the Way of the Turtle

SURROUNDED BY TIMBERDOODLES...
14.8 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Thursday, April 7, 2016

When I left work it was raining hard enough that it looked like this evening would be a washout. But then the rain stopped and we even got a few flashes of sun through the clouds, and I successfully resisted inertia and took my bike over to the Lions Park for a ride. It was a bit chilly at first; the storm late this afternoon was apparently triggered by a cold front which dropped the temperature around ten degrees. But as I kept at it, I found warmed up a bit and by the time I was done I found myself wishing I could stay out for a few more miles. But it was getting late...

On my way back to the car I heard the first woodcocks (otherwise known as timberdoodles) so far this year calling away. In a couple of cases I was close enough that I actually caught glimpses of them as they launched themselves into the air for their courtship flights. There were certainly plenty of them out there - I heard them consistently all the way back where the bike path parallels River Rd. They were definitely the highlight of tonight's ride.

JMH