[You’re all stats weenies! 24.33 miles, 693 feet of climbing.]

These are words that cannot be trusted. Ever. Jenni, seen here, is notoriously untrustworthy when it comes the words above. I’ve learned not to trust those words, they are simply never the case.

That said, I figured at least there would be no hills that look like walls as many Rockland county hills can. The rest I was up for…

Now Jenni did have a plan to make us climb a significant bit of hill… but I knew I wasn’t ready for that today and I had a time limit as well (more on that later).

We started at Bear Mountain State park. I got there early to spin a bit and warm up. It was cool when I started (50F) so I had knee warmers, a thin rain cape, and a hat under my helmet. Jenni of course, could not pass up a chance to poke fun, even as she screamed in pain on the first shady downhill, which no doubt froze various body parts that, well, probably should never freeze. It was easy enough to shed the jacket and hat, and eventually knee warmers as the day warmed. And the peasants rejoiced!

I digress however.

We rode across the Bear Mountain bridge which you can see here:

Turning north, we headed up 9D toward Cold Spring. As you can see the scenery is quite lovely as you ride along the Hudson Highlands. You pass a bunch of historical markers including the spot where the “First Chain” was stretched across the Hudson to prevent the British ships from making their way up the river.

There’s one nice spot where you’ve descended to the river and you are essentially at the bottom and that’s where we turned around. Jenni was captivated by the outcropping, dreaming dreams of climbing the face. I was wondering whether I could a hitch ride back up the hills via a passing van or something.

Actually, they weren’t bad at all, not steep, not long, and quite pleasant over all. Plus since I dropped my BP med the other day (courtesy of my new diet and old Doc) I felt far better than recently when my blood pressure was 80 something over 50 for a brief period.

I’m finally getting some consistent miles under my wheels, and with the recent drop in weight I’m beginning to feel good. I haven’t crossed that threshold this year, ya know, the one where I feel like a cyclist, but the riding has been improving steadily, some fitness should follow now that a health impediment has been removed.

As for the aforementioned time limit, Gerry Laybourne was kind enough to invite the old dev team from Oxygen to her home to catch up and once again enjoy each others company. So after the ride this morning I hustled home, we finished packing some food, and headed into the City to Central Park. Noah got a kick out of the horses and Pedicabs, and as excited as he was to visit the City and see everyone, he fell asleep in his stroller giving Lisa and I a few minutes to sit in the shade and enjoy each others company. Then we had a chance to catch up with everyone for a few hours. It was quite beautiful. Such a lovely group of people.