46 miles. A beautiful day of hills.

Thanks to our new friends Wendy, Donna, Anita and Chantal for driving us to dinner last night. There were no restaurants close to our BnB – at least for tired cyclists. These women are avid climbers and working on the 46 peak climb challenge. Wendy, in fact, will summit her 46th tomorrow. Congratulations!

Kelly, our BnB host fixed us an early breakfast so we could get on the road by 7. We crossed the Hudson River and wound our way through the forests with climbs and descents galore.

There was very little traffic for the first part of the morning and the ride was very quiet. We passed some beautiful scenery on the way and eventually turned onto US 9 to head south for a bit.

We passed the town of Schroon and I was tempted to ride to Schroon Lake where my mother had studied voice at the Seagle Music Colony in the 1930s. It is one of the oldest operatic training theaters in the US and still turning out young singers. To us, every mile is critical so to keep to our schedule and preserve our energies, we decided to not seek out more adventure.

We turned onto a hard packed dirt road and rode through thick forests and emerged at the town of Severance. There we turned one last time on the road that would take us to Ticonderoga.

Two views along the dirt River Road.

We had read and had been warned about a significant uphill just before Ticonderoga so were both looking at each rise in the road wondering if this was the big one! We finally found it and either because the build up was over the top or because we are in better shape than the earlier “monster” climbs, it wasn’t so bad and we soon topped out and started a long descent into Ticonderoga.

 

60 miles. Hills, of course, but not too bad.

We got a very early start from Old Forge this AM since the hotel didn’t serve breakfast until 8 and that would be too late for us to begin cycling. We planned on having breakfast at the other end of the lake in the town of Inlet so away we sped. Dense fog greeted us! And it was chilly. The fog was so thick that at times we couldn’t see our way. Inlet is only 10 miles away and by the time we got there, most of the fog had burned off. We were able to get sandwiches made at the Tamarack Diner for our lunch.

There was still quite a bit of traffic on the road but the shoulder was adequate (mostly) and the climbs not fear inducing… except the climb out of Blue Mountain Lake! It was a mile or so of steep climbing and I had to bail and walk my bike for some of it. Once over the top, though, the terrain was rolling up and down with some scenic moments along the way.

 

We made very good time and finished up around 12:30 at The Hoot Owl Lodge BnB. Lake Harris is right across the street so Maja indulged in a short swim.

There are no restaurants within walking distance but fortunately for us, some of the other guests at the BnB have offered to a place in their car when they go to dinner. Pretty much the last thing we feel like doing at the end of the day is getting back on the bikes even for an extra mile or so.

Tomorrow we ride to Ticonderoga for our last day in New York. Only Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine!!

 

60 miles. Hills. That’s all I have to say.

Since our hotel did not serve breakfast, we got up early and were on the road before the mists had burned off.

We found our breakfast spot in Osceola and in conversation with some of the regulars there we were told to expect hills today… Yes, we know. We were also told that the road we were to be on was “very scenic.” No, not so much. Just hilly. We were able to buy sandwiches for later in the day.

The road followed the Moose River up stream and I think we found the one scenic spot on the whole ride.

We finally rolled into Old Forge, a resort and vacation town in the Adirondacks on Old Forge Pond, the first lake of the Fulton Chain.

As usual, we were a little too fatigued to enjoy the sights but did sit by the lake for a bit then walked around town and had one of the best meals of our trip at the Five Corners Cafe.

Tomorrow we head deeper into the Adirondacks and more hills.

61 miles. A lot of hills – and more to come.

We got away early this morning after our breakfast of sandwiches kindly bought for us yesterday by Ric and Anke. The first hill attacked us immediately and it was a roller coaster from there on.

Maja was very speedy today (or maybe it was I who was very slow – ya think?) so we spent a lot of the day barely in sight of each other except for breaks and map checks.

The day had little of significance to offer other than the challenge of the hills but believe it or not, it was sort of a pleasant ride weather wise (overcast with the wind at our backs for long stretches) and we rolled into our little hotel in Redfield – Otter Limits and The Nook. When I called yesterday to make the reservation I told the owner we would be there around 2:30 so when we pulled up at 1:30 he said I was too early and we had to go back! Score one for the sense of humor.

There is little in the way of an option for dining so we will eat right here and head off tomorrow for Old Forge on a route that promised more of the old climb and coast routine.

We have finished for the day and now I have the energy to catch up and post yesterday’s adventure.

We started from Rochester on paved sections of the Erie Canal bike path that changed to crushed limestone. We knew we had to leave the path in Palmyra so kept our eyes open for our turn and we once again, reluctantly, were back in the real world of traffic, shoulders and hills!

We stopped for some water at a vegetable stand as a light rain began and the minute we pulled out it started pouring. We put on our rain gear but sought shelter on someone’s front porch! After the rain we were back on the road.

Our route took us north to the shore of Lake Ontario at Pultneyville where we learned of another battle/skirmish from the War of 1812.

From there we took the coast road that never really got us next to the shore. Contrary to what the woman at the vegetable stand said, the Lake Road was anything but flat so we got a glimpse of what our lives will be like for the remainder of our trek – up and down and up and down all the way to Bar Harbor.

Because we had stopped a little short of our intended overnight stop to take advantage of the Rochester hotel’s nearness to the canal, we had an additional and painful extra 8 miles tacked on to getting us to Fair Haven.

Maja’s sister, Anke, and family drove up from Ithaca and picked us up at the hotel to drive us to dinner. We are very glad they were kind enough to meet us since there was no place remotely close to the hotel for us to eat! After a very enjoyable dinner, as you learned from yesterday’s abbreviated post, we crashed.

61 miles. “… On the Erie Canal”

That song did not stick in my head today. The one that did, probably since tomorrow will be our third Great Lake shore ride, is Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” “And farther below Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Erie can send her.” (One would have thought that lyric might have clued me in about which direction the Niagara River flows over the Falls – see yesterday’s post)

We coasted onto the Erie Canal bike path after only a mile or so on Lockport’s streets and stayed on it the entire day. The first half mile was paved and the balance was crushed limestone but in great shape so we didn’t sacrifice any speed. Over the next 60 miles or so we only saw one lock and that one was in Lockport.

For that matter we only saw one boat! We read that after many years of only sports boating traffic, some companies are now shipping freight and goods again on the canal again.

It’s not hard to envision the impact the canal had on American Westward expansion. By linking the Hudson River with Lake Erie, trade and passenger traffic in both directions led to a vibrant market and competing and expanding canals and rail lines.

It was a hot day today and we stopped in Brockport for water then in Spencerville for lunch and finally to our hotel only a block from the canal.

Tomorrow we have a few more hours on the canal then turn north toward Lake Ontario.