May 21, 2023
Kingston NY to Port Jervis NY
Day One
The day started out cool and cloudy. Although I say I started in Kingston, I really began in Marbletown. It’s the same trail. The O&W Trail is a little beat up with mud patches and exposed roots. You get bounced around a bit. I also passed an art exhibit on the trail.
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I rode the O&W until it petered out in single track and tall grass. I worked my way to Rt. 209 and after a few miles, connected back to the O&W Rail Trail in Accord’s Veterans Park. The rail trail left me on Berme Road. I pedaled on Berme until I was in front of Eastern Correctional Facility.
I encountered two Corrections Officers who looked like they were standing guard on the road leading past the prison grounds. When I asked if I could ride through, they asked where I was going. I said, “Ellenville.” They told me the road didn’t go to Ellenville and that I was better off on 209. I backpedaled to the road that led to 209. I know I’d ridden that route before and had connected with a rail trail that kept me away from 209. I don’t argue with people in uniform; that usually doesn’t end well for me.
Ellenville was having a road race, there were a lot of kids with medals. I reconnected with 209, hoping for the gold. I jumped on a tow path I spied in the woods. With all my planning I missed a few sections of trail. When the D&H Canal Tow Path crossed 209, I followed it. It was beautiful. Then I started spying beaver dams and the path’s few wet spots increased incrementally. Soon, I was calf-high in water. I noticed a wooded berm to my left and I pushed my way up it, picking between the trees, humping the bicycle.
Through the woods, I saw a gravel road and worked Betty toward it. The road was laid with huge crushed stone, suitable for heavy equipment. (I later found out it’s called “rip rap” and is used for erosion control.) The woods were posted with caution signs warning about lead. I rode the road hoping I wouldn’t get a flat, and the tires held.
Eventually I reconnected with a drier canal path. When the path ended, at the first house I passed, the owner had his German shepherd tied up outside. The dog came charging, barking at me until his 15-foot chain jerked him back. Scared the shit out of me. I sure hope the Moore Lane Asshole’s dog doesn’t grab some kid.
I hung a left on McDonald Road past the fence that said “Authorized Vehicles Only” and picked up the Mamakating Rail Trail into Wurtsboro. The crystals outside the psychic shop gave me good juju as I headed down 209 to the towpath in the Bashakill Wildlife Area.
As I approached Port Jervis, Rt. 209 got busy. The shoulder disappeared and I rode the sidewalk. I grabbed a room at The Erie Hotel and Restaurant, an old railroad hotel. I paid, got the key from the bartender, brought my bags upstairs to my room and went in search of the Tri-State Monument. I found the Monument through a cemetery and under a highway. It was a weird space.
After carrying my bike up the Erie Hotel’s stairs, I had a great burger at its bar.
The barmaid seemed to know everyone. Tired after the long day, I went back up to my room. With the church bells ringing, the ceiling fan slowly spinning, the mini split blinking red and blue, I fell asleep into a film noir.
Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 56 miles (90 km)
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