Duathlon or not duathlon?

04 Sunday Apr 2021

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Historically our premier fundraising event has been the Mohawk Towpath Byway Duathlon. Last year it was canceled, because we could not assure a safe, wholesome environment for our competitors and cadre of volunteers during the pandemic.

Should we try an eighteenth duathlon this fall? Some have suggested August 22 when the weather is apt to be better than mid October. October 17 brings the peak fall colors and provides an attractive season ending event for our returning serious athletes.

Do we have a mass start like we have had in the past or spread out the field of participants with an individual start? What about our post race feed: the Chicken Bar-B-Q along with the awards ceremony? These large group gatherings seem to provide a unique social atmosphere for novice participants and serious athletes alike. They also each involve a certain risk of disease transition.

Our sanctioning body, USA Triathlon provides a library of information and guidelines, all of which are helpful, but don’t address what individual athletes and our hosting volunteers will be comfortable with later this year.

Yes, we are planning a Duathlon. Early registration will be encouraged with a liberal refund policy. The format and details will be worked out as we go through the sanctioning process and build confidence among our sponsoring businesses and organizations.

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated either as a comment on this post, as an email to the event director, or as personal contact with one of our officers or directors.

The Visitor Experience

27 Wednesday Jan 2021

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by Nancy Papish

Visitors to the Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway experience their time here at three different levels:

  • They drive the Byway as a pleasant escape from their daily routine;
  • They use the Byway as an access to adventure by getting out of their vehicle and doing some physical activity; or
  • They get involved with projects or programs to help others enjoy the experience and more fully appreciate the Byway.

Drive the Byway. It’s a pleasant afternoon drive just to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily routine. Motorcycle groups know it, because it is the second most traveled route in New York State. Others travel it as an alternate, more scenic connection between south-bound I-87 Northway and Schenectady.

Your access to adventure. This is when we entice our visitor(s) to get out of their vehicle to investigate one of many features on the Byway whether a natural feature, recreational opportunity, or a historic site. The self- guided tour stop or one of our interpretive signs might satisfy this interest or they might wish to pursue it further venturing into the Byway corridor.

The ultimate level in visitor experience is to have them involved in one of our projects or programs. These might be to enhance or protect one of our historic sites or features. It might be a project like cutting back vegetation that has over grown a historic canal wall, or a bridge to connect to an old towpath, or interpreting a feature either by taking a photograph, documenting research, making a sign, or contributing money or in kind services to complete one of our ongoing projects.

We should provide every opportunity for a visitor or any local resident no matter which level they wish to experience along the Byway: a Sunday afternoon drive; an exploratory or physical adventure and a list of projects that would grow out of our vision for a more compelling visit to our Byway.

Organization Officers

10 Thursday Dec 2020

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At the recent annual meeting of the Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway we elected John Loz as Vice President of the organization. John has been an active member for the past several years and was one of the key movers in establishing the very popular birding trail within the Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve. This addition to our cell phone based self-guided tour was so successful that it garnered national attention through the National Scenic Byway Foundation.

Other officers and directors listed in the upper left of our home page were re-elected for another two year term. Our next meeting will be by Zoom on January 12, 2021 at 7 PM. Don’t miss this meeting we will have a presentation and discussion of our Corridor Management Plan (CMP). We need your vision and expectations!

Marketing and Promotion

23 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by in Marketing and Promotion, Telling the Byway Stories

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I am stuck. I cringe whenever someone says, “We should do more to market and promote the Mohawk Towpath Byway.” This is not one of my strong points and I don’t think a hard sell is appropriate or even effective in this case. However, my most comfortable clothing is a bright orange tee shirt that has a prominent message “Bike the Byway”. Another is a frayed, pail blue, faded denim, collared shirt with an embroidered Byway logo in place of the chest pocket. I realize I am quite comfortable if an old friend sees me and mentally labels me as “Mr. Byway” before they can remember my real name.

“What’s the Byway?” is a perfect opportunity to launch into my elevator speech about the driving route between Waterford or Cohoes and Schenectady that follows the historic Erie Canal and the waterway west. It’s a perfect conversation as you are standing in a checkout line trying to figure out if you are keeping a safe “social distance.” Better than trying to figure out which credit card will work with this retailer.

Bike the Byway. Do you have one of these shirts?

One of the most memorable activities was the “Walk the Byway” event back in 2010. Larry Syzdek and I started out very early one summer day in downtown Schenectady. We had refreshment stops planned along the way. He dropped off at almost precisely half way (at his house) and Ruth Olmsted joined. One of the most uncomfortable segments was the stretch that included the Cohoes – Crescent Road with narrow shoulders and limited maintenance of the vegetation along the roadway. [Note that this is stipulated by environmental concerns for activities in the regulated wetlands right up to the narrow right-of-way]. But others joined us including my wife and other supporters. Cohoes, Waterford and Halfmoon were a rewarding way to end the day. This was a promotional effort that worked. Others worked and we will continue to work. Thank you for reading.

If you would like a soft, cotton tee shirt, tan with forest green silk screen that says, “Walk the Byway” I still have a box with limited sizes.  If you walk any part of the Byway or it’s many recreational assets and would like a Byway tee shirt, I will try to find your size… providing you tell me about your favorite walk on the Byway.

With those thoughts I am off to work on another chapter of your updated Corridor Management Plan…

“An effective Marketing and Promotion strategy should include a consistent, coordinated effort of online presence, regional effort with partners, individual or group visitor outreach and international initiatives with national partners…”

Bridged!

08 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by in Bringing Tourists to the Byway, Event, Mohawk Towpath, recreational assets

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The first half of the 100 foot pedestrian bridge arrived for installation at the site of a former farmers bridge just east of Clutes Dry Dock. The photo was captured by Larry Syzdek.

This is the crowning touch to improving recreational access to the Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve. Construction including approach pathways, parking lot improvements, and soil stabilization will be complete by the end of October. Once complete the bridge will be opened for our (public) use.

We have once again bridged the historic 1842 enlarged Erie Canal. The farm fields to the right have long been abandoned and is now a remote forested “important birding area”. The Community Connector Trail behind trees to the right was (from 1842 to 1907) the towpath for the Erie Canal. the To the left is the site of a bustling canal community also abandoned in 1907 and now ripe for archaeological investigation and interpretation.

“…low bridge! Everybody down…”

To see a video of the action from fastening together to actual placement watch a video from the Town of Clifton Park’s FaceBook page.

Farmer’s Bridge

07 Monday Sep 2020

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The re-construction of the Farmer’s Bridge east of Clutes Dry Dock is progressing. A good vantage point without crossing a “trail closed” sign is from the west side of Clutes Dry Dock. Access from the small trailhead across from Male Drive. Then hike east a half mile down the historic 1825 Erie Canal towpath.

I can only speculate that they are working on the temporary crane pad and the forms for the bridge footings. This is the view from the footbridge that Leo Coons and his Scout troop recently built.

A week ago Sue Lasker captured this image on the south side of the Towpath Community Connector Trail. The trail is shown in left foreground.
A week ago Sue Lasker captured this image on the south side of the Towpath Community Connector Trail. The trail is shown in left foreground.

Finale

09 Sunday Aug 2020

Posted by in Bringing Tourists to the Byway, Mohawk Towpath, Recreation, stewardship, Uncategorized, Volunteering

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Or is it a new beginning?

Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway installed the final of a dozen interpretive kiosks envisioned in the Byway’s Corridor Management Plan almost twenty years ago. It started out as a cool, cloudy Saturday. Two hours later the job was done and the posts set plumb and true, ready for the first eye curious about our agricultural heritage or about recreation on the Mohawk.

Innovation was the watch word for this kiosk. Federal Byway funds were dwindling and we needed a less expensive way to produce the panels. Metal panels were used with a graffiti resistant finish. These panels were glued to an exterior plywood with a urethane based caulk. The panels were then mounted in a frame of cedar.

Once in place in two excavated post holes the holes were backfilled with an expanding foam backfill. Bill Gutelius steadied the kiosk for a critical 15 minutes while the backfill set. Nancy Papish maintained an eye on the vertical plumb bubble.

This kiosk is located in Mohawk Landing Preserve on the southern boundary of Riverview Orchards on Riverview Road in Rexford. Check it out on your next visit to the Byway. The spot is quite accessible just a short walk from the parking lot, at the end of the first board walk. You can see the kiosk from the entrance (note the handicap parking space in the foreground and the kiosk just to Nancy Papish’s right in the background.

Besides Nancy Papish’s help We are most grateful for Bill Gutelius’ assistance with construction of the frame, and hauling the finished kiosk assembly to the site. In short this kiosk installation cost about half the cost of conventional polycarbonate resin panels with square aluminum frame.

Exciting Things Coming

03 Wednesday Jun 2020

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Some exciting projects are in the works to improve the recreation facilities in the middle of the Mohawk Towpath Byway’s corridor. The Town of Clifton Park and their contractor will be holding a reconstruction meeting early in June. The most notable improvement will be a new pedestrian bridge over the 1842 enlarged canal east of Clute’s Dry Dock, with associated trail and parking improvements. Construction will be happening this summer into early fall, with timing riding on delivery of a pre-fabricated pedestrian bridge.  Arrangements are being made with the Town’s contractor, Bette & Cring. A pre-construction meeting is planned for next week, at which time we’ll expect to have a more detailed schedule.   Barton & Loguidice will be conducting construction inspection on the Town’s behalf.  

The entrance to the preserve at Clutes Dry Dock will change dramatically over the summer and may be closed during critical stages of construction.

A second project to construct a footbridge to the right in the background will connect to the 1825 towpath trail. Eagle Scout candidate Leo Coons is organizing this effort. This project will start this week as timber beams crafted by Amish are delivered! 

Docks for hand-launched car top craft: canoes/kayaks within the Clute’s Dry Dock basin will be removed for repair and maintenance offsite. The docks will be returned and set back into place once the main bridge construction project is substantially complete. 

Spring is Coming…

07 Saturday Mar 2020

Posted by in Byway Administration, Recreation, stewardship, Telling the Byway Stories, Uncategorized, Volunteering

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As the snow and ice retreats we are starting to plan our activities and projects for the coming year. We have a limited budget but several low cost projects include…

The foot bridge on the 1825 towpath trail just west of the Water Authority Access Road in the Vischer Ferry Preserve. The deck needs work so that it is safe for pedestrian, mountain bike, and light trail maintenance equipment.

Friends of the Byway clean up ready for the summer season.

Interpretive Signs within the Vischer Ferry Preserve need to be cleaned. These are lacquered metal panels that tend to attract a grimy dark film over the years that needs to be washed and waxed with a quality automotive wax. We have done this in past years as a “flash mob” activity.

Self Guided Tour needs to be updated; narratives shortened so not to loose audience and add historic photos to bring the history of the site to life. We also need to add archived Erie Blvd narratives.

Wayfinding Signs need to be replaced. After 10 years some of the signs have faded, especially the south facing signs. This will start by inventorying the signs that need to be replaced and then working with the Town Highway Departments to install the replacements.

Duathlon planning is high on our priority list. This event highlights the recreational features of the Byway and provides a substantial amount of the organization’s revenue. We need sponsors and volunteers to pitch in to make this a success!

Writing and photography helps provide content for this blog as well as publicity and keeping our fellow volunteers energized and informed. Volunteering to “man” our booth at various functions provides an opportunity to “meet our public.”

Building a frame and installing an interpretive sign at the Mohawk Landing Park in Rexford. This will round out the interpretive signs envisioned 20 years ago when the Corridor Management Plan was prepared. The panels described our agricultural heritage and growing leisure time during the Industrial Revolution.

Baking healthy snacks for our work details, meetings, and events is always appreciated and helps keep the enthusiasm and energy flowing.

Roadside Cleanups twice a year where you live or work helps keep the Byway attractive for our visitors. Adopt a segment of roadway and take credit with a sign that recognizes your stewardship.

If you would like to help out with any one of these projects please let us know. Obviously some may have better appeal than others and you are certainly allowed to “cherry pick” the one or two that most appeal to you!

Comment: An informal poll of active members the Friends listed the above projects in order of priority.

  • Repair footbridge (done early April)
  • Cleaning interpretive signs (done April 14)
  • Planning Duathlon (unfortunately canceled June 9)
  • Building a Frame for interpretive sign (design complete Apr 28, Installation completed August 10)
  • Replacing Faded Wayfinding signs (inventory under way)
  • Up Dating the Self-Guided Tour (two sites added another one edited)
  • Writing and Photography (continuing)
  • Roadside Cleanups (unfortunately didn’t get done this year) and
  • Refreshments for meetings and work crews (Moved to virtual meetings).

Three write-in activities included develop public access along the Byway in new locations, partnering with other groups to do joint projects and events, and representing the Byway in the National Scenic Byway Foundation.

– added by Eric Hamilton, Apr 13, 2020.

– Updated August 29, 2020.

Micro Water Cycle

08 Sunday Dec 2019

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Temperature was in low teens when I took this early morning shot. The air was calm except when disturbed by an occasional passing vehicle. When I turned around and faced into the sun I realized that there where snow flurries of large ice crystals precipitating!

What was happening is the warm moist air near the water surface was rising up the face of the escarpment below. No doubt the weak sunlight on the rock face below helped heat a bit as well. As the the warmer, moisture laden air crested the bluff it “supercooled”. Ice crystals started forming in the super saturated air and drifted over the landscape sparkling and diffusing the early morning light. As the crystals grew too heavy they precipitated onto the pavement where the melted or sublimated water started a new cycle.

I have felt a mist on my face on a cool, cloudless summer day when biking along this section of the Byway. I had assumed that a gentle breeze must be picking up water droplets from water cascading over the escarpment. Now I am convinced that it was just warm moist air from below being super- cooled at the crest of the escarpment and forming a mist.

A safety note. This is a great place to photograph a beautiful panorama on the Mohawk Towpath Byway. Several tips:

  • Park well away from busy Riverview Road. I parked several hundred feet north on Knott Road and walked back. Or lift your bicycle to the other side of the guide rail.
  • Wear bright clothing so that motorists can see you.
  • Pick a light traffic time of day on a weekend.
  • Listen and look both ways before any sudden moves.
  • Bike right; walk left!