Well to say the circumstances of this tour were different from the other tours I have led since the early 1990s would be an understatement. The enemies on previous tours were headwinds, inclement weather, bad roads, narrow shoulders, high speed traffic and places of overnight lodging not adhering to normal standards of business. This tour was unique in that it had an entirely new enemy: the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. What do you do with an enemy you cannot see? Usually touring bicyclists are research addicts, incessantly looking at routes, maps, and GPS tracks. For this tour COVID-19 was our principal focus. How do you cycle safely when the possibility of contracting an invisible, potentially symptomless virus looms? Well, I will share with you what this mindful group of cyclists did.
Because no one wanted to fly, the entire group arrived by car. Due to COVID-19 the starting location was changed and then changed again. The route? That too was altered. Originally, we were to pedal approximately 300 miles of the Western New England Greenway coupled with side trips to Tanglewood, Ausable Chasm, and various historical sites and museums. Yet due to local government restrictions this had to be modified. Hotels? Yes, they too were changed as the route was amended; one late change came as we were touring FDRs home in Hyde Park, NY.
So, what did transpire?
A great group of vigilant, respectful, knowledgeable, and experienced bicycle tourers got together for a fun tour. Folks who understood we were responsible for each other and acted with reverence towards keeping themselves and each other healthy. We formed a tight knit QuaranTeam. And the result was a lot of fun on a great tour.
Only 150 miles of the WNEG could be pedaled but, on the plus side, we were able to increase our overall mileage to around 450, as well as incorporate more than a few bicycle trails and paths: the Walkway over the Hudson, the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Trail, Erie Canal, Zimi-Smith Mid-County Trail in Ballston Spa, trails in Saratoga Spa State Park, as well as the Warren and Dutchess County Bikeways. Fortunately, we still were able to fit in three WNEG Covered Bridges: Cornwall Bridge, Bulls Bridge, and the Chiselville Covered Bridge. Though we still had to deal with our standard enemies of cycling: remember those headwinds, inclement weather, bad roads, narrow shoulders, high speed traffic? Yep, they were still all there. But then again, in the grand scheme of today’s COVID-19 concerns we accepted their presence (not with glee but with the awareness that they are always just part of the journey).
New protocols mandated outdoor social hours, outdoor meals, outdoor everything. Most times you didn’t even go indoors to check in (People Cycling uses indoor lodging) and new strategies called for masks, hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes, spray bottles of disinfectant, and rubber gloves. Having a couple of pop-up 10x10 canopies, camp chairs and folding tables in our luggage trailer enabled us to turn outdoor spaces into our community green for our nightly social hour / map meeting. Not only did we host our social hours and meetings there, but we also enjoyed our takeout dinners there. All 11 social hours were outdoors and even though we had a few dinners at restaurants that had outdoor dining, the majority of dinners were at our pop-up square. There was no indoor lobby or common area meetings: they were eliminated.
As with any tour the daily mileage pedaled ranged. On the short days of this tour, the mileage was in the low 40s and, notwithstanding a lengthy day of 66 miles the average came out to about 48 miles. The average elevation was about 2,200 feet of gain. The hotels ranged from motels in need of some TLC to a beautiful B&B nestled in foothills overlooking a valley, as well as a newly renovated motel which was a wonderful and pleasant surprise.
To sum it up, at our last breakfast (yes, held outdoors), we all sat around, none wanting to be the first to leave - we wanted to stay … stay in our bubble … our QuaranTeam … and pedal some more.
Even though the tour was an enjoyable success, People Cycling is looking forward to the next time the tour is give so participants can experience the original route. The Western New England Greenway has been established by the Housatonic Heritage Foundation with grants from the National Park Service. One of the founding members of the Foundation was a guest speaker at one of our social hours. He explained how the Greenway is being improved each year. While the adventurers enjoyed this altered route we all look forward to pedaling the entire WNEG and look forward to a reunion in a in post pandemic world!