June 2, Durham, NY

We had a great start for this year’s cycling trip. 

  • Nancy, Joe’s wife, sent us out into the world with a hardy breakfast and warm wishes for a great trip. 
  • Joe lives on the top of a hill and we started off with 4 miles of downhill cycling and we enjoyed moderate temperatures and humidity.
  • For the next 45 miles we continued to enjoy many more great down hill rides and had only mild climbs. 
  • Most of the roads were canopied with trees and had good shoulders and moderate traffic.
  • We don’t know how that was all possible, but it was fantastic. 

 

However, reality set in after we crossed the Hudson River and started to climb towards the Catskill Mountains.  We had to endure 10 miles of highway cycling, which was noisy and in the sun.  However, we had a large shoulder to cycle on. As we climbed and got tired, we got slower and the remaining miles seemed to drag.  The final insult to our wonderful start was a rain storm that dumped water on us for our last 2 miles of the day.

 

We enjoyed several interesting stops.  The first was Clermont State Historic Site along the Hudson River. Seven successive generations of the family left their imprint on the site's architecture and landscape. Robert R. Livingston, Jr. was Clermont's most notable resident. “According to the park’s webpage, his accomplishments included: drafting the Declaration of Independence (guess the Thomas Jefferson guy just stole the limelight), serving as first U.S. Minister of Foreign Affairs, administering the oath of office to George Washington, negotiating the Louisiana Purchase and developing steamboat technology with Robert Fulton.”  Quite a guy!

 

Our second stop was at Olana, the home of Frederic Church, a well-known painter, world traveler, a self-taught architect, farmer and landscape designer.  He and his wife raised four children at their estate overlooking the Hudson. Though Frederic and Isabel Church moved among New York City’s cultural elite, Olana was their primary home.  Hopefully, our pictures do the home justice.

 

To visit Clermont State Park we had to drop down to the Hudson River and them climb back up to return to our route.  However, to get to Olana, we had a big and steep climb but it was well worth the view and ride back down to our route.

 

We also cycled thru Bard College, founded in 1860. While in the middle of ‘no where” it was a beautiful campus.  

Today'sMap - 68.8 miles

Pictues






Comments

  1. HPJune 3, 2021 at 2:27 AM

    Enterprising and persistend as ever. Wish you a good ride.

    ReplyDelete

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