0.5 Mile Walk at Labrador Hollow Unique Area
Sunday, September 30, 3018
Sunday, September 30, 2018
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Sunday, September 23, 2018
20.7 Mile Ride on the Zim Smith Trail
Sunday, September 23, 2018
I really wasn't sure how today's ride would go, since I've been sick for the last two days and spent a good part of yesterday in bed. That meant I had to remind myself that I wasn't riding for speed today, but then again I haven't ridden for a week so it wasn't too difficult to take it easy.
I do find it mind-boggling that a week ago the weather was sweltering and today I actually wore a long-sleeved shirt under my bike jersey (and was glad I had for most of the ride.)
All in all it was pretty sweet to be out riding on a cool sunny day.
JMH
Sunday, September 23, 2018
I really wasn't sure how today's ride would go, since I've been sick for the last two days and spent a good part of yesterday in bed. That meant I had to remind myself that I wasn't riding for speed today, but then again I haven't ridden for a week so it wasn't too difficult to take it easy.
I do find it mind-boggling that a week ago the weather was sweltering and today I actually wore a long-sleeved shirt under my bike jersey (and was glad I had for most of the ride.)
All in all it was pretty sweet to be out riding on a cool sunny day.
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Mending Fences
Saturday, September 15, 2018
For some reason, the top horizontal support beams for the fence that separates my backyard from the neighbors' tends to rot away right near the fence posts. As a result I've had one section that seemed ready to fall down for quite some time (I'm actually surprised all the squirrel activity didn't take it out) and another two sections that were in better shape but would likely need replacing by the end of next summer. I don't have any easy way to get an 8 ft x 6 ft section of stockade fence from the store to the house (though I suppose I could have them deliver it) but fortunately the handyman that my landlord hires does, so last week he brought two sections over and between Thursday evening and tonight after I got back from the Mohawk Valley, I took down the old sections and installed the new ones (or in the case of a short section, cut a section out of one of the old ones to take its place.)
I still need to dismantle the old sections so I can toss the trash and salvage any useable slats, but I can take my time doing that, as long as I get it done before winter.
And for those who wonder - yes I did leave a hole for the skunks, opossum, and raccoons to squeeze through. I imagine they'll be a bit miffed at first - I think the opossum and the raccoons were using a sizeable gap in one of the sections I replaced - but I think they'll eventually figure out that there's still a spot where they can get in and out. Unfortunately that means I can't block those to keep the cats out, but I don't know that I was managing to do that anyway.
JMH
Saturday, September 15, 2018
For some reason, the top horizontal support beams for the fence that separates my backyard from the neighbors' tends to rot away right near the fence posts. As a result I've had one section that seemed ready to fall down for quite some time (I'm actually surprised all the squirrel activity didn't take it out) and another two sections that were in better shape but would likely need replacing by the end of next summer. I don't have any easy way to get an 8 ft x 6 ft section of stockade fence from the store to the house (though I suppose I could have them deliver it) but fortunately the handyman that my landlord hires does, so last week he brought two sections over and between Thursday evening and tonight after I got back from the Mohawk Valley, I took down the old sections and installed the new ones (or in the case of a short section, cut a section out of one of the old ones to take its place.)
I still need to dismantle the old sections so I can toss the trash and salvage any useable slats, but I can take my time doing that, as long as I get it done before winter.
And for those who wonder - yes I did leave a hole for the skunks, opossum, and raccoons to squeeze through. I imagine they'll be a bit miffed at first - I think the opossum and the raccoons were using a sizeable gap in one of the sections I replaced - but I think they'll eventually figure out that there's still a spot where they can get in and out. Unfortunately that means I can't block those to keep the cats out, but I don't know that I was managing to do that anyway.
JMH
END-TO-END-TO-END, Year 3:
18.7 Mile Ride on Rt 5S & the Canalway Trail (Little Falls to Ilion)
11.7 Mile Ride on Rt 5 (Lock 19 to Ilion)
Saturday, September 15, 2018
I think one of the things that makes is harder to be excited about riding some of the remaining sections of the canalway trail is the fact that the stretches near Syracuse and Utica are mainly on-road, which means the scenery tends to be less interesting and I get to deal with car and truck traffic.
I planned today's trip specifically around riding between Little Falls and Utica. The day was originally going to start with a race on the short off-road section of trail between the German Flatts Historical Society and Mohawk, but after a fairly exhausting week I decided to sleep a little later rather than run a 5k (a distance which I have been running much more often, but which I still don't particularly enjoy given how slow I am and how long it takes me to warm up. I had actually planned to get there over an hour early today to run about 3 miles before the race so that I'd be close to warmed up during the event itself.)
I started the first ride today riding that section of off-road trail down into Mohawk before following the roads over to Ilion and crossing the river, where I turned back. Rode back to the car, refilled my water bottles anticipating little shade for the rest of the ride, and after walking the bike through the Living History Festival at the Historical Society (which looked to be a civil war encampment re-enactment combined with a small fall festival) followed the roads all the way over to the trailhead on Rte 167 where I had stopped a little over a year ago.
After grabbing some lunch I headed west to Lock 19. Some of the locks have really nice parks on their grounds... while this one had a very nice sign out by the road proclaiming it Schuyler's Lock 19, it was pretty clear it sees mainly boat traffic, and anyone travelling the canal by boat who wanted to stop for the night would likely put in at one of the marinas (like the Ilion Marina where I stopped to use the bathroom.)
From there it was a hot slog east along Rt 5 to where I'd stopped earlier, and then a similar slog back to Lock 19, with cars and trucks zooming by me at 55-60 mph. The trip back was a little easier than the trip out mainly because I had a tailwind. Earlier in the day I had wondered if I would have enough juice to finish this section today (it's about 6.5 miles from Lock 19 to the Canalway Trail parking lot in Utica) but it was very clear that I didn't have another 13 miles in my legs, so when I got back to the lock I called it a day. (There's a possibility I'll ride that last 13 miles next weekend, if I head out to Utica to the Falling Leaves road race on Sunday... I'm still undecided if I want to run that or stay closer to home.)
On the way home I got off the Thruway between Amsterdam and Schenectady, both to treat myself to some ice cream at Stewarts and to check on the progress on the new section of trail east of Amsterdam. It's looking pretty darn close to being finished - they've got gates installed at the various access points - but the signs still say it isn't open yet.
It looks like there's construction going on for a new section of trail between the German Flatts Historical Society and Lock 18 to the east, but it also looks like they still have a lot to do, and it doesn't seem like that can add more than 2-3 miles of offroad trail. There's a pretty obvious overgrown railbed on Rt 167 across from the current trailhead, but it's very unclear if they plan to run the trail through there. I know what I read most recently is that they're planning to do more modifications to the road-side route in that area to make it more bicycle and family friendly - apparently between bridges that would need to be built and land that would need to be purchased, on-road is simply a much more viable option.
JMH
18.7 Mile Ride on Rt 5S & the Canalway Trail (Little Falls to Ilion)
11.7 Mile Ride on Rt 5 (Lock 19 to Ilion)
Saturday, September 15, 2018
I think one of the things that makes is harder to be excited about riding some of the remaining sections of the canalway trail is the fact that the stretches near Syracuse and Utica are mainly on-road, which means the scenery tends to be less interesting and I get to deal with car and truck traffic.
I planned today's trip specifically around riding between Little Falls and Utica. The day was originally going to start with a race on the short off-road section of trail between the German Flatts Historical Society and Mohawk, but after a fairly exhausting week I decided to sleep a little later rather than run a 5k (a distance which I have been running much more often, but which I still don't particularly enjoy given how slow I am and how long it takes me to warm up. I had actually planned to get there over an hour early today to run about 3 miles before the race so that I'd be close to warmed up during the event itself.)
I started the first ride today riding that section of off-road trail down into Mohawk before following the roads over to Ilion and crossing the river, where I turned back. Rode back to the car, refilled my water bottles anticipating little shade for the rest of the ride, and after walking the bike through the Living History Festival at the Historical Society (which looked to be a civil war encampment re-enactment combined with a small fall festival) followed the roads all the way over to the trailhead on Rte 167 where I had stopped a little over a year ago.
After grabbing some lunch I headed west to Lock 19. Some of the locks have really nice parks on their grounds... while this one had a very nice sign out by the road proclaiming it Schuyler's Lock 19, it was pretty clear it sees mainly boat traffic, and anyone travelling the canal by boat who wanted to stop for the night would likely put in at one of the marinas (like the Ilion Marina where I stopped to use the bathroom.)
From there it was a hot slog east along Rt 5 to where I'd stopped earlier, and then a similar slog back to Lock 19, with cars and trucks zooming by me at 55-60 mph. The trip back was a little easier than the trip out mainly because I had a tailwind. Earlier in the day I had wondered if I would have enough juice to finish this section today (it's about 6.5 miles from Lock 19 to the Canalway Trail parking lot in Utica) but it was very clear that I didn't have another 13 miles in my legs, so when I got back to the lock I called it a day. (There's a possibility I'll ride that last 13 miles next weekend, if I head out to Utica to the Falling Leaves road race on Sunday... I'm still undecided if I want to run that or stay closer to home.)
It looks like there's construction going on for a new section of trail between the German Flatts Historical Society and Lock 18 to the east, but it also looks like they still have a lot to do, and it doesn't seem like that can add more than 2-3 miles of offroad trail. There's a pretty obvious overgrown railbed on Rt 167 across from the current trailhead, but it's very unclear if they plan to run the trail through there. I know what I read most recently is that they're planning to do more modifications to the road-side route in that area to make it more bicycle and family friendly - apparently between bridges that would need to be built and land that would need to be purchased, on-road is simply a much more viable option.
JMH
Sunday, September 09, 2018
Saturday, September 08, 2018
Wednesday, September 05, 2018
Monday, September 03, 2018
HORRIBLE WEATHER 😞
6 Mile Run at Peebles Island State Park, Waterford Harbor, & Along the Old Champlain Canalway Trail
Monday, September 3, 2018
After almost a week of cooler weather, the hot & humid stuff is back with a vengeance. The only consolation is that it's supposed to cool off a bit for the first actual day of school at the end of the week.
As a result, today's run was both shorter and slower than I had planned on. Only one loop around Peebles Island (I had planned on two) and I totally gave up on the canal path heading north. I suspect I'm also going to give up on a short ride later this evening. On the other hand, I'm glad I had planned to run the canal path, because it's fairly flat and mostly shaded.
JMH
6 Mile Run at Peebles Island State Park, Waterford Harbor, & Along the Old Champlain Canalway Trail
Monday, September 3, 2018
After almost a week of cooler weather, the hot & humid stuff is back with a vengeance. The only consolation is that it's supposed to cool off a bit for the first actual day of school at the end of the week.
As a result, today's run was both shorter and slower than I had planned on. Only one loop around Peebles Island (I had planned on two) and I totally gave up on the canal path heading north. I suspect I'm also going to give up on a short ride later this evening. On the other hand, I'm glad I had planned to run the canal path, because it's fairly flat and mostly shaded.
Sunday, September 02, 2018
27.2 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path, Rt 5S, and the (Future) Erie Canalway Trail
Sunday, September 2, 2018
"Future" because technically the almost 4 mile stretch of paved trail I rode from Pattersonville to Lock 10 isn't open yet, but I couldn't resist riding some new pavement (late on a Sunday afternoon when I was pretty sure none of the workers would be there!) The new stretch of trail is pretty sweet - only a slight grade, as opposed to the hills on Rt 5S, and mostly secluded. There's a really nice stretch through a long rock cut that I especially enjoyed. This section looks like it's close to being done - there's a little work left for the parking area, and a redecked bridge that they're still working on. I'm looking forward to riding it again once it's officially open - it might also make for a nice run.
I'm curious to see what happens with the remaining connections between Pattersonville and Rotterdam Junction. I've seen a lot about tunnels under the railroad tracks, at Scrafford Lane and at the bridge carrying the rail line over 5S on the western end of the Junction. And the discussions this year all seemed focused on the money actually being there to build these tunnels, thanks to Cuomo's push to get the Empire State Trail built (the same push is funding the construction to close gaps, like the section I rode today.) But this is an election year for the governor, and I think we all know elections can totally upend plans like these. (I had previously heard that money had been set aside years ago for the tunnel at Scafford Lane but then that money disappeared at around the same time that the rail line owners got into a fight with the state that killed any plans that were in place.)
One of the reasons I like to ride the Rotterdam Junction sections of the bike path is the abundant wildlife in the old canal - today did not disappoint. A lot of the water in the section on the east side is clogged with green algae, but I still saw a heron, wood ducks, a few turtles basking, and two muskrats. I also spotted what looks like a large dead snapping turtle. The section on the west side was surprisingly low on water but nonetheless had five herons (migrating, maybe?) and several kingfishers, as well as numerous turtles. And I once again saw an osprey fly overhead.
JMH
Sunday, September 2, 2018
"Future" because technically the almost 4 mile stretch of paved trail I rode from Pattersonville to Lock 10 isn't open yet, but I couldn't resist riding some new pavement (late on a Sunday afternoon when I was pretty sure none of the workers would be there!) The new stretch of trail is pretty sweet - only a slight grade, as opposed to the hills on Rt 5S, and mostly secluded. There's a really nice stretch through a long rock cut that I especially enjoyed. This section looks like it's close to being done - there's a little work left for the parking area, and a redecked bridge that they're still working on. I'm looking forward to riding it again once it's officially open - it might also make for a nice run.
I'm curious to see what happens with the remaining connections between Pattersonville and Rotterdam Junction. I've seen a lot about tunnels under the railroad tracks, at Scrafford Lane and at the bridge carrying the rail line over 5S on the western end of the Junction. And the discussions this year all seemed focused on the money actually being there to build these tunnels, thanks to Cuomo's push to get the Empire State Trail built (the same push is funding the construction to close gaps, like the section I rode today.) But this is an election year for the governor, and I think we all know elections can totally upend plans like these. (I had previously heard that money had been set aside years ago for the tunnel at Scafford Lane but then that money disappeared at around the same time that the rail line owners got into a fight with the state that killed any plans that were in place.)
One of the reasons I like to ride the Rotterdam Junction sections of the bike path is the abundant wildlife in the old canal - today did not disappoint. A lot of the water in the section on the east side is clogged with green algae, but I still saw a heron, wood ducks, a few turtles basking, and two muskrats. I also spotted what looks like a large dead snapping turtle. The section on the west side was surprisingly low on water but nonetheless had five herons (migrating, maybe?) and several kingfishers, as well as numerous turtles. And I once again saw an osprey fly overhead.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
