We crossed the mighty Hudson River twice today. Each bridge must be getting on for two miles long. It is a serious business. There aren’t many bridges, but happily we did a much better job today at staying on the wonderful Empire State Trail, so there was no problem being stuck on the wrong side. The first crossing was on a road bridge heading west into a headwind, over to historic Kingston, in the early afternoon. That took us high up in the middle but drops down to the bank at either end. The second crossing was even better; but since it ended the day, I’ll leave it to the end of this post.
We had the sunny weather back today and got away rather sluggishly from our stunning Airbnb in Hudson. Just down the road I got a puncture, which set us back another fifteen minutes. But after that the Empire State Trail took us along delightful, quiet back lanes and through affluent, historic villages. In one, Germantown, there was a cafe too inviting to ignore. A couple of mature lady cyclists were there, too, and we conversed at some length, as well as consulting over seat height and making a correction for one of the ladies. They were locals and told us that not so long ago Hudson was a town their parents would not have allowed them to visit. Apparently whales would be floated up the Hudson River here from New York, over 100 miles away, for processing. That chapter has been closed; but I did see a couple of whale weather vanes on now very respectable buildings.
We cycled down through the very pretty grounds of Bard University to the bridge and over to Kingston, where a large creek joins the main river. Here is a wonderful old waterfront, with yachts and a large wooden galleon moored in front of old, restored warehouses, all under the gaze of two high road bridges suspended across the inlet far above us. It was the perfect spot for a late lunch on an outdoor terrace above the water, and we enjoyed some excellent salad while we watched the ducks.
Thereafter the route climbed up the hillside to join an old rail trail through woodland and over wooden trestle bridges spanning smaller – but still substantial – rivers below. And so this continued for a couple of hours.
It was great riding in a peaceful setting, albeit quite a big loop away from the Hudson. But it brought us back in the most spectacular fashion when suddenly we arrived at the entrance to the Hudson Walkway and found ourselves in the company of many local folk, out for an evening stroll or run, bike ride or Segway. They were all here to enjoy the pedestrian bridge that crosses high above the river to Poughkeepsie, far away on the east bank. It was once a railroad, but now offers non-motorised traffic a beautiful view up and down the river and across at the slender road suspension bridge to the south. On this sunny, calm evening it was a fine place to be.
Our hotel was another five miles along the trail, saving us some cycling miles tomorrow. I have one more full day to cycle along the Hudson, hopefully bringing me into easy range of Manhattan Island on Thursday morning. After six weeks of cycling from Boring, Oregon, I am tantalisingly close to the Atlantic!
Stunning scenery and great description – journeying with you!!!