I love NY

So we had a lazy morning this morning (like most mornings, I suppose) and got on the road around 11. Stopped by a post office and mailed home more stuff we didn't need (bathing suit...in 50 degree weather? Not so useful) and we ran into the nicest lady who offered her place for us to do laundry and camp out. Unfortunately, we were only 5 miles into the day, so we had to politely decline.

Rode into New York on a sweet downhill and very shortly got onto a nice (beautiful) trail, the Harlem Valley Rail Trail.  Almost 9 miles of no cars, yay! Actually, most of the day was on low-traffic roads; we got to converse with cows, llamas, sheep, and horses today. And we had a pretty sweet lunch spot - what a great view! It was near the top of our elevation for the day, so we got treated to a fantastic view of the beautiful trees, which are all changing colors in quite a dramatic fashion.

 Welcome to New York!

 Harlem Valley Rail Trail

Nice view from our lunch spot.

We met a nice lady on the Rail Trail who had done some cycling through the US and England, and she was excited for us to be on this trip. Most folks we meet have said 'Oh, I wish that was something I'd done when I was young', so it was nice to meet a fellow (former) cyclist.

We crossed an awesome pedestrian bridge in Poughkeepsie - Walkway Over The Hudson - that had apparently just opened a year ago. Very popular, too; there were lots of folks going across. It gave great views of the Hudson and kept us off the busier bridge and away from the cars! A few photos from the Hudson bridge:

Now we're staying in the New Paltz Hostel talking politics with a few folks, doing laundry, and looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight. There's a frost warning tonight, so it'll be nice to be indoors! Tomorrow, we're headed to New Jersey. Stay tuned!