Once spring started actually coming, I got this wild hair to ride my E-bike over Brockway Mountain Drive. I was curious how it would go.
Currently, M-26 is under construction because the Silver River Bridge is getting replaced. The west end, where Brockway Mountain Drive meets M-26 is impassable with a vehicle. I found that out when I got there.
Luckily, I was on my bike.
Let's start this 20 mile journey from the beginning, shall we?
Even before I left my house, I thought, "Sweet! I can get a video for Snack Break Sessions!"
So I packed my camera, snacks and water. That's about it.
When I started pedaling south on M-26, I began to worry. I hadn't biked over the whole of Brockway since before my little guy was born. And this was my inaugural longest ride on my E-bike.
Fear spread through my brain. "Will this bike have enough battery life? Will I make it up the hills if it runs out? What if I pop a tire? What if I can't get through by the construction site?"
I mean, they were all legitimate concerns, but if I kept those thoughts rattling through my mind, I would have a lousy ride. Or turn around.
I figured I would be warm enough. I knew I had enough sustenance. If the road was closed ahead, I would just do a lakeshore ride back. And then...
And then the trees gave way to Her Majesty right at the bend by the Dapple Grey B&B.
Be still my heart.
It was all going to be okay. Ahhhh.
Suddenly I started having fun. I told myself how lucky I was to be able to do this ride from my own driveway. On an E-bike! Next to the big lake!
And with absolutely zero traffic.
Yes, I left at 8:30 am. That's early for this town in the spring. It's also mid-week.
Spoiler alert: Zero cars past me in my 20 miles on the road. Zero.
Nonetheless, I check my rearview mirror every thirty seconds on M-26 because I could not predict the future, and there is no shoulder. (*Disclaimer: I do not promote riding a bike on M-26 or US-41 unless the chances of zero traffic are plausible. It's pretty dangerous otherwise.)
Before I knew it, was was at Esrey Park. A great (and necessary) stop for a snack.
And a couple pictures:

Looking northwest from the top of the stone steps

The path at the top of those steps
Then I got to the construction site. It's a bigger deal than I thought!
This shows that M-26 is not passable over this bridge. I think the project has a few more weeks left from the looks of it. Thanks to all the people working hard!

Silver Bridge construction site
That stop sign is at the bottom of the west side of BMD. Usually you can turn onto M-26 from there, but not right now. I had to sneak behind the Porta-John to get through!
The way up the west side was magnificent. I really had to pedal hard towards the top, but it was grand! Here is a little overlook from that section.

Spring at almost the top!
I didn't check my rearview mirror much on the way up. I mean, if they didn't come down, they weren't coming up. It was so surreal and free! I highly recommend this bike ride right now.
Then I made it to the top!

Looking northwest

Bob the bird counter's shack
Bob and I spent some time discussing whether I saw an immature bald eagle or a golden eagle along the lakeshore earlier in the journey. He has seen about 30 Goldens up there, so we thought maybe it was. It had no white on the underside. Man, he really knows birds!

The iconic view of Lake Medora

Had to get those walls looking east towards the bluff

Well, there's me! Ha!

The Nose Overlook
I'll be honest that the nose shot is from last week. What a difference a week makes in the spring!
I didn't want to stop on my bike. I had one more hill to go down!
And I did it safely... with no popped tires.
However, my video at the top was so wind-racked that I couldn't even listen to the whole thing! I'll have to find all the microphones on an iPhone. Seems like there everywhere these days.
Have a good one!
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