The Walkway Over the Hudson 108K Permanent Populaire is Open!

All of my permanent riding has been on 200K routes until this past August when it occurred to me that adding regular and routine 100K training rides to my monthly calendar would help to maintain my general fitness and aid in my training for PBP 2015 over the "off season," whatever that is. So now I'm in search of the RUSA P-12 award to keep that goal in focus. Until this month, my permanent popluaire riding has been done on the routes of others. With the grand opening of the Walkway Over the Hudson 108K permanent populaire route, though, this is no longer the case.

For those of you unfamiliar with the amazing Walkway Over the Hudson, you are in for a real treat. Opened in 2009, this repurposed rail line 212 feet over the Hudson River is one of the most exciting and dynamic pedestrian parks around. The Walkway itself is the longest pedestrian bridge in the world at 1.28 miles long and connects with two rail trails on either side of the river. A great recent development is the installation of a glass elevator that connects the Walkway with the Poughkeepsie Metro North railroad station making the route highly accessible to those arriving from New York City by public transportation.

The route is almost entirely comprised of quiet back roads that meander through Ulster and Dutchess Counties, cross the Hudson River twice and pass by the lovely Bard College campus and four historic Hudson Valley estates including the Vanderbilt mansion, the Mills mansion, Wilderstein and the FDR Presidential home and library. All this in 108 kilometers!

My first go-round on the Walkway loop took place on Halloween so there were signs of festive merriment in every direction I turned. This ghoulish server brought me a delicious egg and cheese sandwich and a piping hot cup of coffee at the fantastic Historic Village Diner in Red Hook.

So shoot me an email if you'd like to give this permanent populaire a try. Here's a link to the map. Additional information is available on the RUSA site.

Up next: keeping the coffeeneuring spirit alive.