BUSY PATHS
15.4 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path, Rt 5S, and Rt 5
Thursday, March 26, 2020
I originally planned to just ride the path between Scrafford Lane and SCCC - but when I was driving to Lock 8 to park I could see how busy the path was along the SCCC to Lock 8 segment (the small parking area along the road to Lock 8 was overflowing with cars - there were almost as many parked along the road as there were in the parking lot) so I decided to concentrate on heading west instead. It was still pretty busy between Lock 8 and the 5S crossing, and even along the old canal... but the stretch of path west of Rotterdam Junction was pretty quiet. Right where that comes out on the road, I got a good view of the construction site alongside the railroad tracks - but I still can't tell if it's work for the railroad, or if they're working on another stretch of bike path to connect to the new section that starts in Pattersonville. (If the latter, I'm guessing they're going to have to tunnel under the tracks, which seems like it would be ridiculously expensive.
I decided to cross the river at Lock 9 and take Rt 5 east to the next bridge, which would allow me to get back on the bike path about half a mile east of the Kiwanis Park. The good part of that was, there's a very wide breakdown lane, but unfortunately 5 is a 4 lane highway along there, so I spent a couple of miles sucking down exhaust fumes and really appreciating the fact that I mostly ride on vehicle-free paths.
Legs felt decent except when I had to climb, then they reminded me that I'd done almost 26 miles with some climbing yesterday. 40 miles in two days isn't anything amazing, but it's also decent for this time of year and especially for the shape I've been in (or rather, haven't been in.)
Today's critter surprise was the first nesting goose I've seen this season - no doubt with more to come.
JMH
