ACE

Upstate Alliance for the Creative Economy

CAP REGION NY

Cap Region Bike Trails: Jeff Buell’s 16-Mile Loop, From Albany to Troy

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By: Jeff Buell, Principal of Redburn Development

Jeff Buell with bike

Over the past couple of months, biking has become the preferred mode of transportation for many looking for socially distant recreational activities. Jeff Buell, a Schenectady resident, Cap Region enthusiast, and Principal of Redburn Development is an avid biker, so we asked him to share one of his favorite Cap Region bike trails…read on!

From 1994 to 2019, I biked around 75 miles. Generously. Since we’ve shut down our lives, I’m one short ride away from 600 miles! I’ve biked more in two months more than I’ve driven, a notion I would have scoffed at if ever suggested to me prior to COVID.

Naturally this makes me an expert in 2020, and so here are a few tips for a Cap Region ride, especially for all the new cyclists (that’s what we call ourselves) out there looking for expand their horizons.

For today, we will talk about my loop.

Jeff’s Loop: Albany to Troy

Just about every day I head out from the base of Jennings Landing (it’s the footbridge on Broadway, plenty of parking available) in Albany and head towards Troy. The total loop is just about 16 miles, and with a few exceptions, is quite an easy ride.

Jennings Landing

The first 5.5 miles is on the bike path. You can’t get lost, you can’t take a wrong turn, you just go. It’s crowded until you clear the I-90 bridge, then loosens up. Be prepared then when passing, many people wear headphones, and do not always excel in walking in a straight line.

At 5.5 you’ll hit Watervliet and must head onto the streets where the cars care less for bikers than the pedestrians you just passed, though admittedly, it’s probably close. Hug the road that 787 parallels (Broadway) until you get to 25th Street. There you want to hang a right until you get to the Green Island Bridge.

There’s something freeing about slowly moving over the Hudson River and being able to take it all in.

Tunnel up to Broadway in Watervliet

Right now you’re about 8 miles in and you’re going to head back. OR, you can head into downtown Troy and stop somewhere. Little Pecks is always a great option, so is Liza’s. Or, if you’re me, you stop and talk with your buddy Heidi on her stoop for a while.

To Get to Downtown Troy:

From the Green Island Bridge you can head right into Riverfront Park where a bike lane mysteriously appears and will take you all the way through South Troy to the Menands Bridge. Be forewarned, the deceptively hilly and always windy last mile of South Troy can be a challenge for new bikers, but you got this! Sure, sometimes I feel like I’m going backwards, but that really is just a feeling. Promise.

View of Troy from the Green Island Bridge

Over the Menands Bridge you go until the path dumps you back onto the bike path where you are about 4.5 miles from Jennings Landing. Go right, not left, off the ramp.

There’s a few alternate plans that head you up to Waterford, or Schenectady if you are intrigued. All are great paths with some hills. All eminently accessible via the Interweb.

Biggest takeaway? Fear not the streets! Cars are (mostly) aware of you. Go in a straight line. Wear a helmet. And see the Cap Region from a brand-new vantage point!

Cap Region Creatives: Marilyn McCabe

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Marilyn is a published poet, living in Saratoga Springs. Her main creative outlet is poetry, sometimes making videos that blend her words with images and sound. She offers writing workshops in conjunction with the Hyde Collection and writes book reviews for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

In this interview, Marilyn offers insight on what it means to be “an individual and largely unknown poet” during these unique times.

How did poetry become your main creative medium?

I have tried just about everything else — fiction, essay, plays — but it’s poetry that stuck. As an editor, it’s part of my make-up to get to the point and be concise. I love rhythm and silence, both of which are essential to the craft. Poetry suits me.

Marilyn, you’ve recently published an Award-Winning Chapbook, Being Many Seeds. Congratulations! What has that experience been like?

Ordinarily I’d throw it a little book party, do some readings and open mics. But I’m reliant now on the virtual networking. I’ve got an extensive email list of friends and acquaintances, as well as Facebook posts both to my own page and group pages such as NY Writers’ Compendium, and I also have a blog.

I created a video project using poems in the collection, so I can use this as a book trailer. I may also record myself reading a few of the poems. People enjoy poets reading their work aloud; it offers insight that words on the page may not. I enjoy readings, but I don’t enjoy the schlepping around. I often spend more in gas than I can recoup in books sales, so I confess I don’t wildly miss the reading shuffle. But I do miss the interaction with listeners and other poetry fans.

Do you feel like your creativity has been flourishing or diminished by being in isolation due to the quarantine?

My life has not changed all that much under quarantine. I do miss seeing my friends, casually stopping somewhere to meet up, and particularly I miss the library — but my creative work continues in its usual fits and starts. My “practice” is haphazard anyway, and I’m fairly distractible at the best of times.

How have you seen the creative community band together during this time?

It’s amazing to see how arts organizations are sharing information and creating new platforms. Virtual readings, gallery tours, fundraising for artist relief funds, virtual concerts — the outpouring has been tremendous. I think people around the world are grateful, and are perhaps newly aware of how art feeds us.

I enjoy ACE’s profiles. The Hyde Collection has invited local artists to post work. Jacob’s Pillow has brought dance to my computer screen, and innumerable other ways in which the arts have gone viral… If anything, the proliferation of arts online has made it a bit more difficult for a largely unknown poet like me to get “heard.”

Are there any specific resources/tools, etc. you’ve been using regularly that you can share with our readers?

Several Facebook groups of women writers, such as Binders Full of Women and Non-binary Poets, help me find publishing opportunities and discover new writers. The members have been great cheerleaders for each other, which is so encouraging. New York Foundation for the Arts has tons of resources on its webpage about funding and opportunities. The Adirondack Center for Writing has been great in engaging the already isolated community of writers across the Adirondack region. The Creative Writers Opportunities blog is regularly updated with calls for work from literary magazines, etc.

Are you thinking about ways that you’ll change the way you create/do business in the future due to this experience?

I’ll reach out more globally both in terms of promoting my own work and engaging with the work of others. The online world is small, and it’s rich to reach across geographic, cultural, and national boundaries. Ironically, social distancing has spurred me to bring the world closer.

Any last words of positivity for our readers?

The best of art and science has come out of active use of our imaginations, out of joyous play. Let’s use some of this wonderful quiet to dance around with wild abandon, figuratively and literally.

Marilyn is the winner of the Grayson Books Poetry Chapbook Contest: Being Many Seeds. She has two full-length collections of poems — Glass Factory, and Perpetual Motion — and another chapbook, Rugged Means of Grace. Her themes include science, spirit, memory and identity, and how people connect to each other and the earth.

Connect with Marilyn!

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Unemployment Talks: Freelance Editor Barbara Price

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Meet Barbara Price, an artist and freelance textbook editor with a number of large publishing clients. Right before the pandemic and shutdown, she had a couple of new contracts pending for work, which would’ve satisfied her income for the remainder of the year. Once businesses started closing, she couldn’t get in touch with anybody about the contracts and has been out of work since. We asked Barbara to share her experience filing for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) because she ran into quite the interesting dilemma that may impact other freelancers. Here’s what she had to say…

When did you first apply for benefits? What was the initial process like?

I applied online right off the bat on April 2nd. At that time, the first step for freelancers was to apply for traditional unemployment insurance, get rejected, and THEN apply for PUA (they’ve since streamlined this process, and freelancers now apply in one step). In early May, I got an email from the Department of Labor (DOL) asking me to fill out another questionnaire. I responded to them immediately.

But you didn’t get any benefits…what went wrong?

Whenever there was a question about my “employer,” I answered that I had “no employer,” assuming that I would eventually get to part of the questionnaire designated for freelancers and business owners. It turns out there wasn’t a section for that. I got denied benefits because I’d indicated that I did not have an employer.

According to the DOL, if you are self-employed, you ARE technically employed by somebody – yourself. You should answer questions about “your employer” as if YOU are your employer, otherwise you will get rejected!

My husband applied after me, so we were sure we didn’t make the same mistake twice. He applied in late April (he had to send his 2019 taxes in) and we are awaiting payment.

Is the DOL doing appeals for people who were denied and/or made a mistake on the application?

They are not doing appeals so there’s not even a way I can fight this issue right now, which leaves me without funds at the moment. I sent a message to my assemblywoman who called me and put me on an expedited list to talk to someone from the DOL and I still haven’t heard back. I tried sending a message to the DOL, but again, haven’t heard anything. (Note to readers: If you were denied, please click here for more information about denial/appeals.)

Did you apply for any other benefits/loans, etc. through the CARES Act?

Yes, I applied and received $1,000 from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

Any final thoughts for our readers?

I remain hopeful. I’m using this time for self actualization; to think about what I really want, how I want my life to look, and what’s really important to me. Networking is different now but making me notice people that think like I think. I see value in connecting with them and lifting each other up. 

Cap Region Cocktails at Home: Janesha “Jaja” Levons

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Photo: Konrad Odhiambo

Janesha “Jaja” Levons was born into a military family, and until her early 20’s, they moved every three years, across the U.S. and to Antigua, until finally settling down in Saratoga Springs, where her love for entertaining and creativity began.

After working as a mixologist, model, and other freelance jobs, she moved to Brooklyn, where she walked runways and worked in over 30 venues, rooftops, and restaurants as a bartender. Now, she’s back in the Cap Region, bartending at The Berlin in Troy (currently closed due to COVID-19) and reinventing her modeling career.

Photo: Konrad Odhiambo

Jaja says…

Every bar was a new challenge, every venue had new cocktails and a new culture to explore. No two great bars are ever alike. Maybe that’s why I never stayed in any one bar for too long… Once I conquered the cocktail program and culture (which never took very long), the challenge was over, and so was the allure. I had a Forbes 100 client contract me to bartend at a private mansion, where I created a cocktail list especially geared for him and his guests for two days. I’ve worked in London at a private lounge in a luxury residential building where I not only created a cocktail program, but also arranged private parties and gatherings. I just love to create and bring people together to enjoy life. And yes I’m pretty fond of alcohol too…

Everybody loves a nice sangria and daiquiri, especially as we start heading into warmer weather. I’ve put together these special recipes that you can make from the comfort of your own home.

Sangria by Jaja

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of frozen fruits (I like to use mixed berries)
1 Cup Rum (I recommend Bacardi Silver)
Simple Syrup (recipe below)
1 Extra Large Orange squeezed ( 1/4 – 1/2 cup of its juice)
1 Bottle of White or Red Wine (your preference)

Simple syrup
1/2 Cup boiling water (you can microwave it if you’d like )
1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar

Steps:
1. In a large pitcher or bowl place the frozen fruit (at least semi-thawed)
2. Pour the rum over the frozen fruit so the juices can start to marinate in the rum.
3. Pour the simple syrup in the mixture and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. With a metal hand whisk, mix all together with the goal of mashing the fruits as much as possible. You can also use a wooden spoon or muddler, I prefer the whisk. You can also use a blender. If you find it too difficult (or the fruit is too frozen), let the fruit sit in for a little longer and allow the rum to do its job!
5. Add the juice from the orange
6. Pour wine (750ml ) red or white (I use red) over mixture.
7. Place it in the fridge for four hours. Remember the longer it sits the stronger the berry flavor will be….it’s great to have it sit overnight too!
8. Once it’s ready, serve over ice in your favorite cocktail glass!

Daiquiri

Ingredients:
1 Cup Rum (Bacardi Silver)
Simple Syrup (same recipe as above)
1 1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries
2 1/2 Cups of ice 
1 lime

Steps;
1. In a large pitcher or bowl place the frozen fruit (at least semi-thawed)
2. Pour the rum over the frozen fruit so the juices can start to marinate in the rum.
3. Pour the simple syrup in the mixture and let it sit for 15 minutes.
4. With a metal hand whisk, mix all together with the goal of mashing the fruits as much as possible. You can also use a wooden spoon or muddler, I prefer the whisk. You can also use a blender. If you find it too difficult (or the fruit is too frozen), let the fruit sit in for a little longer and allow the rum to do its job!
5. Refrigerate the mixture for four hours.
6. Add a dash of club soda and squeeze a large lime wedge into the mixture.
7. Serve over ice in your favorite cocktail glass.

Enjoy!

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Cap Region Road Trip: Rural Schenectady County

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This drive through rural Schenectady County is a great way to explore Capital Region’s natural beauty and pick up some craft beverages along the way. We are finally seeing some sunshine and warmer temps, which makes it a lot easier to get that vital dose of Vitamin D. While visiting any of our amazing outdoor spaces, please take all of the safety measures recommended by NYS Parks Department.

How To Get There: There are several routes that will take you into rural Schenectady County from US-90 and US-88 to State Routes 20, 7 and 74. We recommend downloading a map before you go as there are some areas without cell coverage. Virtually visit our recommendation with our Google Earth map if you are unable to get out (View that here)..

What To See:

Christman Bird & Wildlife Sanctuary, 3281 Schoharie Turnpike, Delanson, NY 12053. Home to the spectacular Bozenkill waterfall and plantations of locust, cedar, spruce and pine. Explore the two looped main trails and two side trials. Located on the property is a two-story dwelling built in 1868, a stone dairy house, large stone walls, and more.

Schenectady County Forest Preserve, Lake Rd. (County Route 88), Delanson, NY 12053. The Preserve has three trail paths. The pates feature a number of habitats including a native hardwood forest, a red pine plantation and a man-made pond.

Mabee Farm Historic Site, 1100 Main St, Rotterdam Junction, NY 12150. The oldest farm in the Mohawk Valley (1705), Mabee Farm Historic Site offers visitors beautiful vistas and riverside beauty. The buildings are currently closed, but the trails and grounds are still open to visitors.

Great Flats Nature Trail. W. Campbell Rd, Schenectady, NY 12306. The Great Flats Nature Trail is a wetland habitat that offers an easy well-defined path through a wooded area. The path leads to wetlands and a small lake, where you can walk on a boardwalk around the lake. The trail is a circular route that has both a long and short option.

Where to Eat and Drink

Back Barn Brewing, 7082 Western Turnpike, Delanson, NY 12053. Growlers, pints and cans are available for pick-up Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons. Check out what’s currently on-tap on their website at the link.

Altamont Vineyard & Winery, 3001 Furbeck Rd, Altamont, NY 12009. While their wine alone is worth a stop, don’t sleep on their full array of good for sale online. From yummy grape jelly to small-batch honey to home decor & more, there is so much great stuff to score. Order ahead of time and they will provide curbside delivery. Don’t miss out on the view of the vineyards as you head up the driveway.

Wagon Train BBQ, 671 Mariaville Rd, Schenectady, NY 12306. Worked up an appetite from exploring all the natural beauty in Schenectady County? Wagon Train BBQ is ready to tackle any sized hunger. We dare you to try and conquer the Train-Wreck Burger (A burger topped with Swiss cheese, ham, roast beef, coleslaw, horseradish mayo and chipotle ranch) or one of their Wagon Train Combos. Check their IG for daily specials including family meals.

Wolf Hollow Brewing Company, 6882 Amsterdam Rd, Schenectady, NY 12302. Don’t miss out on the great brews on tap at Wolf Hollow Brewing Company. Call ahead or order online for growlers and cans. I recommend the Lock 9am Vanilla Coffee Porter. And don’t forget to check the website to see what food truck is on-site serving up delicious eats on the weekends. Click here for pre-order information. I mean because you’ll need to wash something down with all that great beer.

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