September 22, 2026 - Albany, NY, to Amsterdam, NY

Start: Albany, NY
End: Amsterdam, NY
Miles: 49.9
Feet climbing per mile: 40
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/414899954

This three-day trip of almost 150 miles, being my first multi-day trip since June 6-7, 2026 - High Falls, NY, and starting just eight weeks after having needed to use a walker (see this post), would be a test of the progress I've recently made.

The day before starting the trip I changed my chain and the heel pads on my shoes. I noticed that the screw for the left heel pad did not tighten properly, so I applied Blue Threadlocker to the thread and some aluminum tape across the heel pad to prevent its loss.

My plan for this trip was to ride an Amtrak train to Albany (actually Rensselaer) and then ride a three-day loop, staying in two different hotels. When I took the train to Albany last year (see September 30-October 3, 2025 - Ticonderoga, NY) I went to Penn Station to make the reservation for my bike and myself because online it was not possible to obtain the senior discount or make a reservation for my bike. This time I was able to do all of that through the Amtrak app.

Because I would take the 7:30 train, I woke at 6:00, was out the door at 6:30, and arrived at Penn Station at 6:35. I went to the porter station where people in wheel chairs were congregating and asked a porter whether he could get help me get on the train before the main crowd. Because of his help I had hung my bike and was in my seat across the aisle at 6:50, before any of the main crowd entered the train.

Look at all that leg room!

It was 56 degrees and sunny when I departed from the train shortly before 10:00. Getting across the river from Rensselaer to Albany involved riding a rather strange but effective path.

I don't like bike trails all that much (more about that later), but the trail I was on along the Hudson from mile 1.4 to 6.4 was gorgeous.

I understand rent-a-car, but rent-a-center? What does it mean to rent a center? And of what is the center of the centers being rented?

Is it a parking lot or isn't it?

The Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway was beautiful at mile 11.1, but I soon find the uniform scenery boring.

A tunnel always catches my attention.

At mile 14.2 I decide to get off the trail for a short detour.

Bridges also catch my attention.

At mile 21.1 I passed the Niskayuna Rail Station which used to serve trains that traveled on what is now the Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway.

At mile 23.0 I saw a sign referring to Erie Canal Lock 7 and decided to take a detour in order to visit the lock.

I'm not sure why it's called "Erie Canal Lock 7". It's actually on the Mohawk River.

To get back on my route I needed to walk my bike a short distance on a rough path that started like this...

...and ended like this.

When I saw the climb at mile 24.8 I wondered whether I would be able to ride it to the top. By zig-zagging up the steepest section I was successful.

The sign at mile 27.4 was appropriate.

At mile 32.0 I stopped at the 602 Deli & Grocery to have a Monster lo-carb and one third of a bag of pretzels. I normally drink only the no-sugar Monster but the deli had it only with strawberry flavor.

From the start of the ride to shortly before I stopped at the deli my glucose level had been steady between 82 and 97. As I started to enjoy the Monster and the pretzels shortly before 2:00, my glucose level was 75. A little less than an hour later it would spike to 157. More about that below.

At mile 32.4 I passed the Turnbull House - First Presbyterian Church.

At mile 35.2 I saw the Enlarged Double Lock No. 23, Old Erie Canal.

At mile 35.7 I saw Erie Canal Lock 8. Like Lock 7 it is on the Mohawk River, so I don't know why "Erie Canal" is part of its name.

At mile 38.8 I saw a white bike, indicating that a cyclist had been killed at this location.

I wonder whether the cyclist was struck when on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path while crossing River Road.

By the time I saw the white bike my glucose had peaked at 157, up 82 from the 75 it had been about an hour earlier.

At mile 40.8 I visited with some cows. Only two of them were curious about me.

Shortly before 4:00 my glucose had dropped to 55. I was surprised that I still felt strong, but that soon changed, as I began to feel weak and clammy. At mile 48.0, just after 4:00, I ate the remaining two thirds of the bag of pretzels. In a few minutes my glucose had risen to 68. I felt better and continued my ride. I arrived at my destination at 4:15.

When I checked in at the Super 8, I said something to Riley, the woman at the front desk, about the quarter-mile stretch of rough highway leading to the hotel, and that it needed to be paved. She responded that it had been recently paved. Does that look like pavement?

Shortly before 5:00 my glucose peaked at 167. After a shower, shave, and change of clothes, at about 6:00 I left to walk a mile to Shorty's for dinner. On my way to Shorty's I saw this hazard sticking up from sidewalk.

I arrived at Shorty's at 6:20 and at about 6:30 my glucose had crashed to 53. At about 6:45 I left Shorty's to walk about a mile to eat at Pool Prodigy. Here's the review I left for Shorty's on Google Maps:

The online menu included hamburgers so I was disappointed to learn that Taco Tuesdays does not include hamburgers. My waitress told me they did have wings, tenders, and fries. Eventually she brought me a menu with those items but brought me cold water despite my request for a cup of hot water. After I had been there 25 minutes the hot water had not arrived and my waitress had not returned to take my order. SO I LEFT!

As I crossed the Mohawk River on the NY-30 bridge, I could see the Mohawk Valley Gateway Overlook Bridge up the river, and thought that I might walk it on the return to my hotel.

After crossing the river I saw train tracks, which always seem to get my attention.

After finding a walkway (unknown to Google Maps) down from the bridge, I was in Amsterdam. I guess my hotel was actually in South Amsterdam.

Pool Prodigy is a pool hall with a bar and grill. At 7:15 my glucose had come up to 70 and I ate a hamburger (including the bun), French fries, and fried mozzarella sticks. At about 8:00 my glucose peaked at 191. It later crashed to 56 at about 11:30.

When I received the check I noticed an anomaly which I consider a sneaky attempt to deceive. Do you see it? Does it bother you?

On my return to my hotel I forwent taking the Mohawk Valley Gateway Overlook Bridge because it was dark and I would have needed to walk through a dimly-lit park.

After dinner, when I could not get the remote control to operate the TV, I went to the front desk and asked for help. Riley told me the TV in my room was broken (why was I given the room without any advance notification of that fact?). She offered to have me move to the room across the hall. Before moving all of my things, which would have been quite a hassle, I went to the new room to check out the TV. While the remote did operate the TV, there was no button to bring up the guide (schedule), so the only way to see it was to turn the TV off and then back on. FUBAR! But then the selection of a channel seemed chaotic. I went to the front desk to ask Riley for help, but she said she didn't know how to operate the TV. FUBAR again! I decided to stay in the original room. Later I posted a review of the hotel here, including information about both the milled road and the broken TV and FUBAR operation of the TV.

Throughout the day it was been sunny and cool rather than cloudy and cool as had been forecasted. I spent much of the ride on one trail or another, and while the surface was always good, I find the lack of variety of the scenery boring, although along the trails I did find interesting things several times. I felt good in my back throughout the ride, but I did experience a twinge in my right knee late in the day, and then a slight swelling afterwards. I drank a total of only two bottles of water while on the train and biking, so after completing the ride and before going to bed I drank two more bottles.

As I wrote above, after drinking a Monster lo-carb and eating one third of a bag of pretzels, my glucose peaked at 157 and then crashed to 55, following which I ate the remaining two-thirds bag of pretzels, with my glucose peaking at 167 and then crashing to 53. After dinner which included a hamburger bun and French fries my glucose peaked at 191 and then crashed to 56. I wonder how my glucose would have been if I had forgone the pretzels, hamburger bun, and French fries.

I planned to make better choices the next day.

Next day: xxx

Subscribe to this blog

If you post a comment, please identify yourself by using your Google account
(in which case you will receive an email telling you when I've responded),
or by including your name in your comment.