Day 46 - Utica, NY to Troy, NY - 102 miles - 1,850 feet of climbing - 6:16 hours in the saddle

Headwind….Mohawk….Bike Path

Our last century ride of 102 miles with a 7 - 10 mph headwind. A paceline quickly formed as the 7:30 group departed.  At one point the paceline was 8 strong,  By the time we got to SAG 1 at mile 38, the group I was in was 5 strong.  It sure made the first 38 miles go much faster (and easier).  Not any pics before SAG 1 because of the paceline.  

Most of the day we were riding in the Mohawk River Valley, with the river on our right. The Mohawk River is the largest tributary that flows into the Hudson River.  Many of the towns we rode through were likely former manufacturing and industrial towns.  Many of the old manufacturing buildings had fallen into disrepair.  But a few were being cleaned up and repurposed.  Rode solo to SAG 2 at mile 56.  They must have carved these roads out of the granite!

After SAG 2 a new pace line formed with Mark B, Mark S and Joel. I think everyone is focused on getting thru these next several days before Boston.

The pace line stayed together for the duration of the ride.  We rode on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Hike Trail.  It was nice not to worry about traffic (just walkers, runners and other cyclists).  The canopy of trees provided nice shade for the 20 miles of trail.  There was a surprising steep little climb that topped out at 11 percent grade.  As I arrived at the top of the climb, the trail was blocked by 2 bikers pushing their bikes up the hill.  Not wanting to slow my momentum any more that the grade and gravity was already doing, I called out to the bikers to make room for the pace line to get through.  They moved just in time!

                                                            Mark S and Joel

Rolled into Troy at 2:30.  Headed out with Mark S, Mark B and Ron for a burger and shake.  Cleaned up, got my gear ready for tomorrow and then walked across the street for a beer and dinner at Troy Beer Garden.  Ran into Peter, Barbara and Stephanie and joined them for a Fiddlehead IPA.

In anticipation of climbing the next couple of days, I changed out the cleats on my shoes last night.  The cleats are what clips into my pedals and allows me to generate pedal power throughout the whole pedal stroke (not just mashing the pedals down, but also pulling up).  Rumor has it we have a 9 mile climb tomorrow over Hogback Mountain in Vermont.  I’ll need all the pedal power I can get!  Only 2 days of riding until Boston!

Savor the Journey // Achieve the Goal