Burnt Hills to The Battery – Hudson Valley Greenway Trail

By Jack & Judy Rightmyer

Jack: On our second date we went on a 35-mile bike ride, an 80-degree day through the towns of Glenville and Clifton Park. All I could think was, wow, here was a girl who was smart, pretty and willing to go on a long bike ride on such a warm day. She didn’t mind getting sweaty. She was funny, and she was a good biker. That perfect day decided it for me. Forty years later, biking remains one of our favorite things to do together. We’ve biked from Buffalo to Albany along the Erie Canalway Trail, across England from the Irish to the North Sea, and along the C&O Canal towpath in Maryland.

Judy: Biking to every corner of New York State has always been a dream of mine; from Buffalo to Albany, south to New York City and north to Canada. When we heard the Empire State Trail had opened, we decided we had to bike it. Planning the details of a ride has always been my strength; mapping out the days, finding places to stay, getting our bikes and equipment in order. Jack finds the food and the fun unique sites along the way. 

Jack: I knew we could complete the ride in five days, and a big part of the fun is discovering the towns along the way. We decided to bike south from our home in Burnt Hills, with our first stop 60 miles away in Kinderhook. On the second day we would travel to Kingston. Day three, we’d ride through New Paltz, then cross the Walkway Over the Hudson and stay in Poughkeepsie. Our last night would be somewhere in Westchester County.

Judy: I was a bit anxious as we prepared for our ride. Would our new touring bikes work? Would they be too heavy? Was I packing too much? Could I change a flat? What about the on-road portions of the ride, would the traffic be too much? All these thoughts were going through my mind, and yet the freedom of being on my bike for five days, with no work to do, no aging mom to care for, made me smile and kept me focused.

Jack: Everything went smoothly on that first day, and when we arrived in Kinderhook we stopped for a beer at a local pub. How lucky we were to be able to do this. I cherish every ride I have with Judy. In 2010 she was biking and was hit by a truck. She was helicoptered to Albany Medical Center with a broken leg and a severe concussion. Two months later she was back biking, and here I sat 12 years later smiling at her as she sipped her dark beer. What a gift it was to bike with her on this adventure, and we had four more days of open road and trail ahead.

Judy: The sounds of birds and the smell of lilacs are what stood out for me from our second day. That and the food! When I bike, I really like to eat and there was some delicious food at Otto’s Market in Germantown. Otto’s was a perfect place to stop. We met a few other Empire State Trail riders there that day; two brothers, one from New Zealand and the other from California, who hadn’t seen each other in three years due to Covid. The joy on their faces and their enthusiasm for their biking adventure was such a gift to see, that it made the afternoon of climbing the Columbia County hills so much easier for me.

Jack: Our friends Gary and Janine joined us for the third day of the ride. The day began on a stone dust trail from Kingston to New Paltz and unfortunately Gary got a flat. As we helped Gary change the flat, cyclist after cyclist offered to help. In New Paltz one of my old college friends Tim joined us, and we discovered that Historic Huguenot Day was going on. When you’re on a biking adventure, discoveries are everywhere. We concluded our day cycling on the Walkway Over the Hudson, and we thought how Albany should construct something like that.

Judy: On one of our biking adventures in Martha’s Vineyard I picked up a small dish which was decorated with the saying: “Go Everywhere, Eat Everything, Talk to Everyone.” It has become my traveling mantra and this bike trip to NYC was no different. We met old friends, fellow trail riders, like the two professors from SUNY Geneseo, and kind innkeepers and hotel staff along the way. They shared little kindnesses, like throwing a few extra oranges into our bags to keep us energized or building us a beautiful fire to rest by when we settled in for our last night. Getting out on the trail, taking the time to talk to others reminds me about the abundance of kindness that exists, and how we just need to take time to notice.

Jack: I was looking forward to our final 40-mile ride to The Battery (at the southern tip of Manhattan) because it would take us through the campus of Manhattan College where I had graduated in 1980. The trail to the Bronx went through a surprisingly lush forest even though we knew it was a very populated area. As we came out of Van Cortlandt Park, we had three miles on the streets in the Bronx. The route took us on relatively quiet streets just off Broadway, and soon we were on the Hudson River Greenway for our last 12 miles, with spectacular views of Manhattan ahead of us and the Hudson River to our right. We didn’t like all the e-bikes and motorized scooters, but Judy and I both felt proud to stand at the tip of Manhattan and look out at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, where our grandfathers had first arrived. It was their first stop and our last.

Judy: We now needed to navigate to the train station, figure out how to load our bikes on to the train, and hopefully get back to Schenectady before the weather turned and the sun set. Thankfully, that “Talk to Everyone” mantra brought exceptional kindness from the Amtrak staff. They safely tucked our bikes on to the baggage car and we settled in for the ride north. The thunderstorms passed while we were on the train. Unfortunately, a delay in Albany, made us get back after dark. Jack was advocating for the sensible approach of having someone pick us up, but I was determined to finish our biking adventure under our own power. We did make it home safely with the help of our headlamps. 

After five days and 260 miles of biking, all I could think of was gratitude. Thankful for the friends that rode with us and fed us, the family and neighbors who took care of our dog, the staff at The Downtube who built our bikes, and for the ability and desire to want to continue our biking adventures. We are truly blessed.

Empire State Trail & Route – For detailed information about specific trail segments, parking areas, nearby attractions, and to use the online map for navigation details while traveling, visit: empiretrail.ny.gov.

Jack Rightmyer (jackxc@nycap.rr.com) of Burnt Hills was a longtime cross-country coach at Bethlehem High School and today is an Adjunct English Professor at Siena College. He has written two books “A Funny Thing About Teaching” and “It’s Not About Winning.”