bobthib

I'm sitting here in a summer home on the shore of Lake Minnetonka, just outside of Minneapolis, MN. Just two more days and we'll pack up the van and head out with our two grandson's for the 30 hour drive back to Coral Springs, FL.

We spent two weeks in Albany at my in-laws. We drove in with the two grandson's, Iron Man Tyler, now 9 (his battle with cancer is chronicled in other posts here) and his new little brother, Brayden, 16 mo. Mama and Daddy only had a week vacation available, so they flew in for a week.

During my stay in Albany I was able to hook up with my friend Geoff. He's been riding for 25 or 30 years, and has a good knowledge of the great back roads of eastern upstate NY.

On the first day of our visit, Geoff and I set off to climb the Heilderberg mountains outside Albany. They are not much compared to the Rockies or the Alps, but for a flat land FLA boy they are a real treat.

Here is the first ride to the pinnacle on Saturday 6/30. https://ridewithgps.com/trips/757294

Unfortunately, my Garmin 305 locked up at 40+ mi in the ride and so Geoff sent me the ride plan. There is an additional 16 miles not recorded where I rode to Geoff's house and back after the ride. I also missed what I think is a BP for down hill speed on the ride.

The second ride came on Thursday. We did the Alcove Reservoir ride. We took it easy and stayed on rollers, no big climbs. There was one nice really long descent. https://ridewithgps.com/trips/757282

Saturday brought another easy roller ride at the base of the mountains. https://ridewithgps.com/trips/763693

Wednesday I did a solo ride, and did most of the Alcove ride again. https://ridewithgps.com/trips/780943

Thursday Geoff was able go with and we did another attack on the mountains. We did a long, slow climb, and toured the top of the hill before a long descent. https://ridewithgps.com/trips/773362

The next day we set off for Minnesota. So far I've only done one ride, and that was a solo tour. I decided to go north and west as most people would be heading toward the twin cities to work. https://ridewithgps.com/trips/780940

Tomorrow may bring another shorter ride, after which I'll pack the bike and the van for the long trip home.

SuperDave

You passed the house I grew up in on your descent into Altamont. I used to do that on an almost-daily basis, in the other direction, on my 10-speed as a kid.

The Thatcher Park area is an extremely popular ride for locals; from either direction, the climb into the park is no joke.