Exploring the Local Area

  

Once I step outside and that 31 degree air hits me, it can be a little difficult to convince myself that a bike ride is really necessary. Add a 70mph windchill and those digits continue to drop, so that even lined layers and winter gloves can’t keep me from tensing up on the bike until every shiver echoes through my handlebars and sucks the sensation from the ride. However, it isn't always necessary to hit the highways in order to see something new and less explored. No matter how long you've lived somewhere, it can still be worth exploring your local area from the saddle of your bike.

I’ve lived in the Hudson Valley for seven years now and after a while, I realized that I’m still taking many of the same known roads today that I learned when I first arrived, that is, with the exception of long roads on long rides. This leaves a healthy serving of local cities and townscapes completely under explored. I marvel at the same architecture on every trip once I pull into a populated area, not even considering that there may be plenty of lesser known areas around me just waiting to be appreciated. 

I started my local exploration in the city of Kingston, the first capital of New York, before Albany was given the role. Kingston has plenty to gawk at, once you get away from the main streets. Everyone knows about the Rondout and the brickyards, but you have only to get a few blocks in either direction to find some of the less than legal creative artwork adorning dilapidated windowless warehouses of yore. The Stockade district is popular for its multitude of cozy shops and eateries as well as the amazing commissioned artwork decorating the walls, but you don’t have to go far to get an eye full of centuries old homes, some with amazing renovation work and others kept fully true to the original spirit.

Taking a slow crawl through the many residential areas of the city, it’s more than a little bit entertaining to see the yard ornaments that help the denizen dwellers call a house a home. You can see the stages of a neighborhood based on the styles of the homes, allowing you to map out a timeline of when things were built and a little bit of architectural knowledge can help you imagine a time before the additions and add on garages were put into place.

Cold weather travel on a motorcycle allows one the benefit of smelling home cooked meals and the warming scent of firewood pillowing out from the chimneys. These same smells become invitations when spewing forth from local eateries that you might normally pass by on your trip to find those long white lines that call your wheels during the warmer months.

There are so many hamlets and villages dotting the paths between the many cities of the Hudson Valley, I should hope to find a continuing multitude of places to explore over the next few months. My hope is to inspire you to do the same. It’s a great deal more entertaining than winterizing your ride for a quarter of the year.