I rode from Troy north to the big Junction at Green Island, and then turned around and rode south all the way to Hudson on New York State’s Empire State Trail (EST) yesterday.
I had about 20 pounds of gear on my Montague Navigator, and despite all of the scary looking hills in the trip plan, it was not particularly difficult.
The path follows the right-of-way of the former Albany Hudson Electric Railway. Paving is now 100% complete, and I had smooth asphalt the whole way. Road sections were mostly just fine, with a few areas that were a bit tricky, no great concerns. There are preserved depot along the way, beautiful farmland to traverse, and lots of great vistas. I highly recommend this trail!
I fell once clipping in, and banged my knee hard, but fortunately it feels OK this morning. To help with discomfort in my shoulder, I had a local bike shop along the way quickly change my handlebars to a Surly Open Bar, which helped immensely. Great folks at OK Spoke Bike Shop in Valatie, NY, right beside the trail.
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by Jgilber0