Zero day in Keene and Keene Valley, NY

Another zero day that wasn’t really a zero day. I rode my bike at least 17 miles and hiked up a mountain.

My wife and I have been coming to Keene Valley, NY for a week long vacation most summers for 30 years. Her mother and stepfather owned a house on Little Porter Mountain near the town of Keene Valley. After my wife and I had children, we would come up and meet my wife’s two sister’s families and all the cousins could see each other. I have many treasured memories of the time we spent together up in the Adirondacks. So when I rode my bike across the country, I wanted it to be on my route.

Riding through the town of Keene Valley, I stopped at all the places that we used to frequent. Marcy Field, the grass strip air field where the Sunday morning Farmers Market happens. McDonough’s Hardware, where surprisingly they would almost always have what you need. The Mountaineer, a solid outdoor adventure store that always had the latest equipment and hip outdoor fashions. The Valley Grocery, where you might of thought you’d paid too much but they had a great selection and you didn’t have to drive another half hour to get it. The Ausable Inn, where you could get the upstate New York tavern experience. The Keene Valley Country Club, a very modest affair that was centered around clay court tennis and a swimming pool that was cool all summer. The Birch Store, where the items were calculatingly curated for the ladies. And everyone’s favorite for down home meals and soft serve ice cream, the Noonmark Diner.

I went into Keene Fitness and asked if I could lock my bike up to their bike rack out front while I hiked up Hopkins mountain. They were kind enough to let me do that and store a bag I didn’t need to carry.

I brought lunch to the top of Hopkins and ate while cherishing the view. I could pick out quite a few mountains, Giant, Dix, Round, Noonmark, Dial, Colvin, Saw Teeth, Gothics and Mount Marcy peeking over the Great Range.