NO MORE HERONS
2.3 Mile Walk at Black Creek Park
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Fast Paving
Saturday, April 30, 3016
On my way home from Thacher last night I passed the Slingerlands parking area for the Albany County Rail Trail, and it was pretty clear they've gotten the paving done. I would imagine there's more work to be done - railings in some areas, etc - but it would seem that the trail is paved all the way from Slingerlands to to Albany (about 5 miles.) While I will miss having the dirt rail bed to run on, it will be nice to be able to take my road bike on that section... and fortunately I can still run on pavement, so that option remains as well.
JMH
Saturday, April 30, 3016
On my way home from Thacher last night I passed the Slingerlands parking area for the Albany County Rail Trail, and it was pretty clear they've gotten the paving done. I would imagine there's more work to be done - railings in some areas, etc - but it would seem that the trail is paved all the way from Slingerlands to to Albany (about 5 miles.) While I will miss having the dirt rail bed to run on, it will be nice to be able to take my road bike on that section... and fortunately I can still run on pavement, so that option remains as well.
JMH
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Friday, April 22, 2016
GREEN WITH TURTLES...
20.1 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Friday, April 22, 2016
A bit warm and muggy today but it was really nice to get out for a ride in the morning rather than the evening. Initially the bike path was pretty quiet, though it did get busier around lunchtime.
Everything continues to green up nicely... a really pleasant change from the grey & brown winter we had. And there were turtles on all sorts of logs in the old canal, enjoying the warmth and a bit of sunshine.
The dams were down at Lock 8, so the river/barge canal west of there is full again - still low east of Lock 8, but I imagine that will change in the next week or so.
The ride today did have me wondering if I should have gone out to Rochester after all... but then I reminded myself that 20 mostly flat miles is very different from 20 very hilly miles - especially when sandwiched between a 5k run and a 3 mile paddle. I'm still feeling some of the effects of being sick, so I'm confident I made the right decision - as much as it sucks to be missing the paddle tri.
JMH
20.1 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Friday, April 22, 2016
A bit warm and muggy today but it was really nice to get out for a ride in the morning rather than the evening. Initially the bike path was pretty quiet, though it did get busier around lunchtime.
Everything continues to green up nicely... a really pleasant change from the grey & brown winter we had. And there were turtles on all sorts of logs in the old canal, enjoying the warmth and a bit of sunshine.
The dams were down at Lock 8, so the river/barge canal west of there is full again - still low east of Lock 8, but I imagine that will change in the next week or so.
The ride today did have me wondering if I should have gone out to Rochester after all... but then I reminded myself that 20 mostly flat miles is very different from 20 very hilly miles - especially when sandwiched between a 5k run and a 3 mile paddle. I'm still feeling some of the effects of being sick, so I'm confident I made the right decision - as much as it sucks to be missing the paddle tri.
JMH
Thursday, April 21, 2016
DEVELOPMENT EVERYWHERE... BLEAH!
6.4 Mile Run on the Albany County Rail Trail
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Seems like all over the place trees are being cut down and fields are being torn up for construction of new buildings... there were several points where this was very obvious along the rail trail between Voorheesville and Slingerlands, in addition to plenty of sites I see in lots of other places.
I don't know why I was drawn to the rail trail between Voorheesville and Slingerlands today... for some reason as I was thinking about places to run, I kept coming back to it, so finally I decided I might as well make it happen. With the warm weather it was a lot busier than it has been other times I've been there.
One very unexpected sight this evening was a huge barn up on supports near the trail where it crosses Hilton Road. A bit of research when I got home revealed that this barn was originally across the street and was moved about a month ago to its new location, where it may someday have a role to play in the rail trail. Apparently the plan is to construct a new foundation and have the barn settled in its new home by the end of May. In any case moving this structure was a major engineering accomplishment - it's truly immense and dates back to 1898.
On my way home I noticed heavy equipment at the Slingerlands trailhead - the trail between Slingerlands and the Veterans Park in Delmar has been graded and surfaced with stone dust in preparation for paving - another project the County expects to have done by the end of May.
I'll be curious to see what they do with surfacing the section I ran tonight... currently it's very stony, so it's not always the most comfortable surface for running. I know the paving that's currently underway is a joint venture of the County and the Town of Bethlehem, so perhaps the answer will depend on whether or not the County, Bethlehem, and Voorheesville can work together. It will also be interesting to see how they're going to connect the two sections of trail - there's a rail bridge over New Scotland Ave, but access to it on the southern end runs through someone's yard...
JMH
6.4 Mile Run on the Albany County Rail Trail
Thursday, April 21, 2016
Seems like all over the place trees are being cut down and fields are being torn up for construction of new buildings... there were several points where this was very obvious along the rail trail between Voorheesville and Slingerlands, in addition to plenty of sites I see in lots of other places.
I don't know why I was drawn to the rail trail between Voorheesville and Slingerlands today... for some reason as I was thinking about places to run, I kept coming back to it, so finally I decided I might as well make it happen. With the warm weather it was a lot busier than it has been other times I've been there.
One very unexpected sight this evening was a huge barn up on supports near the trail where it crosses Hilton Road. A bit of research when I got home revealed that this barn was originally across the street and was moved about a month ago to its new location, where it may someday have a role to play in the rail trail. Apparently the plan is to construct a new foundation and have the barn settled in its new home by the end of May. In any case moving this structure was a major engineering accomplishment - it's truly immense and dates back to 1898.
On my way home I noticed heavy equipment at the Slingerlands trailhead - the trail between Slingerlands and the Veterans Park in Delmar has been graded and surfaced with stone dust in preparation for paving - another project the County expects to have done by the end of May.
I'll be curious to see what they do with surfacing the section I ran tonight... currently it's very stony, so it's not always the most comfortable surface for running. I know the paving that's currently underway is a joint venture of the County and the Town of Bethlehem, so perhaps the answer will depend on whether or not the County, Bethlehem, and Voorheesville can work together. It will also be interesting to see how they're going to connect the two sections of trail - there's a rail bridge over New Scotland Ave, but access to it on the southern end runs through someone's yard...
JMH
Morning Cleanup at Buckingham Pond
Thursday, April 21, 2016
My advising group (minus 4 kids who didn't come to school today) and I spent the morning at Buckingham Pond as part of the school's spring community service day. Last Sunday the Conservancy had their public spring cleanup, and from what I saw on Tuesday they got an incredible amount of work done. But there's always more to do... in our case, it was three hours of raking and bagging leaves and then hauling the bags to the parking lot for eventual pickup by the DGS Composting Unit. And in my case, lots of walking back and forth in between bouts of raking and bagging to see how my two groups of students were doing.
All in all it was a productive morning - we filled between 30 and 40 bags with leaves from the areas near the playground & maintenance shed and then the small grove of trees and lawn near the southern side of the pond inlet.
The goose came ashore a to graze a few times while we were there - his mate is still sitting on her nest across the pond, I'm guessing another two weeks to go for her. An even more welcome sight was a number of turtles crawling up onto logs to sun themselves... I don't see them often there, so it's always a pleasant surprise when they put in an appearance.
One thing this morning solidified - there's no way I'm doing the paddle tri out in Rochester Saturday morning. Raking and hauling wore me out big time - I just haven't recovered enough yet to handle that tough bike course after a 5k run and then go on to paddle three miles, half of that against the river's current. It's a shame - I've done every year since they first established the race back in 2010 - but it is what it is.
JMH
Thursday, April 21, 2016
My advising group (minus 4 kids who didn't come to school today) and I spent the morning at Buckingham Pond as part of the school's spring community service day. Last Sunday the Conservancy had their public spring cleanup, and from what I saw on Tuesday they got an incredible amount of work done. But there's always more to do... in our case, it was three hours of raking and bagging leaves and then hauling the bags to the parking lot for eventual pickup by the DGS Composting Unit. And in my case, lots of walking back and forth in between bouts of raking and bagging to see how my two groups of students were doing.
All in all it was a productive morning - we filled between 30 and 40 bags with leaves from the areas near the playground & maintenance shed and then the small grove of trees and lawn near the southern side of the pond inlet.
The goose came ashore a to graze a few times while we were there - his mate is still sitting on her nest across the pond, I'm guessing another two weeks to go for her. An even more welcome sight was a number of turtles crawling up onto logs to sun themselves... I don't see them often there, so it's always a pleasant surprise when they put in an appearance.
One thing this morning solidified - there's no way I'm doing the paddle tri out in Rochester Saturday morning. Raking and hauling wore me out big time - I just haven't recovered enough yet to handle that tough bike course after a 5k run and then go on to paddle three miles, half of that against the river's current. It's a shame - I've done every year since they first established the race back in 2010 - but it is what it is.
JMH
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR THE FLOWER CITY RIVER CHALLENGE...
14.3 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
... though I suppose I should be happy I was able to ride at all, after coming down with some type of flu-like bug at the beginning of the week. I rode some hills on purpose to see how my legs would handle it, and I definitely found it tough going after 10 miles or so. Given that the riding portion of Saturday's paddle triathlon is a hilly 20 miles, plus I'd need to run 5k and paddle about 3 miles - unless I make a miraculous recovery in the next day or so, it makes sense to pass on the tri.
The trees and bushes are starting to green up, which is really nice to see - especially on a warm, sunny day like today.
JMH
14.3 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
... though I suppose I should be happy I was able to ride at all, after coming down with some type of flu-like bug at the beginning of the week. I rode some hills on purpose to see how my legs would handle it, and I definitely found it tough going after 10 miles or so. Given that the riding portion of Saturday's paddle triathlon is a hilly 20 miles, plus I'd need to run 5k and paddle about 3 miles - unless I make a miraculous recovery in the next day or so, it makes sense to pass on the tri.
The trees and bushes are starting to green up, which is really nice to see - especially on a warm, sunny day like today.
JMH
Sunday, April 17, 2016
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