Today’s Highlights:
We had another 90-mile ride today. It was also the day with the most climbing of the tour. The weather was more typical of summer here – warm and humid, but comfortable for riding. Cloud cover also provided some relief from the heat. Showers passed through in the afternoon, and most of the cyclist had a refreshing 10-15 minutes downpour, followed by sunny skies to stay just warm enough. From mile 4 to 70, we rode up and down lots of big hills, some of which were very steep. The descents are always fun. The last 20 miles were mostly downhill, which was a great way to finish the long ride.
Most of the ride was on Rt 44. Since it’s a main state highway, there was plenty of traffic. The road was rough in several areas, but all that was manageable. All the towns we passed through were small – more like villages. It was a good route to get a feel for old New England towns. Our route also included 7 miles of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and 3 miles of the Dutchess Rail Trail, both of which gave us a nice break from the hills and traffic.
I finished much earlier than I expected today, getting to the hotel at 1:45. We are staying at the very nice Poughkeepsie Grand, and had an excellent dinner at Amici’s.
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Statistics:
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Time: 8/16/2016, 3:26:3 |
Duration: 07:14:10 |
Ascent/Descent:  5278 ft  5150 ft | Distance: 89.79 M |