Dolly's Bike Blog

The best adjectives to describe the day are wet, cold and hilly.  I rode today with Gail and Marilyn B. from CCST13. They are an especially good team when conditions are poor – they just focus on getting the miles done.  I really needed them the last 15 miles as my cue/clue sheet was virtually unreadable after hours of water.

Yes, we started from Lakeville in the rain and had hills early, even before our legs could warm up.  At the 20 mile sag, chef Emily had to help me take off my soaked gloves, to replace them with latex liners and my fleece gloves.  My core was pretty warm all day, but my toes, even with shoe covers were cold and wet.  I also enjoyed several sips of hot chocolate at the sag, to warm my interior.

At mile 31, we were warned of a .6 mile climb, 7-8% grade.  Then we crossed the Saville Dam (Saville Dam) and had a similar, though not noted on our cue sheet, longer climb into Granby.  At 2-3 mph, these climbs go on for a long time pedaling, not always followed by a screaming downhill, due to uneven pavement.

Our route took us near to Bradley International Airport, which services Hartford, CT.  East Windsor, our overnight location, is about halfway between Hartford and Springfield on the Connecticut River.

At least a dozen riders chose to ride in the van today due to the weather.  We were excited to be at a hotel with laundry facilities, and Patricia generously shared her washer load so that I could clean some of the rain grime off of clothes (more rain in the forecast for tomorrow).

Not many photos today, for obvious reasons:

Mileage: 54.99; average speed 10.4, maximum speed 32.3; 4000 ft of ascent.

Uploading photos is taking “forever”, so I will just write a quick text.

Highlights of the day:

*Biking across the Walkway Across the Hudson bridge – 1.2 miles long above the river, midway between New York City and Albany – a bit windy, loved seeing the 8-man/woman boats racing below.

*”Detour” with Susan G. and Marilyn B. to Hyde Park to visit the Franklin Delano Roosevelt home and Presidential museum and library – we spent over 3 hours there.

*When we left Hyde Park the temperature had dropped at least 10 degrees and it was drizzling.  We rejoined the route and stopped at about 20 miles in the hamlet of Salt Point for some French Onion Soup to warm us up.

*Can’t say the 4+ miles of uphill on CR57 were a highlight, but I pedaled them all, including a brief 15% grade!

*Even with the gray skies, the rolling hills and farms in Dutchess County New York were lovely.

*At mile 37, I was quite happy to pedal 7+ miles along the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, with only a 3% grade over most of the distance.

*About a mile from the end of the trail, it started to rain, not too heavy, but definitely cold.

*We entered Connecticut about 3 miles from our hotel, still no sign indicating we were leaving New York, and no sign welcoming those going into the state?!

*Nice hot shower and delicious soup for dinner at the Inn at Iron Masters in Lakeville, comfy country-style inn.

Mileage:  49.76 miles, 3200 ft of ascent.

Lousy internet connection so short report again today.  Rode the first 16 miles with Gail, Marilyn, Leilani and Jan from CCST13 – Leilani and Jan have been riding self-supported with us for three days – it was great fun to see them.  There were some good hills the first 20 miles or so, but then route seemed to flatten out to just rollers – I think we were basically in the Hudson River Valley.  Stopped in New Paltz for lunch, then did a bit of exploring in the historic Huguenot Street, before taking 3 miles of the Hudson Valley Rail Trail and exploring the Walkway Over the Hudson (I expect we will be riding out tomorrow on that to cross the river) to our overnight in Highland (the motels in Poughkeepsie were all booked for a soccer tournament, I heard).

Generally I took it slow today as my legs are definitely still fatigued from yesterday’s long and hilly ride.

Hopefully photos and more details tomorrow, with a better internet connection.

65.58 miles, 3700 ft of accent.