Biking 50 Before Noon

I knew I was in trouble when Nola mentioned that we would be biking a short stint of only 50-60 miles before noon. As hungry vultures circled me from above I thought surely I was going to die, my carcass picked clean by scavenging birds. Miss Nola, my super-guru-biking-buddy, was kicking my butt again but biking so far out in front that she clearly didn't see the predicament I was in. I was growing weak from dehydration, had just narrowly escaped a rotweiller and the hills we climbed, I swear, were laughing at me!


.....to be continued (I'm falling asleep with exhaustion)

Okay, I'm back.

Our destination included a small pinprick of a town tucked away in the Helderberg mountains. Historical B&B's, equestrian farms, cow pastures and old grist mills border a village known as Rensselaerville, NY. While peddling up the steep terrain I balanced my camera in one hand and snapped up a bunch of beautifully unobstructed mountain views of the Catskills. The picturesque landscape took my mind off the seething respiratory pain in my left lung for at least a few seconds...

5 miles from Rensselaerville and I thought better of continueing out trek. I had a wedding/reception to shoot by 3pm and doubted if I'd have the energy needed to film Uncle Bob kicking up his heels on the dance floor at midnight if we continued. Besides, I was getting anxious for the return trip when we could kick back and left gravity take us home. The Holy Grail of hills extended for over 3 miles and Nola and I clocked in at 40 mph zipping our way past S-turns and potholes. Our 2 hour ascent culminated in a 10 minute descent ripping past picturesque photos I took that we were now just a blurrrrr. We even managed to break for the first barrel of fresh corn at Stanton's Farm Market and fill our rucksacks with lunch.