5595km, 2 Provinces, 9 States, 26 flat tires, 65 burgers, and 9 million pedal strokes.
The Hudson Valley was absolutely beautiful, giving Washington a run or its money in that category.
We enjoyed a second night in Albany with our host Jim and his wife Peg. He gave us a nice 20 mile tour of the town, and then guided us across the bridge across the Hudson to Rensselaer the next morning. There is only one crossing accessible by bike in Albany, and it involves a rather steep climb, followed by riding alongside the interstate. Hardly unfamiliar territory at this point.
Once we made our way across the river (which we were informed, is actually a fjord) it was a straight line south to the end of the trip. We were splitting this into 2 days, one average and one long.
The first day took us to Mills Norrie State Park, a short hop from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. The campground was basically empty, maybe 10 other people there in total. We got in pretty late and knew there was a huge day ahead of us to get to Manhattan, so we wasted little time bothering with showers. We jettisoned some items (torn sleeping bag, cheap sleeping pads, burned camping pot) and planned an early start. The forecast told tales of 12mph headwinds, but a clear day. Our topographical maps suggested our climbing muscles would be given a workout.
We woke up earlier than we had on the entire trip, and set off almost immediately, despite the cold. The threat of headwind turned out to be bogus, and there was not a cloud in the sky. We could not have asked for a more perfect day. The scenery was utterly amazing. We were passing through quiet winding roads surrounded on both sides by forest. We got the occasional clearing with a view to the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains to the west. Not even the four obligatory punctures could get us down.
As we neared NYC, things got a bit busier and we popped back over to the west side of the river, at Bear Mountain State Park. This turned out to be a rather difficult climb. Typical NY, steep but not overly long. The descent was a blast. We found ourselves going up and down short, steep hills through to New Jersey.
Once we hit the welcome to NJ sign, it was just 10 miles to Manhattan. It really set in at this point; we were all but there. The realization went straight to the legs, and sustaining 40km/h was a piece of cake. The feeling was overwhelming.
And then we found ourselves crossing the bridge into New York City. Perfect blue sky and the Manhattan skyline unfolding before us.
Riding in Manhattan was somewhat like a video game... we did a bit on the street as well as a good chunk along the Hudson River bike path. Not sure which was more sporting; battling yellow cabs on Broadway or competing with joggers and aggressive cyclists on the path. We got to our destination in SoHo as the sun went down, capping our day at 156km.
A couple of beers, some all you can eat (!!!) wings for $7 later, we were asleep.
Our final official day turned out to be somewhat anti-climactic, given its significance. a 21km ride across the Brooklyn Bridge, through Prospect Park, and down Ocean Parkway through Brooklyn to Coney Island Beach to get our front tires wet with Atlantic salt water.
We did it.
