Nice. Back in the hills again! But it was really tough between MP 12 and MP 37, just north of Troy all the way to Cambridge. But after that, it was a breeze to Arlington, VT on Route 313 (NY-313 and VT-313), a corridor that I highly recommend if you are coming through these parts. It's a beautiful ride with a relatively gentle grade the whole way.
We rose early, had an OK breakfast at the Pearl Street Diner (the potatoes were dry), and parted ways shortly before 9:00 AM, Jerry for the car rental agency, and me, on my bike, headed back up the river.
On my way out of town, I stopped for a selfie in front of the historic Delaware and Hudson Railway Building, which now houses the administrative offices for SUNY.
And passing through Troy, I had to stop for this picture. Even though this is obviously fake (and at the entrance to some apartment complex), it's fun architecture.
I crossed the Hudson on a great-looking bascule span, but it was under construction with half the lanes closed down, so I couldn't stop for a pic. Then I turned north again for about four miles, three of which were on what appeared to be a rail trail . . . more green tunnel. But it started getting me up out of the valley that the Hudson River is in! — at least partway, anyways.
The view from the rail trail, looking back over the Hudson River Valley north of Troy.
After that climb, it mostly leveled out, but that's really an understatement. There certainly were "level" spots, but it was really more rolling hills once you were on the plateau. And with hills come . . .
But that was just the beginning of the hills. As I moved further east, there were more and more hills. I was mostly riding county roads, so they were older roads built back in the day, and the grades are less forgiving than newer roads built today. It probably reached its peak right before Cambridge, and when I stopped there to check my stats, I was surprised to see I had 37 miles in and 2000 feet of climbing already. That left less than 20 miles and about 800 feet more. Hmmm, that is not what I was expecting. But the ride through the Taconic Mountains is pretty much exactly that — through, not over!
Once I was on NY-313, it was easy riding with a wide shoulder.
The ride is beautiful (the weather helped). NY-313 basically follows the Batten Kill River all the way to Arlington, VT, passing through two state forests along the way.
