the Way of the Turtle

END-TO-END-TO-END, Year 1
19.9 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path, Through Cohoes to Van Schaick Island & Waterford, & Through Colonie Mohawk River Park
Wednesday, October 12, 2016

My original plan was to use part of my day off to head somewhere a bit further away (Pittsfield, Kingston, Rosendale, or Millerton) for a ride, and maybe get in a short run on the way there. Except in the end I didn't feel like traveling that far... so instead I settled for closing the only local gap in my attempt to ride the entire Erie Canalway Trail - the stretch east of Colonie Mohawk River Park down into Cohoes, and then through Cohoes to Van Schaick Pond.

I guess plenty of other folks had the day off too, because there was plenty of traffic and lots of people in the parks. Can't blame them - we had a gorgeous afternoon, warm and sunny.

The ride to the end of the trail at Alexander St was uneventful, and the part I was a bit concerned about - following local streets across 787 to Van Schaick Pond - turned out to be very straightforward, without much traffic. Even my biggest concern - crossing 787 - turned out to be pretty easy thanks to the crosswalks there.

The construction between the pond and the river is proceeding rapidly - the area is cleared and apparently there's going to be another complex of "luxury apartments" there - bleah. 

Since it was such a nice afternoon I didn't want to just turn around and head back, so I headed down toward the river and followed the paved path - first south, to the redecked railroad bridge, and then north to Peebles Island State Park and Waterford Harbor. From there I retraced my route through Cohoes back to the bike path and made the climb back up to Colonie Mohawk River Park. Even then I wasn't quite ready to stop, so I first rode down into the park, and then followed the local roads under the Northway to the point where the bike path heads up the steep hill. After that it was just a matter of following the path (both on-road and off) back to where my car was parked opposite the entrance to the park.

A fun ride... I got to ride some places I've rarely ridden before, and I completed the local stretch of the Erie Canalway Trail in the process.

JMH