September 23, 2026 - Amsterdam, NY, to Cobleskill, NY

Start: Amsterdam, NY
End: Cobleskill, NY
Miles: 47.6
Feet climbing per mile: 65
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/415148811

The Super 8 in Amsterdam advertised free breakfast, but besides beverages, this is all that it was.

The aluminum tape on my left heel pad had taken a beating the previous day, so I added some more tape.

Before going to bed the night before I revised the beginning of my route to avoid the Erie Canal Trail near the beginning of my ride.

I was 57 and sunny when I started to ride at 10:30. At mile 1.35 I needed to walk a short distance when the grade was between 8 and 10 percent. This was the first of several times I would walk this day.

At mile 2.6 I saw a pair of wild turkeys.

Queen Anne Road, part of my route replacing the Erie Canal Trail, was beautiful.

This is the bridge I rode over the Schoharie Creek.

I saw the vehicle easily make that steep climb.

This section of the Erie Canal Trail was beautiful, but eventually it became boring. Throughout the first half of the day, when the trail ran parallel to a road, I would sometimes switch between the trail and the road in order to break up the monotony.

Throughout the day the scenery was gorgeous.

If I had been on the trail to the left of the road, I would not have been able to see the forest for the trees.

At mile 23.1 I stopped at Betty Beavers (apostrophe needed, right?) to have a Monster.

As I started to drink the Monster my glucose level was 81. It had varied between 77 and 101 since starting to ride. Intending to make better choices about snacks than I had the previous day, I bought some crackers with peanut butter and some with cheddar cheese.

Shortly after leaving Betty Beavers I came to Cunningham Road. I knew that it was only a short distance to a paved road, so I decided to proceed on foot.

The end of Cunningham Road was paved, and then I was on the main road.

There was little climbing for the first 25 miles of the ride, but then the climbing began. Because of the steep grade I needed to walk at mile 25.0 and several times later.

At mile 28.7 I observed a flock of birds.

A little while later I encountered some shy cows.

This is an example of scenery one never sees when on a trail.

The American Hotel in Sharon Springs looked like a fun place to stay (but starting at $290 per night!).

At mile 32.7 I stopped at Stewart's to enjoy another Monster zero sugar.

At mile 39.3 four horses came out to greet me.

At mile 40.0 I stopped to read the inscription on a marker alongside the road.

The roadside marker described the death of Catherine Merckley. A little while later I saw a sign for Markeley Road. Might "Markeley" be a misspelling of "Merckley"?

At mile 44.2 I found another Penny Lane. I had previously found on Penny Lane on July 20, 2021, a few miles south of Goshen, New York. Once more I saw no barber, banker, fireman, or nurse.

There was plenty of climbing starting at mile 25, but starting at mile 44.3 there was a four-mile descent to finish my ride. As I rode through Cobleskill I was impressed by the safe design of the drains.

The final approach to my hotel was as steep as 8%. By zig-zagging across the road I avoided having to walk.

I arrived at the Ramada Inn a little before 5:30. I was told my Sylmara, the woman who checked me in, that the pool was closed for renovation. She recommended the Bull's Head Inn for dinner. I made a reservation there, but on my way looked at the Cobleskill Diner which was much closer to my hotel. I found the lighting at the diner harsh so continued the one-mile walk to Bull's Head Inn. On my way there I saw a house with great potential.

I thought the Bull's Head Inn would be a fun place to spend the night. But my waitress told me that, despite its name, the Bull's Head Inn does not have overnight accommodations. Meanwhile the Ramada Inn does not serve food, except for breakfast. Misnomers abound!

I started dinner with apple butternut squash soup and followed it with a hamburger (no bun or steak sauce) with cheddar cheese, mushrooms, and onions, along with green beans. I substituted coleslaw for the French fries but ate almost none of it because my waitress told me it included sugar. My glucose was at 59 when I started eating at 7:30, and rose to a peak of 153 at 8:00. I suspect the culprit was the apple-butternut squash soup.

The restroom at Bull's Head Inn let's you take your pick.

Of course I used the toilet paper on the left. I forwent correcting the toilet paper on the right.

I said something to my waitress about being on a bike trip. Mason, who delivered my food, told me that he would like to do multi-day bike trips so I gave him some advice about how to get started. A woman who was celebrating her birthday with her husband told me her brother had ridden across the country four times and had recently published a book, A Tailwind Would Be Nice, about his travels. Later Susan, who was with Dave at a table near mine, asked me whether I was some sort of celebrity since it seemed everybody in the restaurant knew me. I told her "no" and that I had never been there before but that I enjoy having conversations with random strangers. Susan replied that she enjoyed that, too.

As Susan and Dave were leaving, Dave said that he would offer me a ride to my hotel but his car was a two-seat Corvette Stingray. I asked about the color, and Dave said it was white. Shortly after Dave and Susan left I noticed they had forgotten to take their bag of leftover food. I went to the parking lot but they were already gone. I started walking back to my hotel and saw Dave's white Stingray stopped at a light. I told them about their food and they went back to get it.

The ride this day included beautiful scenery, minimal traffic, much climbing and descending, and the need to walk several times. Once when descending at high speed, maybe 35 miles per hour, I was passed on a two-lane road by a car that had moved completely into the other lane. It was a safe pass, but I was not aware of the car until it was to my left. I should have seen it coming by glancing at my rear-view mirrors. I was comfortable in my back throughout the ride.

Taking into account my experience the previous day, I did better at managing my glucose. As you can see in the image below, several times my glucose fell to 60 or below. When it did so, unlike the previous day, I ate only one or two of the crackers I bought at Betty Beavers at mile 23.1. As a result my glucose never rose above 94 after eating the crackers. But the fact that it dropped to 60 or below several times shows that I have more to learn. I made sure to drink four bottles of water (with electrolyte) during my ride.

Here are the crackers that were left over at 11:00 p.m. I think I had bought two packages of each type.

Previous day: September 22, 2026 - Albany, NY, to Amsterdam, NY
Next day: September 24, 2026 - Cobleskill, NY, to Albany, NY

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