Along the Hudson
Stockport >> Hopewell Jctn | 137km | 979m | 5h37m
August 29, 2024 | 25ºC, cloudy
Hills along a river? For sure!
One would think that cycling along a river would a an easy ride. But looking at today’s predicted elevation on our map promised otherwise. This was going to be the hilliest day so far with close to a 1000 meters of climbing on a total distance of just under 140 kilometers. On paper, that sounds totally manageable, even with all the luggage. But we quickly realized that while none of the climbs were really long, there were quite steep. Up to 20% of incline at times, which can feel real spicy! Plenty of rolling hills on mostly calm farm roads with plenty of turns and twists and overall really entertaining.
After having had a small snack and some coffee before we left our cozy little Inn in Stockport we decided push for around 30 kilometers before having a more substantial breakfast. In Germantown we found Otto’s Market, a welcoming convenient store and coffeeshop that served perfectly for exactly that purpose.
During our trip we kept being surprised how each day is different from the prior one, and each day seemed to be getting just a little bit more exciting then the one before. Same on this seventh cycling day which offered quite varied experiences. Besides the steep climbs and downhills and curvy roads, we were given so many different views and perspectives and variations of the trail. Gravel paths, old train bridges, rocky single trail sections, paved, tree-covered bikepaths through andless forests. And then, more or less suddenly, the route led us to cross the Hudson River once again into the town of Kingston. And this time around it felt even sketchier than yesterday in Albany. While the road was not labled as an interstate highway, it certainly looked (and felt) like one. Cyclists were asked to use the shoulder and cars were asked to leave some space… to be fair, NY drivers were much more considerate towards humans on bicycles compared to what we’ve experienced in Ontario and Quebec, but it still feels somewhat uncomfortable sharing major, busy highway with fast moving car traffic. Fortunately, the asphalt across the bridge was super-smooth and the shoulder relatively wide.
Back into the woods, searching for lunch
We had to spend a couple of kilometers on busy roads, with shoulders much less qualified to host bike traffic compared to what we experienced on the bridge; followed by some urban zigzagging through the town of Kingston. Eventually, though, we were back in the woods. We had already ridden around 80 kilometers when we were looking forward to reaching today’s planned place for lunch: The Rail Trail Cafe, a suggestion that we learned about a while ago when preparing for our trip. A little wooden cabin in the middle of the woods, right along the Empire State Trail, serving local food and drinks and baking fresh pizza. Pizza! That sounded wonderful, and the anticipation helped fighting the monotony the mostly straight, uneventful trail had to offer at this point of the route.
We found the cafe, but little did we know that they only served pizza starting on Thursdays. Not that we knew what day it was, but apparently not the right one. The very delicious green salad didn’t do the job and we left hungry – only to randomly discover Frank’s Fresh Pickling, a local sandwich deli shop in New Paltz, only 15km further down the trail only in a much more urban environment.
That lunch was a late one, and we still had more than 40 kilometers to cover. We crossed the Hudson River again, but this time on an impressive structure of a pedestrianized bridge that back in the days was used by trains and today served as a local tourist attraction and historic site, being called the “Walkway Over the Hudson.”
As exciting that bridge was, as monotous the rest of today’s cycling got. I’m not sure if it’s our tired minds and bodies towards the end of an exhausting day, or if it’s in fact the nature of the route itself – but these final 2 hours felt like they’d never pass. More and more discomfort sitting in the saddle, pain in feet and wrists, and then no visual distractions at all, wile riding slightly uphill for the entire time. This is called Fun Type II, and it’s just part of the game.
The AirBnB that we found for tonight was one that followed the platform’s original idea: sharing someone’s home with guests (instead of buying a condo, equipping it with cheap furniture and never live in it yourself). It’s quite the difference when you arrive at an actual home, where people live, and decide to temporarily rent out some of their spare guest rooms and sharing common spaces between hosts and guests. We need to try more of these!
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