Today’s Highlights:
Today I participated in an organized ride by Bike New York. The route I chose was 105 miles. It started in Poughkeepsie at the end of Main St on the banks of the Hudson River. We first traveled south through Poughkeepsie and Wappinger Falls, then west over the Beacon-Newburgh bridge. On the west side of the Hudson, the route headed north along River Road past many fine homes. Then we entered a rural area past farms and orchards, and had some steep hills to climb, but offering very nice views. Once in Highland, we headed east over the Hudson again on the new Walkway Over The Hudson. That completed the lower 44-mile loop south of Poughkeepsie. From there, the remaining 60 mile loop was mostly on the east side of the river north of Poughkeepsie. We traveled through Hyde Park and Rhinebeck, and over the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge for a brief visit in Kingston and a nice scenic stop at Ulster Landing. We looped back to the Kingston bridge, which is great to ride across because the railings are low and you get an expansive view of the river north and south, with the Catskill Mountains to the northwest and the Hudson Highlands to the south.
Back on the east side of the river, we followed country roads through Rhinebeck and had one final rest stop at the 83-mile mark. I have to admit that I was a little tired at that point and for the next ten miles my pace was a bit slower. Luckily at about 95 miles I felt good again and the last 10 miles were smooth sailing.
I completed the ride with my best century time ever and felt very good. This will be my last long ride before the west coast tour. I will switch to hill training for the next couple weeks.
Pictures Of The Day:
Go to full West Coast Bike Trip Gallery
Statistics:
Zoom and pan the map to explore the route. Click the name or ‘View Detail’ to view more information at Garmin Connect.