In 2017 Cuomo announced the creation of the Empire State Trail, a 750 mile bicycle and walking trail that would span New York State from Buffalo to Albany, and from New York City through the Hudson and Champlain Valleys, to Canada. It was towards the end of 2020 that the trail was completed, and so opened the longest multi-use trail in the nation.

At the start of 2022, I’d made a commitment to myself. I would ride that trail from NYC to Canada ~400 miles to the border, a great safe introduction to multi-day adventure riding, a type of riding I was growing increasingly curious about.

There’s a lot that went into this ride, but if you’d rather skip to the fun bit (the ride itself) hop to Day 1.

😴 Preparation

In all honesty, not a lot of time went into planning, there were a few pillars I knew I’d need and I focused on those while juggling a busy year at work. Fitness, food, and logistics. Fitness was the biggest of the three and training started gradually from March. I was fortunate to have my former Ironman coach prepare me for this ride. He’s had me at my fastest and fittest racing 70.3 Worlds, so I was excited to see what we’d do together focusing on one sport alone. My longest prep ride was 110 miles, the longest I’ve ever ridden before was 112 miles.

Food I had a lot of experience in from my Ironman days, and my coach was a great guide here too. I kept it all very simple and easy, the majority was liquid nutrition (Scratch Superfuel and hydration), supplemented with cliff bars, the odd gel, and as much real food I could get my hands on. While it all sounds pretty straight forward, I gave myself strict carb, water and sodium intake goals throughout the day.

Logistics did require some pre-planning. I was aiming for 4th July weekend heading up the Hudson towards Lake George which meant accommodation would be scarce if I didn’t book early. This meant I’d need to have planned my daily mileage well in advance so that I could book hotels and motels along the route before they sold out over the holiday weekend. Alex, my husband, helped map my route from scratch on Strava and from there I front loaded my schedule, aiming to take on ~150 miles the first day, ~130 the second, and ~100 on the last. The first two days would soon become my biggest mileage days to date, back to back, followed by a century. I glanced at elevation, it was roughly an even split through the days. The volume didn’t phase me, my biggest concern was whether I’d be capable of sitting on a saddle for 3 ~10 hour days. That sounded painful, so my coach and I addressed it with a few back to back higher volume days in training. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was achievable. I also decided to prioritize comfort which solidified my decision to do it on my gravel bike over my road bike. I can’t say enough good things about my Curve. Not only has it done Unbound and now Canada with me, my husband also raced it from Ecuador to Peru a few years back. It’s the first bike I got REAL comfortable descending fast on, the geometry really works for me and I can confidently throw myself into tricky situations. My husband would support me as SAG, meeting me at my checkpoint hotels with fresh kit and my next day's worth of nutrition.

🥳 Day 1 (154 miles & 4,813 ft) NYC to Hudson

The day started beautifully, a 5AM start through Van Cortlandt Park which led to protected trails away from main roads for what felt like almost the entire day's ride. The trail quality was unbelievable, almost all newly laid asphalt.

I had planned to do the ride with a girlfriend of mine, however, she unfortunately wasn’t feeling well. This was evident from the moment we set off, her HR was incredibly high and with ~400 miles ahead of us, we made the decision that we’d need to part ways to finish each day in daylight. I’d go off solo to complete the full course, and she’d join me for the starts of the days and continue based on how she felt. This dynamic worked well and we rode together for the first 60 miles. If you ask either of us, we have differing opinions on the most beautiful leg of the route. For me it was day 1, for her it was day 3. One of my highlights as we rode together was passing the New Croton Reservoir, part of the NYC water supply system. There were pretty waterfalls and bridges along here, and given that at this point it was nearing 9AM on a Thursday, it felt like we had the entire pathway to ourselves and nature, a welcome silence and escape to city noise.

Approximately 60 miles at around 11AM we approached the town of Brewster. We knew there was a strip mall here parallel to the trail with a couple of options for real food. We pulled in and I smashed 3 large slices of pizza. As I folded them into my mouth the pizza guy asked where I was riding to. I replied ‘Canada’, to which he nodded nonchalantly like it was a daily occurrence. Maybe it was… Now knowing the quality of the trails, it kind of blew my mind that I’d never ridden this far up it. Either way, it got me excited for what I had yet to see. Brewster was where me and my girlfriend split ways. She grabbed an Uber to our hotel in Hudson, and I set off to complete the remaining 90 odd miles.

I was feeling good and was keen to pick up my average pace to get to the hotel before dusk. I started to pick up good speed as I rode along the Maybrook Trailway, a 24 mile stretch of a paved trail that runs along a decommissioned railway line. It was stunning, isolated with very few people or other riders, just me and the road. This was also the first real long stretch of road that was noticeably exposed to the sun, it was hot, and of course was the perfect setting for me to puncture. This was where my trusty ‘never fails pump’ failed me and burnt through the 3 CO2 canisters I had on me. Incredibly frustrated, I called my husband for advice. He was out on a golf course miles from me. Unable to physically do anything, he reminded me that this was part of adventure riding and it was for me to ‘work it out’. So I did. I walked North, continuing to move forward. I managed to flag down another cyclist who very kindly threw me a spare CO2 canister, my pump blew through that (YAY), and then I decided to google the closest main road for help to try and calculate how to ration my remaining water based on the miles I’d need to walk in the sun. Remember when I said this was a safe trail to dip my toe into adventure riding? I came to realize that every 10 or so miles for the first ~150 miles of the Empire State Trail offered a free public bike repair station, each fully kitted with a pump and basic tools. An absolute godsend! I was 0.4 miles from my own rescue. I pumped my tire up and hit the trail praying I wouldn’t puncture. I’ve been trying to practice not immediately solving issues, because, often, things just work out. With that, I decided to stay on course and not make a massive diversion to the closest bike shop. As I continued not too much further up to the Dutchess Rail Trail I couldn’t believe my luck. A local bike store, Bikeway, had set up a temporary trailer that they stationed on the trail at weekends renting bikes, and selling pumps! They hooked me up with a new CO2 pump, several canisters and water from their personal supply (what kind people) and I was on my way.

I was really far off schedule at this point, so from here on it was meditative. I held position in my drops and timetrialled to the hotel. I took a brief moment around 3PM to really appreciate The Walkway Over the Hudson where there were also public water fountains. I also paused for a hot second at a few other stunning bridges where selfies were obligatory for my mum and dad, but other than that, I was on a mission to get to the hotel before dusk, and I did.

I pulled up at the hotel and realized my day 1 bibs were the wrong choice. Great for compression and rides under 70 miles, but for this distance, I’d chafed badly. I was still waiting on my SAG to meet me with a change of clothes and my recovery shake, always a known risk with his line of work. So I showered, Neosporined up, put my wet dirty kit back on and consumed all the food I could until the hotel restaurant closed. Once my SAG arrived, I prepped my Day 2 nutrition, repacked my bike, and went straight to bed ready to get up and go again in 5 hours.

😩 Day 2 (138 miles & 4,943 ft) Hudson to Ticonderoga

Fitness wise I was feeling good. I surprisingly wasn’t fatigued, but I was uncomfortable. The chafing was rough, but nothing a lot of chamois cream and my favorite endurance bibs couldn't solve. Today's trails were notably more exciting. The start contained a few sections of protected bike lanes on roads, and as the day went on there were a few good gravel sections… yeahhhh buddy. The gravel, if you’re thinking of doing this on a road bike, was 100% achievable on a road bike. I’d say less than 5% of this total ride was along segments where I really felt like a gravel bike was needed, and even then, you could just about manage on road.

There was a fun section through a forest, and just before my friend and I entered we sat down for a heart to heart on how far we planned to realistically stay together on this day. As we sat on a bench a man approached us with the good intention of letting us know that there were coyotes in the forest ahead of us. Despite the coyotes we decided to split and ride the forest solo to make up time. I questioned that decision for the entirety of that stretch as I rode as fast as I could sustain, not stopping for anything, not even the caves and caverns that I really wanted to see. One thing I distinctly remember when riding through that section was the density and temperature of the air and how it changed rapidly every few meters. It would be ICE COLD and then humid as hell. I’m sure Sasha on our team and my bestie Earth Science teacher would have an explanation for me.

Not far out from the forest, I hit a new roadblock. My cleat had unscrewed and I’d lost one of the screws. I hit up some good friends for advice, and the general consensus was to find a hardware store. My teammate Daghan gave me a much needed laugh at this point. He DM’ed me, “did you check anything before you left?” A very valid question after my pump failed me and my lack of prep was back to bite me in the ass again. Clearly not Daghan, it wouldn’t be an adventure if I did. Noted, check your cleats. Remember when I said things sometimes just work out? I was 0.6 miles away from a hardware store (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT) where a lovely man helped me find my exact screw. I bought 4 for good measure and was on my way. Wild.

The gravel trails continued, as did the beautiful bridges, and stunning scenery. This leg was far more scarce on food and water options, so I pulled in at the first McDonalds I saw and ordered a pint of Dr Pepper, several chicken sandwiches and fries. I skim read slack for work while I was still of sound mind, met my SAG for a quick hello, and was on my way.

I was 120 miles in when things started getting really rough. The McDonalds was not the nutrition I needed and I was starting to dehydrate and bonk on the endless gravel roads that offered no respite from the sun. Even though the elevation was roughly an even split per day, the moderate climbs today were felt. I walked one that no mere mortal should, but I was outta gas. I called Alex who helped me realize I wasn’t far from the closest town. If I could make that, I could make the final 8 miles to close out the day. Much to my surprise Alex and my friend met me in the car and tailed me cheering me along for the final 8. They brought me back from a really rough mental spot with their encouragement and I closed out the day hitting the mileage I’d set out to achieve. What a squad.

I spent my evening fueling myself with real food, washing my favorite endurance bibs to wear again in the morning, and getting a good night's rest.

🇨🇦 Day 3 (96 miles & 4,877 ft) Ticonderoga to Canada

It rained all night. Adding insult to injury, my freshly washed bibs were left in the rain which meant I had to resort to chafing bibs again. To make matters worse, it was 5AM, it was still raining, and I’d come onto day 1 of my period, aka the worst day. This was a surprise to me. I’d gotten used to knowing that if I put my body under high levels of stress, my period would not come. Was this not enough stress, had I normalized stress, why did it come? And it came with fucking vengeance. It was a heavy flow day, I had the worst cramps, my back hurt, but the most concerning part was that I didn’t feel like I had the energy.

If you’re considering doing an endurance event on your period, it could actually work in your favor. In fact, I’ve done a few races where I’ve been on my period and the recovery has had me mind blown. I’ve never felt so good. I was in the estrogen phase of my period, which meant that in reality my body was primed for high intensity training and great recovery. While the general consensus is not to go long on your period, long is relative, and for what I was doing, this day was short. My period would also bring me higher insulin sensitivity and a higher fat burning capacity. Knowing that, I decided to be kind to myself and stop for breakfast at a local bakery (Dogwood Bread Company) which was popular amongst cyclists to eat until I felt better. Given the loss of blood I focused on iron rich breakfast foods that I liked, and slumped myself over an outdoor table helmet and glasses still intact as I pounded several quiches and a cappuccino. A friend of mine with a pro mountain biking background turned pro ironman once told me ‘when things get dark, eat.’ I think about that often, her advice has saved me many times.

This leg was truly beautiful, hilly, but absolutely stunning through the Adirondacks. The majority of this day was on main roads that offered protected bike lanes. Approximately 40 miles in my SAG caught me and I took the opportunity to do lunch with them. I tailed the car to a local diner, and in tailing them I punctured with perfect timing to repair the flat over a relaxed lunch. I pounded pasta, refilled my liquid nutrition, and had time to scrawl on the diners bathroom chalk wall ‘50 miles to go!’

The next 40 miles were tedious. They were along main roads, the bike lanes were getting more and more suspect, and I was getting keener to reach the border as the day's relentless headwind grated on me. I kept my head down and got on with it. I used a Spotify playlist I’d blended with my sisters to keep me company. It was a great distraction, and I didnt feel so alone. It wasn’t long until I was nearing the border. I pulled into a checkpoint that I’d agreed on with my SAG to grab my passport, from there I tailed the car to the border. This moment was pretty euphoric, I’d nearly made it. I’d ridden my two biggest mileage days back to back, and a century, on my period to the Canada border. There was a road sign that I regret not taking a photo at. It simply pointed NY South, Canada North. If you do this ride, take a photo there for me.

I had this vision of me rolling through the border with my passport in my jersey pocket in a special YOU JUST RODE TO CANADA lane where I could soak in the accomplishment. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The traffic to cross the border trailed at least 10 cars long and we were moving very slowly in the heat. I debated whether I wanted to stay on my bike and shuffle along with the cars, or if I wanted to mount my bike on the car now to save myself the time on the other side of the border. This would mean we could beeline to Montreal and make dinner in good time. I chose to prioritize dinner and I’m pretty happy with that choice. After all, there was no taking away from what I had just achieved… I rode to Canada.