Concentration

Most of today’s 75 mile ride called for concentration. First it was biking in the fog e.g. past this Indian Castle Church built in 1769. Then it was biking through an industrial area east of Fultonville where there were several rock crushing businesses and one that made cement blocks, all of which required the services of many dump trucks. Finally from Schenectady on to the edge of Albany it was heavy traffic. In some places there was a narrow bike lane in others just a sign telling vehicles to share the road with the bicyclists. I concentrated on the bike lane to avoid sharp objects and another flat tire. I listened with concentration to vehicles approaching from behind while I was in the bike lane. I concentrated on missing bike lane obstacles by pulling onto the road. Then I again concentrated on vehicles approaching from behind. I concentrated while passing parked vehicles to avoid a suddenly opened door. Finally, I had to concentrate in looking for signs posting the bike route. In many ways this felt more challenging than biking 100 miles.

Tomorrow we move on to Massachusetts. We’ve been pondering how to cross the state. Other than biking on the interstate, which is illegal, there are no direct east to west highways. We asked at a bike shop and our best route selection was confirmed. We will cross northern Massachusetts on Hwy 2. This will mean more climbing, but we’ve been told it’s very scenic and that the road has a small shoulder.