River views

 We had breakfast at 6 am so as to be on the road by 7, hoping to escape the worst of the heat.  We were successful, riding 39 miles to Fishkill by noon.  The ride was lovely, particularly the first several miles on a bike trail very close to the Hudson through a state park.  We had some gentle rain which kept us cool and left us and our bikes very muddy, as most of the trail wasn’t paved.

                                            The joy of early morning rides is views like this one.

                                        Another view of the bike trail hugging the edge of the river.

We are now heading north along the river before we turn west in a couple of days. Today we crossed the Bear Mountain Bridge, my favorite bridge on the Hudson.  As we rode north from the bridge, we had glimpses of West Point on the western side. 

The low gear sign is always welcome!  We had just climbed about 1 1/4 miles up, not too steep, but challenging on a hot, muggy day.  Fortunately, lots of today’s route was in the shade. 

We were a colorful group today.  Susan, Hope and I usually stay together on the road.  We are encouraged to ride in small groups, much safer and we can keep track of each other.  The three of us have done several other trips, including cross country rides, keeping each other company.