Tristan on 9/15/2020 12:05:41 PM:
Riding at night was no problem, I've done a couple other long rides that went into the night so I was prepared...I had multiple light sources with extra batteries. Riding in the dark didn't really slow me down either, and made riding through towns a little easier because there was no traffic.
I didn't face any delays, no flat tires or bike issues, but I did make a huge mistake around Port Byron and got turned around, not realizing I was going to wrong direction for about 2.5 miles. The biggest issue I ran into with time was just stopping to eat/rest. Of the 32 hours of elapsed time almost 6 hours was spent not moving. I was carrying a bunch of granola bars, some soda and a 2 liter bladder full of water, but that was not enough to get me through the whole ride so I would frequently stop at gas stations and buy some gatorade, beef jerky, candy, chips, sandwiches, more water. Late in the ride I felt like I was stopping more frequently and for a longer time than in the beginning. I would stop maybe every 20 miles for about 20 min...all that time added up.
I did not sleep at all during the ride, around 24 hours in was when I really started to get tired, at times feeling like I was dozing off with my eyes open while riding even when it got light out...by the time I got to Little Falls the thought of spending an hour or something sleeping on the side of the trail was tempting but something I wanted to avoid just to finish quicker.
I felt one of the biggest challenges of the ride was the wind. As soon as I got on the canal in Lockport I was constantly riding into the wind. This slowed me down a bit, and caused me to use up more energy than I would have liked.
I stopped for "breakfast" in Frankfort, and between there and Rotterdam Junction I was having trouble finding gas stations or restaurants that were open... I was feeling tired, hungry and I was using up all the extra calories I was carrying with me and by that point I was realizing that I wasn't going to make my goal of finishing in 30 hours or less.
The final stretch from Schenectady to Albany went by alright, mostly just trying to push through and finish...it felt like the wind got worse as I got closed to Albany and started heading south.
Overall it was a fun ride, got to see some cool things on the trail and I enjoyed all the towns along the way. Apart from the wind the weather was perfect, I was expecting it to feel a little colder than it actually was...I rode the majority of the ride in shorts and a t shirt, only putting a long sleeve shirt on at around 4 in the morning. I think if someone had a nice gravel bike and a crew waiting for them at towns with food instead of using gas stations or restaurants they could finish the whole route in 24 hours or less.