The season continues...

The October weather has been warmer than normal, and despite the shorter daylight, I've been getting in a few rides.

I've done a couple of short errand rides on the MTB, and it's working out well. A 3-mile round trip to CVS and the ATM proved that could easily be done, especially since I didn't need to carry anything that wouldn't fit in a pocket. Then I made a 5-mile round trip to buy some late-season corn. This involved wrapping a soft day pack around the top tube with a bungee, and then carrying the corn home on my back. This also worked OK, but the size of what can be carried this way is pretty limited. But I like the idea of biking to a destination for a reason, and will probably be doing more of this.

Yesterday, I continued that theme with a longer road ride. I parked east of Amsterdam, crossed the Mohawk on NY30, and rode NY5 out to Tribes Hill. There, I crossed back over the river and stopped at the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center (rest room!), and continued on out the Erie Canalway to Karen's for lunch. Stowed some cider donuts in my handlebar pack and returned to the car via the bike path, for 19 relaxed miles total. The advantage of crossing the river as I did is that I only had to ride the bike path in one direction, avoiding the potential boredom it might cause otherwise. And there's a long gradual climb of several hundred feet going up to Tribes Hill, with a nice downhill to Fort Hunter back across the river. Nice ride, and easily done.