Great Day for a ride in Upstate NY!

[BumbleBeeDave]

It was a absolutely perfect day for a ride in upstate NY yesterday! High of 84, sunny skies, slight breeze. So I decided to get out for my longest so far this year and get some hill training in for my France trip in July. I mapped out a 70 mile loop west of Schenectady, through Esperance and Burtonville, and back to town.

So here we go . . .

Here's an old lock from the Erie Canal that's along the bike trail out of town which follows the old towpath. A group of local college students have spruced it up.

This goose family was by the side of the road on Currybush, but Mom and Dad Goose were not thrilled about posing. Lots of hissing!

And here's Lock and Dam 9 on the Mohawk River/Erie Canal west of town.During Hurricane Irene this dame was heavily damaged and the raging Mohawk carved a new channel right around the dam. They've got it all fixed now--at least until then next hurricane!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . and away from the bike trail I didn't see another cyclist and very few cars. Lots of open road and blue sky and it's all mine!

[rwsaunders]

Nice pics, Dave, although that gent in the KOM doorag scared the hell out of me...

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . of the Red Rocket. sorry, but I couldn't find a white garage door. Then it was on west and down this huge hill toward Schoharie Creek. At the bottom I turned south toward Esperance for a rest stop at Stewarts' where they always have energy bars, cold water , a bathroom, and friendly people. Then it was back over to cross Schoharie Creek at Burtonville. Last august this creek was a ragin torrent during Hurricane Irene and carried away many houses and even whole towns farther upstream toward the Catskills. But today it was calm and peaceful and a beautiful view.

[MattTuck]

Awesome ride, Dave. Where's the zebra suit? :banana:

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . of the Schoharie Creek valley I got to the Hummingbird Hills Winery where their barns offered a good excuse to shoot some pictures--and catch my breath. Once past there it was along the ridge top for a few more miles, then back down toward the Creek again on this road that offered all sorts of beautiful vistas of farms and fields in the distance.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . at the County 161 bridge, where the hurricane's water level and force were obvious. Then back up again--this time the eastern slope as I headed back toward Schenectady.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . there were still some scenes to be seen. The phlox are all in bloom, and will be replaced with the daisies in another 3-4 weeks.

This ghost bike is west of town where the bike trail crosses the highway.

I finally ended up with 70 miles and a pretty darn perfect afternoon. I hope yours was as enjoyable.

BBD

[Black Dog]

Your bike needs more red.

[happycampyer]

Your bike needs more red.Yeah, Fulcrum Racing Zero's with the red rims and spokes would be just the ticket.

Poured all day here—very envious!

[wc1934]

NICE!!!! - thanks for sharing - if you don't mind me asking, what camera are you using?

[Hawker]

Dave, what part of the state? I grew up along the Erie Canal in Spencerport and Rochester.

[rdparadise]

Nice ride report and pictures Dave. Thanks for sharing. Glad you got in a long ride with some good climbs. That bike is hideous, just sayin....

Bob

[Fiertetimestwo]

Dave,

Your moustache and goatee are precisely the same colours as mine- a bit ginger and a bit gray! I turned 50 yesterday and there seems to be more gray this morning than there was the other day....How did this happen?

[velotel]

Not bad, a french bike for your holiday riding in France. Plus it's sporting the proud color of the left (politically) who just happens to have placed their man as pres and maybe will win the next elections. Perfect. But on the other hand looks like you're missing just a wee bit of the vertical dimension for seriously training for the Alps. Must have been some kind of storm. Wish we were having weather like that. Nice shots

[maxn]

Excellent! I really like the second silo shot

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . Lumix DMC-TS3. I really like it. Waterproof, shockproof, Leica lens, 28mm wide-angle, 12Mb. Also does very good HD video. It's not quite the smallest you can get, but I really like the weatherproof aspect. Throw it in my pocket and don't worry about it if it rains.

Hawker . . . It's southwest of Schenectady and Albany.

Velotel . . . Yes, I know! Not as high as the Alps, but I have to work with what I've got for the moment! :D

BBD

NICE!!!! - thanks for sharing - if you don't mind me asking, what camera are you using?

[thinpin]

Nice photos BBD. Another place on the radar for my 1st trip to the USA.

[douglas]

That looks like the perfect ride. Clear skies, beautiful scenery and no cars. Thanks for sharing.

[GregL]

The quiet back roads of upstate NY are truly some of the most beautiful places to ride in the US. Through Dave's incredible photographic artistry, they become even more stunning. Thanks for sharing your creative talents with us!

- Greg

[1happygirl]

Awesome photos!! You're a great photographer. THX

[Nooch]

and dave's reppin' GS Park Ridge, so :hello::hello::hello::banana::banana::banana:

[Steevo]

Great shots Dave, as always. I love seeing the scenery of upstate NY. Nice jersey BTW. Do you use Instagram? If so, I'd like to add you to my list of followers / followees.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . .I'd rather wait till I get home to post!

On a day like this one the NY terrain is fabulous. If I had a ride home, I could have ridden terrain like this and done 70 miles all the way to Utica--or a century to Syracuse.

VERY few cars except on the highways, and even then not much this far out in the sticks. Many of the small towns have Stewart's Stores and I swear by Stewart's. They are always clean, have a clean bathroom open to visitors, and I've even taken my bike inside to keep an eye on it and never a problem.

BBD

[CNY rider]

Great shots Dave. A little further west and I would have had some cold drinks waiting for you.

Looking forward to riding with you again some time this summer.

[tiretrax]

Awesome ride, Dave. Where's the zebra suit? :banana:

My thought, too.

Is the ghost bike at the site of a rider's death? RIP.

[BumbleBeeDave]

My thought, too.

Is the ghost bike at the site of a rider's death? RIP.

. . . he was killed while crossing the highway asfar as i know. I shot a pic of the sign but it's at home. I'll look tonight and get his name and other info and post it.

CNYRider, we need to do a weekend ride out your way sometime soon!

BBD

[Tom]

You're killing me. I bounced off a car on 146 a couple of weeks ago, right hook with me going about 25, and my little finger is held together with an external wire frame and three pins straight through it. So of course the minute the weather breaks into high spring I'm in the driveway or backyard on the trainer praying for a breeze. 170 trainer miles last week, 105 so far this week. The doc says if I fall over and wreck his work he refuses to treat me any more.

So ride the crap out of your bike on the roads but keep your eyes open.

[BumbleBeeDave]

You're killing me. I bounced off a car on 146 a couple of weeks ago, right hook with me going about 25, and my little finger is held together with an external wire frame and three pins straight through it. So of course the minute the weather breaks into high spring I'm in the driveway or backyard on the trainer praying for a breeze. 170 trainer miles last week, 105 so far this week. The doc says if I fall over and wreck his work he refuses to treat me any more.

So ride the crap out of your bike on the roads but keep your eyes open.

Tom, that's awful! Can you tolerate a careful ride on the bike trail? No traffic?

BBD

[Tom]

Actually, no non-stationary riding until I get the go-ahead... High Command decree and she's right.

The problem is that it doesn't hurt, I forget, get careless and whack it. That's when I use the Lord's name in vain because then it smarts pretty good.

[soulspinner]

Nice shots Dave. Living and riding in ustate NY can be great in the summer. Had a great fingerlakes ride yesterday on my new plastic bike.

[EDS]

I need to be more creative when I ride in Albany. Coming from the Colonie area I usually just end up riding Western Ave going west or loop over to Thatcher.

[fiamme red]

Great photos.

I haven't been to the northern Catskills since Irene, and I'm afraid that the buildings that I remember in Windham, Maplecrest, Prattsville, etc. are mostly destroyed. :(

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . a few weeks ago and we did a ride from there to the west, riding along the northern bluff of the Catskill, over to Gilboa, around back through Prattville and back to Windham.

The contrast between windham and Prattville was striking. Windham is pretty much rebuilt, or at least the damaged debris has been taken away. Windham has a more toruism-based economy built around the ski area. That als osustained some pretty good damage, but i did not go up there during my visit.

In stark contrast, Prattville is pretty much the back end of nowhere in the Catskills, and while it's a beautiful area, it's too far from major cities or highways for good access. It also was in the path of far more water than came down through Windham. It's at the confluence of two different creeks right where they flow into Gilboa Reservoir.

We rode into town there and even 8 months after the whole place still looks like a movie set out of some post-Apocolyptic zombie movie. Many houses stand abandoned and others have had half-hearted repairs started that look like the owners ran out of money or resolve--or both--halfway through. My friend Chris said the only change he noticed from the last time he went through months before was the town baseball field--totally wrecked--at least was bare. Before it had a pile of debris three stories high covering it, he said.

The whole place was a pretty sad sight and you wonder how a small town like that with very few resources is ever going to recover. There's no major industry, no economy I could see possible beyond dairy farming. There's not enough open flat land for farming and because it's in the Catskill Park, lumbering is very restricted.

Just a real mess and I wish them luck.

BBD

[fiamme red]

Yes, larger villages like Windham and Margaretville have some tourism money to help them at least partially rebuild. In fact, Margaretsville's Cheese Barrel has just re-opened in its old location: http://www.watershedpost.com/2012/margaretvilles-cheese-barrel-gutted-irene-re-vamps-and-re-opens. On the other hand, a small village like Prattsville is probably wiped off the map forever.

[Johnny P]

Nice pictures. That is a great area for riding.

[Steevo]

Speaking of Margaretville, they're running a bike tour around the Pepacton Reservoir this Sunday, May 27. Should be great scenery and riding.

http://www.cahpc.org/pdfs/Ride_flyer12.pdf

[tkbike]

. . .
In stark contrast, Prattville is pretty much the back end of nowhere in the Catskills, and while it's a beautiful area, it's too far from major cities or highways for good access. It also was in the path of far more water than came down through Windham. It's at the confluence of two different creeks right where they flow into Gilboa Reservoir.

The whole place was a pretty sad sight and you wonder how a small town like that with very few resources is ever going to recover. There's no major industry, no economy I could see possible beyond dairy farming. There's not enough open flat land for farming and because it's in the Catskill Park, lumbering is very restricted.

Just a real mess and I wish them luck.
BBD

Yes, larger villages like Windham and Margaretville have some tourism money to help them at least partially rebuild. In fact, Margaretsville's Cheese Barrel has just re-opened in its old location: http://www.watershedpost.com/2012/margaretvilles-cheese-barrel-gutted-irene-re-vamps-and-re-opens. On the other hand, a small village like Prattsville is probably wiped off the map forever.

I totally disagree... Places Like Prattsville, Middleburgh and Schoharie will survive with the help of their communities and the many thousands of volunteers giving so much of their time. It took this disaster to restore my faith in humanity, I have met many life long friends in the past 9 months. It is incredible to see how far these communities have come in the past 9 months. I have done everything from mucking basements, demoing houses, sheet rocking, finish carpentry, building swingsets, moving debris and just listening and giving support. I miss riding on weekends... until I arrive in one of these communities(I've volunteered in all of them) and start working along side of the people who have nothing left but hope and the support of their communities and the volunteers that are their everyday. Their is nothing more rewarding than adopting a house/family and seeing them move back into their home!

If you want to take a Saturday or Sunday and volunteer your time, I'm in Schoharie every weekend!

Ted

[Johnny P]

I need to be more creative when I ride in Albany. Coming from the Colonie area I usually just end up riding Western Ave going west or loop over to Thatcher.

I avoid Western Ave due to the traffic. Riding up to Thatcher Park can be a nice loop. For more options go the the MHCC website http://webmhcc.org/rn/index.php. You'll find maps of local rides there plus a full ride calendar if you like group rides.

[EDS]

I avoid Western Ave due to the traffic. Riding up to Thatcher Park can be a nice loop. For more options go the the MHCC website http://webmhcc.org/rn/index.php. You'll find maps of local rides there plus a full ride calendar if you like group rides.

I typically wind my way to Western Ave and only end up on it west of Guilderland, where the traffic seems fairly mellow to me.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Riding on Western Ave. = Death Wish! :eek:

[majorpat]

BBD, when you get the gumption for the century heading west to Syracuse, let me know, always ready to ride with a Pacerottaline forumite
Pat

[EDS]

Riding on Western Ave. = Death Wish! :eek:

It is basically through farmland and small towns where I pick it up heading west from Fuller Station Rd. I think I have gone as far as Otsego Lake. I set my personal "high speed" record near Duansburg at 53 mph coming down a hill with a massive tail wind.