For my birthday, two days ago, I was in the Catskills again, and decided to explore some more secluded dirt roads. As part of a new birthday ritual, I ride a distance in miles that equals my outgoing age. I put together a 44 mile loop, of which 43 of the 44 miles were entirely new to me. I met up with a reader of ridingthecatskills.com and we rode it together. It wound us along some deliciously hilly and curvy dirt roads, lined with tall shady trees and mossy stone walls. Past lots of barns, farmland, and hill after hill of green trees. A perfect birthday ride. Oh, and I came home to a wonderful double dark chocolate cake, made entirely from scratch by my wife, assisted by my 9 and 8 year old daughters.
Here are some pics from the ride:
First climb of the day:
Quaint old working barn:
Freshly bailed hay on the top of a hill:
Narrow carriage road:
A particularly muddy section of the road in the last pic; I had to walk a portion of it:
My riding buddy, a strong climber who was usually ahead of me in the ascents:
Typical Catskills vista:
A hard climb:
A well preserved barn:
Abandoned storefront; old buildings like these are disappearing fast in this area:
The morning started out cool and foggy; the fog was so thick that droplets formed on my face and hands. By mid-morning the fog lifted, but the weather remained cool and cloudy, with a constant threat of rain. Fortuitously, the rain held out until I packed up the car to head back home!