D8 NE Long but Lovely

Who is this Hudson guy? We crossed his river after leaving Poughkeepsie this morning. We pedalled up his valley. We are staying in a town named after him. He has a huge bay in Canada named after him. When I went to First Nation pow wows in Canada, one of the most prized giveaways was a blanket made by “his” company: Hudson Bay Company. BTW, the valley named after him is incredibly beautiful.

BTW – if Wikipedia can be trusted – Henry Hudson (c. 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States.

In 1607 and 1608, Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a rumoured Northeast Passage to Cathay via a route above the Arctic Circle. In 1609, he landed in North America on behalf of the Dutch East India Company and explored the region around the modern New York metropolitan area. Looking for a Northwest Passage to Asia^[3] on his ship Halve Maen (“Half Moon”), he sailed up the Hudson River, which was later named after him, and thereby laid the foundation for Dutch colonization of the region.

On his final expedition, while still searching for the Northwest Passage, Hudson became the first European to see Hudson Strait and the immense Hudson Bay.^[4] In 1611, after wintering on the shore of James Bay, Hudson wanted to press on to the west, but most of his crew mutinied. The mutineers cast Hudson, his son, and seven others adrift; the Hudsons and their companions were never seen again.

The trip was a little long today, but even at about 50 miles into it, I said to Gloria that “this is what I want Heaven to be like, but add the grandkids and kids”. Gloria agreed – probably under duress – but with the caveat she would appreciate a little more celestial seating. Seriously, it was pretty incredible for mile after mile and since a good chunk of the miles were rail trail, it was pretty easy pedalling. When we did get off the rail trail, we enjoyed quiet roads, through towns that looked like Life magazine pictures of New England, but realized there are quite a few hills in this part of New York.

Admittedly, my photos aren’t quite Life Magazine level, but usually I’m watching the route, the road, looking for dangers, warning Gloria (with wild hand signals), AND taking pictures all while pedalling – no time to stop. Yes, taking photos is far more dangerous than riding a bike in Philly. You better appreciate them:).

When Gloria was told – and I had just realized – that our trip at mile 65ish still had a good 11 more miles to go, I almost followed Hudson by being set adrift. Thankfully, at that point we came into some orchards. Beautiful, apple orchards with trees almost falling over they were so thick with apples. I pulled in and quickly bought some apples and cider. We guzzled some cider – I don’t think it was hard – but it sure cheered up Gloria and saved me from a mutiny. We pedalled on and after crossing Henry’s river twice, and going 77 miles, we finally reached his town and found a great Thai place for dinner. Life was good again. Also, hopefully, Coby will appreciate our elevation and our average MPH.

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