Tag Archives: rides

by | November 27, 2012 · 3:22 pm

Capital Holiday Lights Bicycle Ride – Sunday, December 16, 4:45 – 5:45 pm

Capital Lights in the Park 2012

Capital Lights in the Park 2012

The “Capital Holiday Lights in the Park” bicycle ride in Albany will be Sunday, December 16, 4:45 to 5:45 pm.  This is a special time just for bicycles with no cars.  Ride the loop as many times as you want.Donation – $5/bike and $10/family.  Proceeds benefit Albany PAL’s bicycle helmet program.  For more information about the Albany Police Athletic League and the Capital Holiday Lights, visit www.albanypal.org and www.albanycapitalholidaylights.com.

If you want to warm up beforehand, the Park View Pub is on the corner of Madison and New Scotland and the Stewarts’ is a little south on New Scotland.  We may stop afterward, so bring a lock, lights, and cold-weather gear.

1 Comment

Filed under Article

Tagged as ,

by | October 18, 2010 · 1:00 pm

Erie Canal Ride

Like many moments in this world you have to grab opportunities as they come to you, or you might miss them. Yesterday I had the opportunity to ride the Erie Canal with a group of riders led by ABC member John Vendetti. The ride was a nice mix of education, perspiration, and fascination.

It all started at the boat launch where John gave us the rundown of the ride with an overview of what the Erie Canal was back when they first built it. Soon we were off and rolling on what was going to be an adventure in cycling, at least for me.

There is something you have to understand about my bike. It is “technically” a hybrid bike, but I found out yesterday that it loves roads better than grass. In fact, yesterday was the first day that I exercised the off-road portion of the bike. I am glad to say that it did perform, but now back to the ride.

It is my understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, that there are sixteen locks (Edit: I just checked and it’s 18 locks –Ken) total. Some of them are closed off to the public and others have been buried over time, but the ones that are left are a sight to see. Especially if you are interested in early American history.

After passing a few locks we came to what was called the Weighlock Building in which boats would come in and get weighed based on the amount of water they displaced. As you can see the stone rock made a nice podium.

After the Watervliet Armory and the rest of the locks we came to my favorite part of the ride, the Cohoes Falls. To think that we have something like that in our own backyard is astounding. While everyone went down to get a closer look I just parked myself on a nearby bench and looked in with wonder at the falls.

Next was a beautiful ride to the Champlain Canal where the trees were changing color and reflecting in the river. At the canal we got to see how it worked, and after a great lunch we headed home through Troy.

Over all the ride was great. There was just enough biking to have a good time with the perfect amount of history and scenery along the way. If John ever does this again I would highly recommend it to anyone.

You know, sometimes life comes at us hard and we feel stressed, but sometimes you just need to take a breath, step back, and be at peace.

Written by Chris Belsole

Leave a Comment

Filed under Events, None, Rides

Tagged as ,

by | October 15, 2010 · 4:46 pm

This Sunday: Ride the Old Erie Canal in Albany County

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Update from John:

Sundays forecast is for sunny skies and temps near sixty. A perfect day to join ABC and other members of your community for a casual bike ride along the Old Erie Canal. Pack up some snacks and water, and prepare to hit the trail. Stout tires work best for this ride so leave your racing slicks at home. We’re riding along what was once the towpaths of the canal and there is both on road and off road mileage.

Discover what still remains of this legendary waterway. Many truly spectacular and historic sights are to be seen on this ride with a “buy your own lunch” stop in the oldest incorporated village in the state, Waterford. Commentary at selected stops by a local history and Erie Canal buff. So come on out and enjoy the clear autumn air and learn a little local history or share a little of your knowledge with us.

Don’t forget RIDE SAFELY, WEAR A HELMET AND HAVE FUN!

Join John Vendetti and your friendly, fellow cyclists on another exciting history tour.

Where is the Erie canal?  What’s still there? Where was the new, enlarged canal?  Can you really ride your bicycle through a canal lock? How did the canal boats get from Troy to the canal?  How does a lock work?  This and more!

Plus, you’ll find a wonderful, relaxing bicycle route that you can enjoy in the future with family and friends. After the departing from Waterford, we’ll pick up a sandwich and scoot over to Pebbles Island for a “picnic” lunch.

Distance: 30 miles
Weather: Rain or shine
Where: Meet at the Boat Launch at the Corning Preserve
Contact: hardworkinjohn@aol.com (or by phone: 225-4209, or 489-0866)
Directions: http://bit.ly/bvH2Mi
Sponsored by the Albany Bicycle Coalition

Calendar information here.

Written by Ken Burford

Leave a Comment

Filed under Events, None, Rides

Tagged as

by | August 27, 2010 · 9:41 pm

Critical Mass – Tour de Garden

Everyone met up at the monument around 5:30, the first fearless leader was chosen, Toni. She decided to take us from the monument over to Madison, and down to the Egg. The riders rode lazily in the breeze around the plaza. Fearless leader #1 came up with the idea of tagging new leaders while riding in the plaza. Chris was  suddenly tagged as fearless leader #2. He lead of the group away from the plaza and back up Madison. His goal was a nice ride down Morris. Traffic wasn’t bad as we all chatted about where to go next. After awhile on Morris we headed over to Central when fearless leader #3 was tagged, Ken. On Central the goal changed to scoping out something to eat. The conversation revolved around food at this point and what everyone wanted to eat. No one really could decide so Fearless Leader #1 took control leading the group to Sukhothai, for a very delicious meal.

During dinner it was decided to loop up to Russell Rd to check out the garden of a rider. While everyone was getting ready to get back on their bikes the group met two new cyclists in the area who will hopefully be joining the group on some future rides. The group took a detour onto Berkshire, where Lorenze suddenly lost his bike computer. Before it could be retrieved a car ran over it and it was sadly a casualty of the ride. The rest of the trip to the garden was uneventful and the garden tour was rather nice. Everyone was offered different varieties of tomatoes to try. From there the group decided that the ride was a success and everyone wished everyone else to have a good night.

A really cool map of our route is below, you can thank Chris for it!

Map of Tour de Garden

Written by Toni Cameron

Leave a Comment

Filed under Rides

Tagged as ,

by | July 19, 2010 · 9:17 am

4th annual Daily Grind to Daily Grind ride July 17 2010

-       Ride Time – 2:19

-       Avg – 9.4

-       Miles – 21.8

-       Max Speed – 19.3

Eight riders poured into the Albany Daily Grind Café around 10am and then we were off down Washington, State, and Pine to the pedestrian bridge.  Regrettably, Toni suffered a bent rim and, despite Chris’s expert technical prowess, she and Ken had to abandon the ride.  The remaining six zipped north on the newly-repaved and widened (thanks Albany!) Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail to Watervliet for a photo op.  Along the way, we all noted Chris’s 360-degree power strokes using his new clip-less pedals and, of course, drooled over May Lou’s sparkling new Serotta (made by her son, Patrick).

After crossing the Green Island Bridge, we ran into Troy’s “Pig Out” and the world-renowned Troy Famers’ Market – temporarily arrayed along River St.   Louis and Jesse left the ride to join up with friends at the Pig Out (whatever that is) and the remaining four enjoyed a welcome break at the Daily Grind.

After a stop at the Farmers’ Market for a container of milk (?) and a chat with the Troy Bike Rescue folk, we headed back to Albany wrapping up with a “invigorating” climb up the bike lanes on Clinton Ave.

Kudos – We are grateful to Lee and Rick of the Daily Grind Café for sponsoring our ride with a complementary beverage at both shops and to the gracious hostesses at our lunch stop in Troy.  We also noted that the Daily Grind Café arranged with the City for installation of the only one of two bicycle racks on Lark St – years before the city wide installations began last month.

Written by Mary Lou Nolan-Gillham

Leave a Comment

Filed under Events, Rides

Tagged as ,