I might do it this past summer, in recognition of my 50th birthday, but then decided I didn't want to spend a week doing little more than riding my bike. Today I was thinking that maybe I'll tackle it this coming summer, but in shorter stretches of a day or two at a time. Logistically it's a bit tricky because I have to either arrange transport to where I'm starting or from where I'm finishing - or both. (I usually ride out-and-back's along the trail, but I really don't want to do each segment twice...!) But it might be a bit easier to work all that out of I'm doing shorter segments... have to give it some thought and also talk it over with Ann to see what she thinks.

On a different note, today's ride is significant because it means I have once again ridden every month this year. This year it was a definite challenge to get out and ride all winter - I know I only rode once in February, fairly late in the month! - but I managed to do it, and most months I rode a good deal more than once.

JMH