To Albany

By Ben |

I had a very leisurely day... stayed in the hotel and watched two episodes of Buffy before hitting the road, and then the trip to Albany didn't take nearly as long as I expected.  Near Castleton-on-Hudson I met another bicyclist who lived nearby and was on her way into Castleton for her morning coffee.  The cafe turned out to be the only business in Castleton that I could see.  I told her that if she wants to help cyclists she could open a campground or hostel near her home.

To Hudson, NY

By Ben |

I was expecting a short day's ride today, so I had a very leisurely morning -- the ranger never did show up to collect payment for the campsite -- and rode at a slow pace.  The rain was substantial for a few hours, so when I got to the campground and found it would cost me $30 to set up my tent in the rain, I decided to ride on into Hudson and get a hotel instead.

Through Poughkeepsie

By Ben |

I rode into Poughkeepsie this morning, expecting to get there around 11 but actually closer to 10.  I waited at a community garden near the Vassar campus until Anna was ready to see me.  She showed me all around the campus -- which is more like an arboretum than a shady lawn -- and the art museum where she works.

In the dining hall, I felt pretty cool hanging out with the college crowd ... until I learned that Anna's friends had assumed I was her father!  Don't get me wrong, her father is a good-looking guy, but he's gotta be 20 years older than me...

To Fishkill, NY

By Ben |

I had a lot of fun this morning riding down all the hills I had struggled up yesterday, but alas I had a slow leak in my tire and had to stop to pump it every few miles, all day long.

The highlight of the day was when I crossed the Appalachian Trail (and the Hudson River) at Bear Mountain.  I wish I could think that this was also the high point of the trip, but that will be more than 500 feet higher...

To Whirlpool State Park

By Ben |

[Note: although my journal indicates the name of the state park was Whirlpool, the park by that name is on the opposite side of the state. I've put the pin for this day in Bear Mountain State Park instead.]

The forecast rainstorm for today didn't show; in fact the weather was lovely all day.  I had no trouble biking out of New Jersey.  My campground for the night in Whirpool State Park was several miles into the Catskills, so I walked my bike quite a lot.  It's a beautiful park, rustic but not too rustic, and only an hour's drive from Manhattan.

33.6 mi

Greenwich Village

By Ben |

This morning I rode the bus back into Manhattan and went to the southern tip of downtown, Battery Park.  I walked from there to the World Financial Center, where there's an exhibit about the plans for the WTC site.  Ground Zero itself just looks like a construction site at present, but I got a photo of a nearby building that hasn't yet been repaired from the blast.  From there I walked through Greenwich Village to Washington Square Park, where the famous chess boards are.  Business was slow, because the park was being set up for NYU's graduation festivities.

Paterson, NJ

By Ben |

This morning I biked back into Paterson to see the Great Falls.  I met a man named Joe Shaw, a former trucker who had outfitted his bike like a semi, and he helped me find the falls.  I got lost again afterward and so saw more of Paterson than I'd intended!

I spent the afternoon posting a new roll of photos and looking for a Krishna statue for Leela.  Dave took me to dinner at a Thai restaurant.

12.9 mi

Route Research

By Ben |

Today I took Ethan's car out to find bikeable roads out of the city.  The route I chose by studying the New Jersey Atlas will be fine, with a few modifications, but I had trouble finding the campground where I plan to stay.  It's not where Yahoo! says it is; it's several miles farther into the mountains, so depending on how I'm feeling, I may decide to stay in a hotel instead!

When I got back, after burning about $10 worth of fuel, I hopped on my bike and rode up Eagle Rock to the Essex County September 11 Memorial for some excellent views of the Manhattan skyline.

Museum of Natural History

By Ben |

I spent the day today at the American Museum of Natural History, which I hadn't seen in some 15 years.  It still beats the pants off the Smithsonian.  Many of the exhibit halls have been renovated, most notably the Hall of Ocean Life, and the museum as a whole has been rearranged to better represent modern evolutionary theory.  The new Hall of Biodiversity is excellent; I particularly liked they way they juxtaposed descriptions of serious ecological problems with inspirational quotes... it sounds cheesy, but it really worked.