Day 6 Albany to Fort Edward

We made our way out of Albany and road along the Champlain Canal towpath. We rode through Schuylerville past the house where Elizabeth Schuyler grew up (for the Hamilton fans). We got caught in a shower and had to shelter under a swing set. Luckily it past fairly quickly. Our stop for the night was in Fort Edward, home to Solomon Northup.  We had delicious dinner and breakfast at the Diner. 

Day 8 Ticonderoga to Essex

Today was a challenging but rewarding day. We had some steep climbs into the hills above Lake Champlain with more fantastic views. The towns along the way are very quaint historic hamlets and well maintained. We had lunch in Westport and decided to spend the night in Essex at the historic Essex Inn. It is charming and the dinner at the restaurant was delicious. This is as far as we are going on the Empire State Trail and tomorrow we take the ferry across the lake to pick up a car in Burlington. The trail is well worth the effort and overall is very well done. Today the shoulders were very narrow which was a bit nerve wracking but in general the cars gave us a wide berth. We highly recommend the trail!

Day 7. Fort Edward to Ticonderoga

The first half of our trip today was relatively flat along the Champlain Canal towpath. It was beautiful in the mist. After Whitehall we headed into the Adirondack mountains and things got a bit harder. We had some long climbs and fun downhills, with breathtaking vistas of the hills and valleys. As the graffiti we passed said we are doing this because YOLO!  We arrived in Ticonderoga for lunch. This is home to a recreation of the Star Trek set and William Shatner and his die hard fans are here for the weekend to celebrate his 90th birthday. A fun fact is that the graphite for Ticonderoga pencils was mined here. We are staying in an Airbnb on lake George - which is a serene spot. 

Day 5 Tivoli to Albany

Today was a long day through bucolic scenery. We passed apple orchards, sheep, cattle, and crop land. Part of the way was on the old Hudson-Albany Electric train trail. This line was ahead of its time in 1900 when it ran an electric trolley between Hudson and Albany. After stopping for almond milk soft serve in Nassau we rode in to the Hampton Inn in downtown Albany. We are both pretty tired and happy to be here. 

Day 4 Rest day in Tivoli

We are enjoying a rest day in the quaint village of Tivoli. The hotel we are staying in is owned by Brice Marden and houses some of his personal collection of art. There are some amazing pieces of art and sculpture in the halls and rooms. We started the day with a walk down to the Hudson River and watched the fish jump. After breakfast at the hotel we took a side bike ride to Rhinebeck, which is a bit bigger town with lots of cute stores, galleries, and restaurants. We found the best gluten free pizza in the Hudson Valley, which was a nice lunch. We rode back and spent the afternoon reading and taking a nap. Dinner was at the Santa Fe, which rounded out our great gastronomic experience so far. We are planning to watch a Marx Brothers movie tonight. Unfortunately we are missing the good live entertainment in the area, since it all happens on  the weekends. 

Touring by trail around the world: Cycling the Empire State Trail

Touring by trail around the world: Cycling the Empire State Trail: Errol and I are packed and ready to leave for a nine day ride along the Empire State Trail from New York City to the Canadian border. We are taking the train from Baltimore to New York to start the ride. 

Day 3 Poughkeepsie to Tivoli

After staying the night at the Best Western hotel we crossed over the impressive Hudson River walkway and continued on to the Walkill Valley Rail Trail. The trail is spectacular and the view of the Hudson Valley and Catskills mountains from the trestle bridge is fantastic. We passed a cute coffee shop on the trail ((only open Thursday through Sunday - like a lot of places along the trail).  If it was open we would have taken a flying trapeze class. We stopped for lunch at the Village Coffee Shop in Kingston and had delicious shiitake quinoa bowls. We are now resting on the lawn of the Kingston town hall while Errol’s brake pads are changed. 14 miles to go till Tivoli. We made it to Tivoli and are staying at the charming Horel Tivoli. The restaurant is closed so we ate at Gio Batta which was delicious  

We just discovered that Boris Johnson has a Bilenky bike built by the same bike maker who built our bikes!  President Biden commissioned it for him. 

Day 2 Mahopac to Poughkeepsie

We left early, after a breakfast at Rammi’s bagels. The trail went through beautiful forest and passed by ponds filled with lily pads in bloom. We made it safely despite the warnings of ticks, poison ivy, and snakes, as well as the maximum security Green Haven prison, former home to John Gotti among other notorious criminals. In Poughkeepsie we walked on the bridge and looked over the Hudson River,  which is an impressive body of water.

Day 1 Manhattan to Mahopac

After a fun lunch with Steve and Bridget and Adam And Emily on Saturday we started our trip early Sunday morning. We rode out of Harlem with Steve and Bridget. They left us at the Dyckman Street turn - thanks for putting us up for the night! We stopped for drinks along the way and are spending the night in Mahopac. The trail was beautiful in some spots and we managed to miss the rain. 

Cycling the Empire State Trail

Errol and I are packed and ready to leave for a nine day ride along the Empire State Trail from New York City to the Canadian border. We are taking the train from Baltimore to New York tomorrow.