Empire Trail Day 1: NYC to Elmsford

Well, day one of our adventure is in the books. How far did we go today? Actually we went 500 miles today. Actualy we drove 470 miles in a rental minivan, then rode the last 30 miles on our bikes. First, before our adventure started, we enjoyed a pre-trip concert last night with Wilco at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights. It couldnt have been a nicer night, perfect temperature, a beautiful evening for one of my favorite bands. They call Wilco "dad rock," but I don't mind. It was nice going to a concert and not feeling like the oldest person there for a change. A double-set from Jeff Tweedy and the boys was a perfect way to start this adventure. It got us back home late with an early start time, but that's okay.
This morning we woke up, loaded the minivan with our bikes and our bags, coffee, and hit the road. The trip went by quickly as Jerry and I caught up on family and political gossip, and even got a Facetie call from my nephew Brendan and his wife from Alaska. By 3:30 we got into Jersey City and dropped the van off at Budget, changed and loaded the bikes and set off for the ferry to Manhattan. An easy 7 minute trip to the island put us about a quarter mile from the start of the Empire Trail at Battery Park. We were met there by my niece Alex, who lives in nearby Brooklyn, got some hugs, photos, and started on our way. The trip up the west side of Manhattan was actually really nice. Separate bike lanes were filled with people walking, biking, scootering, etc. This is definitely a well used parkway.
At about the George Washington bridge, we had to ride on the streets, a definitely more dangerous proposition, but at Van Cortland Park we were back on trails. The trail wound its way north, going from urban park in the northern section of NYC to parkland to the outer suburbs. We even passed Baker Field, on the Harlem River, where (just a few) years ago Jerry played football for the Columbia U. Lions. Yeah, it's hard to imagine Jerry as a football player but years ago, when players were smaller, he made it happen, if for just one year.
So we made our way north, and after the final 30 miles we were happy to find a hotel and nabbed a spot at the Hampton inn in Elmsford for the night. We're looking forward to our first full day on the road tomorrow morning, up the Hudson Valley towards Albany and the Erie Canal for our next leg. Wish us luck

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dinosaurs on the road again

Image
It has been a while, I know, since Dinosaurs on Wheels has been together. Back in 2023, we tackled the Great Divide Mountain Bike route, from Banff in Alberta, down to the US/Mexican border. Unfortunately, only one of us finished (it wasn't me). Last summer, through the misfortune of Jerry's heart condition, he was unable to do any riding, so I kept my riding local. This year, we thought the same would happen again. However, days ago, Jerry received word from his doctors that he was cleared to ride. Good thing, because we had been planning a new trip for some time. This trip is a bit shorter and flatter than the previous rides we've done together. This time we are tackling the Empire State Trail. This route, through New York state, begins in Manhattan at Battery Park, follows the Hudson River north to Albany, then joins with the Erie Canal trail, the towpath for the famous canal, westward to Buffalo. From Buffalo it's less than 200 miles back to Cleveland, so ...
Read more

Days 8 and 9 on the Empire State Trail

Image
Day 8 of our New York adventure started where we had left off ,of course, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Pittsford, near Rochester. We had a quick fill up breakfast at the hotel before hitting the road along the trail. We weren't exatly in Pittsford just yet, as it was a bit up the trail. It was a really nice piece of canal, with restaurants, condos, and shops along the water. This was much like Fairport yesterday. The waterfront is really nice - it's no Great Lake, but there are folks riding, walking their dogs, etc. along the waterfront. We circled around the south side of Rochester for a number of miles and it was actually pretty nice. As opposed to riding between Albany and Syracuse, where the route went past the old, old Erie Canal that hasn't been used for years, today we stayed along the working canal, meaning there are boats, for the most part pleasure boats, running up and down the waterway. This keeps the water much clearer, and it's nice to see people us...
Read more