VRJAKE 

Thanks for the memories. Hot times, smooth trip, appreciate the vicarious thrill.

obrentharris 

Thanks guys for the trip report and all of the photos from a part of the world I've never seen.
Brent

rccardr 

Just a side note, as I got home rather late driving 7 hours back to DC/NoVA.
I turned 73 last month and this is the third week long tour I’ve had this year, all in the 300 mile range.
Some of us seniors still manage.

northbend 

Thanks for taking the time to share your heat stressed adventure with us. I'm totally envious.

rccardr 

Day Five: A ride in the park
….and that’s pretty much what the last day was like. 100% paved, 30 miles or so into downtown Albany through a parklike setting. Started out nice and cool but as the morning wore on the heat and humidity returned. By the time we took a break at mile 15, we were both pretty drippy, although I rode behind Neal most of the way to avoid showering him with my perspiration.

After 285 miles, the last day was tough. Legs are sore, all of your clothing is damp and grimy & you miss your family and your own bed. The phrase “don’t want this to be over; please let it end soon” kept running through my head. Feels weird not to be on a bike today heading for far horizons. Anyway, on to the final day’s pictures:

Day Five Grand Depart, from Schenectady’s finest Marriott

The setting just kept us smiling

You can see some of the haze from a combination of humidity and smoke from far off fires

The halfway resting spot

Pretty cool series of short tunnels as we rode through the park along the Mohawk

Not far from the end of the line

Terminus

Two smelly, bristly, happy travelers

Load ‘em up, change clothes, drive back south

nlerner

Thanks much to Doc for organizing this ride and inviting me to take part. I highly recommend this route if you’re interested in touring and want to try it out under near-optimal conditions. Easy to catch a train or bus to either end (Buffalo or Albany), ride part or the whole way, and take the Amtrak back. Plenty of towns and inexpensive motels along the way, so easy to do 30-40 mile days and then hang out at the hotel pool and/or bar. Or do 60-80 mile days and kick back at the pool/bar. Doc and I agreed that it would not have been a major strain to do 90 miles from Little Falls to Albany on our last day and then drive home the next morning rather than 60 then 30 miles over two days as we did. It’s a really flat route!

Classtime 

ya. I was only kidding. Being only 92% of your age but catching up, I always smile when folks tell me to be careful, stay hydrated, take it easy, etc. I shoulda put an emoji up there.

ehcoplex 

Adding the the chorus of Thanks! for this thread! My main riding pal and I have talked about doing this route for a while now, and there really isn't much excuse not to as we're only a bit more than an hour's drive to Albany. All about making the time.....!

bikemig 

nlerner I'm curious about the double bag set up; Carradice on the rear but what do you have up front? How many total liters capacity? I like the look of a front bag and a large rear saddle bag but when it comes to outfitting my bikes I end up opting for a rack and two smallish bags (yes you pay a weight penalty and definitely lacks the style points this set up has).

nlerner

Front bag is made by Gramm in Berlin with 7.5 liter capacity and fits really well on that Nitto front rack. Rear is a Carradice Pendle, which the internet says is 11L capacity. Last tour I used two saddlebags and a front bag and definitely brought more stuff than this trip! So I like the idea of smaller capacity forcing me to pack economically. Plus both front and rear bags had capacity to strap things to them, which I did a few times with the front bag.

camjr

Gentlemen, I purposely waited for your wonderful trip to finish up before going through the entire thread with a couple of cups of coffee this morning. Thank you both for sharing the experience with the rest of us.

Cheers!

rccardr 

Keep meaning to mention something new (to me, anyway) that I picked up specifically for this trip:




Yep, insulated water bottles with a protective cap over the valve. For years, I’ve been gritting (literally, from grit) my teeth when doing extended rides on sandy/dirty surfaces.
For all I know, these have been around for years and I’ve ingested 10 kilos of grit for no reason, but for me they were a life changer.

Now’s the opportunity for someone to post pictures of ones their great grand-daddy used. Maybe made with a pig bladder and a pumpkin stem.

camjr

Too bad you don't have a gizzard to deal with the grit...

gugie 

For credit card tours I've been on (hotels, no tents and sleeping bags), handlebar and saddle bag is the most common set up.

The Usual Suspects on a summer tour of the Willamette Valley a few years ago:

Most small group tours I've been on I've carried more than others. I like to bring 3 days of clothing, for a week long trip that means having to do laundry once. I weight the bags and all together, and it's usually about 15 lbs. You can save a few pounds off of that easily, but for me the extra 3-4 lbs gets all used.

noglider 

I switched to using steel bottles a few years ago. I love them. I recently got a Hydroflask bottle that is insulated. It kept the ice in there for hours. I would like a grit guard, though.

pastorbobnlnh 

My leather crafting mind is in gear and tuning up the creativity.

Well done Doc and Neal! If I had kept my place in NH I'm certain I would have been tempted to join you. However, I had a family wedding to attend in TX, so there was no possibility.