October 13, 2020 - Hudson, NY, to Poughkeepsie, NY

Start: Hudson, NY
End: Poughkeepsie, NY
Miles: 54
Feet climbing per mile: 65
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/105461440

I left my hotel at 9:40 to ride south on the west side of the Hudson and catch a Metro North train at Poughkeepsie which would bring me to Grand Central. I would have eight and one half hours of daylight to ride the distance of a little more than 50 miles. Unlike the previous two days which were sunny, this day it would be raining from time to time.

After crossing the Hudson on Rip Van Winkle Bridge, I made my way to Old Kings Road, which I had chosen in order to avoid 9W. Unfortunately there was a lot of traffic on Old Kings Road and often not a usable shoulder, so I might have done better taking 9W.

Two hours into my ride I saw smoke, or maybe steam, coming from an industrial site owned by Northeast Solite Corporation, a company that produces lightweight aggregates for use in concrete.

About 20 minutes later I encountered a herd of lazy bison. Unlike most of the cows I've encountered, none of the bison seemed curious about me.

But were they bison, or were they buffalo? After all, the song Home on the Range starts as follows:

Oh, give me a home, where the buffalo roam

According to the wikipedia article about bison, although they are colloquially referred to as buffalo in the United States and Canada, they are only distantly related to the true buffalo. So they were, in fact, bison. No buffalo roam in the United States. 

Halfway into my ride I stopped at Bread Alone in Lake Katrine where I had a hot chocolate and an almond croissant, both of which were disappointing. Perhaps the name "Bread Alone" indicates which of their products is good.

I slipped on the floor and almost fell as I was carrying my hot chocolate and croissant to the table outside. This happened because the outer edge of my left heel pad was worn down and the body of my shoe, rather than the heel pad, made contact with the floor.

At the south end of Port Ewen, about 35 miles into my ride, I took a longcut (apparently that's a word) onto River Road in order to avoid about three miles of 9W. I would have been fine staying on that section 9W which has a usable shoulder, but River Road had a beautiful surface, no traffic, and it brought me to the edge of the Hudson. I think it was the most beautiful portion of my ride that day.

River Road

About 49 miles into my ride I saw several beautiful horses.

I had planned to stop at the Frozen Caboose in Highland to have some ice cream, but it was closed  due to weather.

Fortunately Pomodoro, in the same building as the Frozen Caboose, was open. I enjoyed a bowl of Italian soup (chicken broth, spinach, egg, and parmesan cheese) and a slice of pizza. I was told that the Frozen Caboose was closed because nobody comes out in the rain for ice cream.

Similar to what happened at Bread Alone, I slipped on the floor and this time fell when the body of my left shoe, rather than its heel pad, made contact with the floor. I bruised my left shoulder and the side of my left knee but it was nothing serious. So that this will not happen again, when I got home I swapped the heel pads between my shoes. The heel pads wear fastest on the outer edges because the inner edges never make much contact with the ground or floor, so swapping the pads extends their useful life.

From Pomodoro it was just 3 miles to the station at Poughkeepsie where I caught the 4:31 train to Grand Central. When I started my 1.5-mile ride from Grand Central to home at 6:30 it was dark and raining. It would have been better if I had arrived earlier, before sunset.

* * *

I planned this three-day trip last January, a month before I started to experience the muscle stiffness I reported in Health Report - September 13, 2022. My original plan included riding from Garrison to Hudson the first day and from Hudson to Garrison the third day. If I had done that, the first day would have been 70 miles and the third day 80 miles, with a total of 220 miles for the three days. Before leaving on this trip I had been gradually feeling better and better, but the longest ride I had done since last November was only 40 miles. I wasn't sure I was ready to take this trip, and I was certain that 220 miles would be too much. So I shortened the first and third days to 53 and 54 miles by riding from New Hamburg to Hudson and from Hudson to Poughkeepsie, reducing the total mileage to 180 miles (including my short rides between home and Grand Central). There was some climbing but nothing extreme.

I felt good throughout the three days of the trip and after I completed the trip. Although I wasn't certain whether I was ready to make this trip it's clear that I was.

Previous day: October 12, 2022 - Hudson, NY, to Albany, NY, and Return

Subscribe to this blog