Hudson Valley Biking and Breweries for the National MS Society
This past Saturday October 22nd, the whole family went to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail to bike for a great cause. We were there to raise money and awareness for the Multiple Sclerosis Society and support Mimi and anyone affected by this disease. In the past this team participated in the 30 mile bike around NYC but during Covid smaller group bikes took place instead. This year the city one took place on Sunday Oct. 23rd and although pandemic restrictions have lifted some teams including ours decided to continue with small local bike-a-thons and this was ours.
We arrived late to meet the others as my son had tae kwon do and my daughter had swim in the morning. The rest of the team had a 45 minute jump on us. We found their cars parked in Gardiner right by the trail. It also happened to be the lot closest to the Yard Owl Brewery.
aerial view courtesy of Google Maps
We started out on the path which was shaded by trees and though it was not paved it was hard packed gravel. There were some wet leaves and the path which was a railway track is not overly wide. It makes passing a little tight. The trail was by no means crowded, but there was a consistent flow of casual day trippers like us, serious weekend riders and the occasional walkers. As we biked toward New Paltz there were sections where the trees hadn’t changed yet and provided a leafy tunnel with rays of sunshine peaking through. There were also areas where we could view the Gunks in the distance in all of their amber and scarlet glory. Benches are thoughtfully placed for travelers to take a moment, take in the scenery and of course, take a few snaps.
We met up with our trusty team on their way back near the Kettleborough Apple Cider Orchard . They had already been to New Paltz and turned around. They said next year we should plan on lunch there.
map courtesy of Google Maps
This year though we walked our bikes up to the apple orchard and had our brown bag lunches. We bought flights of the local small batch hard apple cider to test the wares and the kids got their non-alcoholic version. Several picnic benches sat on the crest with a direct view of the majestic mountains that were resplendent in the afternoon light. This is one of those things that you should come to the Hudson Valley to do. You don’t even have to walk your bike uphill to get there. You can actually drive your car straight there. We took a great team photo, but I’ll just post the top of it to respect everyone’s privacy. Look at that view!
When we finished up at Kettleborough we biked through the orchard and back down to the path. This is why parking where we did was so strategic although we bypassed the cars for now and went straight to the Yard Owl.
The boys, the actual boys, not the husbands, raced to the brewery and were impatiently waiting for us to order them hot pretzels. We ordered many of them, a cheese plate with the most delicious pickles and some Yard Owl beers. The Yard Owl is a big cavernous warehouse that had plenty of fresh fall air coming in from both entrances. Relatively empty when we arrived around 2:30, it got gradually more crowded as cars pulled into its lot and groups of people headed toward the bar. We enjoyed the drinks and food for about an hour as the kids amused themselves on their bikes and in the seating area outside. They had board games and cornhole available to keep you amused. We couldn’t stay too long. We were all driving and we all had things left to do in the day, but for a few hours we enjoyed each other’s company and the best of autumn with some of the people we love the most. All for a great cause. XOXO
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