New Paltz to Hunter -- day1 self supported

Tour of the Catskills. A different ride no one wanted to join. Trying to keep up with some pre ToC race dedicated training weekend. The only plan was to start from New Paltz and make the way via a select set climbs to Hunter and this time to stay over night in Hunter. A steaming hot/humind and high chance of thunder showers filled weekend was expected, a heavy down poor while driving up in the big city area. But improving further up. Prepared with extra supplies/tubes just in case starting out with a little extra payload on the back. Riding towards the Gunks on his usual scenic start out way, passing a few riders and leaving them behind and then catching up to a unkown rider in a Rapha kit, tunred out been a CAT2 racer coming back to riding from some kind of incident, joining up and continuing together for a while -- climbing Yeagerville -- Peekamoose, where he eventually left -- continuing to Woodstock, plan to get a coffee, but way tooooo crowded, still good on water, just heading on en route towards Platte Clove (aka "Devil's Kitchen"), that turned out a little hard on the limit with those extra 12 pounds but making it to Tannersville just fine for dinner and finally to Hunter for the night. What an epic ride.