Day 61 Hyde Park, NY to New City, NY

Today kind of fooled most of the group. They saw that the mileage was only 56 miles and thought it would be a piece of cake. Well, the mileage was short, but the climbs were not. We had over 1,000 feet of climb on this second to last day. The toughest climb was up the mountain that West Point Academy is on top of. It was about 6.5 to 7.5 degrees the way up. On the way down, it was a fast ride. The shoulder was missing most of the way, but fortunately, the road was two lanes going up and the vehicles could move over for us.

The quick view I had of the Hudson River down below was beautiful. I was going so fast though that I did not stop to take a photo. The traffic was fairly busy most of the day.

Early in the day, we crossed the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie (sp?) on a walking bridge that was spectacularly high. It was an old railroad bridge converted to a very wide bike and walking path. The view over the Hudson River was great.

Julie was done with her #2 SAG about an hour after I got into camp. So, we are really celebrating an afternoon off with a quick bite at Mac's and updating my blog. The camp tonight is on an inlet to the Hudson River. There is an outdoor swimming pool for our use. I have attached a photo of Ross and Terry Luurtsema's gang which includes Ross's sister and husband from the Philadelphia area who are faithful followers of my blog.

Well, tomorrow is the last day of the tour. We will be biking through Manhattan on a bike path along the Hudson River all the way down to the Staten Island Ferry dock. All the bikers need to meet there to leave on the ferry at 11:30 and then all gather up and do a mass ride to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean to do our tire dipping ceremony. Then, we will bike out to the last camp ground for our banquet and praise service. Then all will scatter to their various destinations for home.