Yesterday I took a bike ride into Palisades State Park in New Jersey. It was a glorious day, in the upper teens (Celsius) or the upper 50s (Fahrenheit). The sky was streaked with clouds to the west (which originally made me worry about rain) and fairly clear to the east and south, save a few puffy white clouds. I biked up the Hudson Greenway, casually breezing through the bumpy parts in between around 90th street and 125th street. I really dislike that part of the trail. It's quite narrow, and the surface of the road undulates, making it hard to stay comfortable. When coming back from a 50+ mile ride, it can be a little obnoxious. I headed over the GW bridge (on the north side!) and descended into the Palisades. On the way back I was tired, so I just took highway 9 back.
Entering the Palisades, the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. The Hudson Greenway is no Times Square, but it does have its fair share of city noises. The Palisades is silent in comparison. My only companion is my breathing and the sound of me slicing through still air. My intentions yesterday were not to go out and enjoy the scenic ride through the park, however. The workout was hill reps, and Alpine Rd, at the north end of the park, is about a 7 minute (for me) climb. I did it 5 times. It was awesome. By the fourth rep, I was soaked with sweat, and my legs were crying out. The pain of exertion oscillated between the front and back of my legs as I switched between emphasizing pressing down and pulling up hard. I know that one is supposed to make circles with one's feet, but that fell to the wayside midway through the 2nd rep. As the sun began to set, the bottom of the hill got dark and cold, while the area near the top was illuminated by the sun's waning rays. Kind of a cool effect, on the whole.
I'm a bit of a bad photographer, so I didn't manage to snap any pictures worthy of the park. I've never really understood how to properly photograph a landscape, especially vertically oriented ones like on the Palisades route.
Entering the Palisades, the first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. The Hudson Greenway is no Times Square, but it does have its fair share of city noises. The Palisades is silent in comparison. My only companion is my breathing and the sound of me slicing through still air. My intentions yesterday were not to go out and enjoy the scenic ride through the park, however. The workout was hill reps, and Alpine Rd, at the north end of the park, is about a 7 minute (for me) climb. I did it 5 times. It was awesome. By the fourth rep, I was soaked with sweat, and my legs were crying out. The pain of exertion oscillated between the front and back of my legs as I switched between emphasizing pressing down and pulling up hard. I know that one is supposed to make circles with one's feet, but that fell to the wayside midway through the 2nd rep. As the sun began to set, the bottom of the hill got dark and cold, while the area near the top was illuminated by the sun's waning rays. Kind of a cool effect, on the whole.
I'm a bit of a bad photographer, so I didn't manage to snap any pictures worthy of the park. I've never really understood how to properly photograph a landscape, especially vertically oriented ones like on the Palisades route.
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