Sunday morning, we were on the road by about 7:30 am. The Red Ranch Inn wasn’t the kind of place that offered breakfast so there was nothing to keep us there. The closest coffee place was in Hudson, about 10 miles away. We rolled into Hudson between 8:30 and 9:00, having had a gorgeous morning ride on back roads, again past small farms and secluded neighborhoods. There were a few steep but mercifully short climbs that slowed our progress. We found the Hudson Roasters open for business and sat outside next to the sidewalk surrounded by flowerpots and flower boxes. We agreed that the coffee was easily the best we’d had in a long time. I had a scone and Len a spinach-filled croissant, both of which were great too.  Hose company (firehouse) next door for sale, $1.2 million. Suck it up while you can.

With reluctance we left and as soon as we mounted the bikes, it started to rain. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining very hard, and it didn’t last more than a few minutes. For the rest of the day, we were on well-maintained county roads and at the end of the day on a state highway.

The last mile into Albany was nothing a sane cyclist would have taken on a weekday. Sunday afternoon with nothing much going on in the State Capitol allowed us to navigate the route without incident and when we arrived at the Fairfield Inn, Downtown, our room was ready.

We showered, changed, walked a few blocks and discovered The Skinny Pancake. Great food and really good beer too. Back to the room to read and begin catching up on the blog of our trip. About 7:00 we headed to dinner at McGeary’s Irish Pub (there was little choice since most restaurants in downtown Albany were closed on Sunday evening). As it was, things were hopping at McGeary’s and the crowd was getting ready for a soon to arrive band. We opted to eat outside, despite the threat of rain. It was pub food, what can I say, but the beer was good.

Albany was called Fuyck Town, Dutch word for fish net that looks like a “Y” and refers to the converging paths for beaver pelt trade that was then taken to NYC and Europe.  The railroad station looked like a cathedral and demonstrated the power of railroads in the development of NY.  President Lincoln’s body laid in state in Albany on the way to Illinois.