Miles to date: 3,676.6
84.2 miles today with some serious climbs (17 of them according to Geeto’s Wahoo bike computer). It was a day back to serious work, and it felt good to be challenged again. Almost 4 hours riding uphill and 2.5 downhill gave us over 3,800 feet of climbing; and most of this occurred after we had already ridden 50 miles. It was the toughest day we had in New York, though 6 days of New York was all along the Erie Canal trail – a fairly easy comparison.
Like the past few days, Fall was in the air today. Thankfully the heavy rain began yesterday 10 minutes after we finished riding and it stopped about two hours before we began our day today. The sun threatened to emerge a few times, but the day remained cloudy-covered and cool; when we had to work hard on hills I was sweating, but most of the day I felt chilled. We’re no longer blessed by clear skies and warm weather, but we’re staying relatively dry and the wind has not assaulted us for some time.
We paused for PBJ lunch today just before we got into the real demanding part of the climbing. A friendly local came by “walking” his dog, or I should say pushing his dog… in a baby stroller; he asked about our adventure. We told him we’re on day #51 and only a few days from our Rhode Island destination. He dropped a few profanities to emphasize his surprise, then he said, “You guys are really living! What’s everyone else doing?” Brief encounters like this are uplifting, and we benefited from this uplift before tackling the day’s major obstacles.
Also to help motivate us today, we’ve been saving our flashy new riding jerseys for the Bills Monday Night Football match-up. Dr. Pink (nee Gatz) in an attempt to assure his spot as #1 Pedaling Pilgrims host, sent us some new riding jerseys that we were excited to display today. Doctor, doctor… can’t you see I’m burning, burning; is this love I’m feeling? You’re the best Dr. Pink!
Around mile 45 today, we reached the Hudson River and Albany a short time later. We knew after we crossed the river in Albany we would quickly be leaving the state of New York. Crossing the state diagonally from Buffalo to Albany was over 350 miles and seven days of riding. We saw some of the best and worst the New York has to offer outside of Gotham City.
We ended the day in West Stockbridge, MA. Like a lot of rural New York towns, West Stockbridge is an enigma: it’s quaint and alluring, but it has limited offerings for travelers. There’s a cafe for coffee and lunch; there’s a book store; there’s a liquor store; there’s two Italian restaurants, and no bars. Oh, and there is one motel.
The Pleasant Valley Motel has 2.8 stars on Yelp – I think that’s about 1.8 stars too generous: the wall paper is peeling; the rusty bathroom fan sounds like it’s obstructed by squirrel bones; by the furniture and carpet stains, we believe there was a mob hit here in the 70’s… we weren’t asked for a security deposit as I don’t think we could do much to degrade to qualify of our residence; but the room smells great, like a cross between fresh linen and new car scent, thanks to the multitude of strategically placed Little Trees.
We’ve found our choices for lodging have been very few and very far between. It seems there’s places like Pleasant Valley, where we’re spending $76 with tax, or boutique B&Bs at $450+. My original plan called for stealth camping a few miles from here, so any warm shower and mattress in a climate controlled space is an upgrade versus a cold wet night sleeping in the woods. But… as my tight thumb hammers out these words, the lights in our Pleasant Valley Shangri-las just increased in brightness by 100%… maybe the poltergeist of the 79’s mob hit will have us regretting another night in a cheap motel.
Our hotel is about 3/4 mile from the two restaurants and liquor store in town. After we checked in and showered, I was glad for an opportunity to take Al Roker to town for dinner. Though after 84 miles today, the saddle was not completely comfortable to head out for a leisurely ride. After an acceptable Italian dinner that seemed appropriate for this town, I was happy for Al Roker to carry a 6-pack of High Life minis back to the Shanghai-las for the Bills game.
We have roughly 200 miles to go over 3 days to our Newport destination. Tomorrow we plan to travel 72 miles through Stockbridge Massachusetts to our finish in Manchester Connecticut. A room at the Manchester Inn tomorrow (Yelp rating 1.6) could be our lowest level of the trip; great save the best for last.Day 52: West Stockbridge to Manchester
For today’s playlist additions…
As I sit here looking at the back of our motel door, that seems to show signs of people trying to kick and claw their way out, I wondering if I should’ve pushed for a stealth camp: Sleepin’ in the Woods
I forgot to mention earlier… the climbs today were very hard… we hit new records for %incline on the hills. We rode up one hill early in the day at 16% incline, but two climbs late in the day reached 18%, which required a humbling dismount and push of the bikes. Today was the first time that I’ve stood and pushed while in my granny gear. Maybe if the toad wasn’t wet dirt, or if we hadn’t already completed 75+ miles, we could’ve met the riding challenge. But we were happy to do and attempt what we did. Climb Up
Leave a Reply