Back to Schenectady

Leaving the Holiday Inn this morning was difficult, but at least we knew we had only about 35 miles to go. We had a great breakfast at the hotel, packed the bike and headed off. Most of the day's riding took place on very well-paved roads with wide shoulders. Eventually we hooked up with part of the Mohawk River Bike Trail. Bob and our friend Gary had ridden it years ago when they did the Erie Canal trip together. One of their rest stops was the Mabee Farm, the oldest standing house in the Mohawk Valley, built in 1680. We stopped for the tour, really the first tourist thing we'd done the whole time. The young lady who gave us the tour was very personable. She actually just moved up here two months ago from Missouri, happy to be out of the heat that we remember so well. She had to refer to her notes several times during the presentation, but her enthusiasm and obvious love of what she was doing more than made up for that. It was amazing to think that the original family that lived there had 10 children. They all lived in one small room! Someone descended from the original family owned the place until 1993; it was then rented and eventually given to the historical society for the purpose it serves now. Miraculously,in all those years no one ever did anything really stupid to ruin it. Much of the original structure is just as it has always been. It is very busy as a field trip destination, complete with re-enactors demonstrating sheep-shearing, blacksmithing, etc. as well as providing the setting (the barn!) for concerts weddings, etc. The barn has been moved there from another location and restored, but it is a Dutch-style barn, quite impressive. After our tour and wandering the grounds for a bit, we set off to finish the last 8 miles of the trip. Much of that was on the bike trail and we sailed into Schenectady without a hitch. We unloaded the bike and stashed our burden in the car, rode a lusciously light bike to lunch at Café NOLA, then proceeded to dismantle the bike for stowage in the car. That took a while, since we had to strategically arrange everything so as not to scratch the frame sections or get grease all over the inside of the Prius. After checking into the motel, we finalized our arrangements for three days in Manhattan. Life is good!

Johnstown, NY

We left Indian Lake after a breakfast sandwich at Stewart's and cliiiiiimbed out of town. The elevation profile on the map promised easier riding than we had for the past couple of days, but it was hard to prove it by us. There were no major climbs, but a lot of roller coaster. Still, the scenery was gorgeous, and for the most part the roads were wonderful, two lanes with a nice wide shoulder and not heavily traveled. We pushed along for 20 miles, had breakfast again, since it was only 10:00 a.m. and hard to find someone willing to make lunch that early, and finally arrived in Canada Lake. By that time it was 2:00, and I was excited to see the first sign of civilization: a deli that had pastrami! We enjoyed lunch, the 3G signal and wifi from the general store there. Several people commented on the tandem, and we had some good conversations. After this fortifying stop, we climbed back into the saddles determined to make Gloversville, where we had Googled a Holiday Inn. The hotel was actually in Johnstown, NY which made a 75-mile day, long but somehow not as tough as the day before. We luxuriated in the 500-count sheets, Bob used the pool, we had a great dinner at their restaurant and at least I had a good night's sleep. Bob said he awoke at 3:30 and didn't fall back to sleep. Perhaps his head was full of planning for the next phase: we are considering a side trip (in the car) to NYC, an antidote to all the nature we've been exposed to lately.

Indian Lake

So, the sun finally came out. We had a great breakfast next door to the motel and packed up. We got a great sendoff, from the older couple in the room next door and the family on the other side who gathered to take our picture as we rolled out of the parking lot. The rest day helped: we felt energized and arrived in Tupper Lake, about 20 miles away, for an ice cream stop and a break. The terrain is a little more forgivng, with some rolling hills but nothing like the last few days. Towns were spaced well today - Tupper Lake at 20, then Long Lake where we enjoyed roast beef sandwiches on the beach while watching sea planes take off and land, Blue Mountain Lake, and then finally Indian Lake where we stopped for the night. It was not a day without it's frustrations. The bike wasn't shifting quite right because of a worn cable and chain, and it fell over at a rest stop and got a ding on the top tube. Bob was able to replace the chain and adjust the cable, which should help with the shifting. We'll know tomorrow. We settled into our Motel, the Adirondack Trail, owned by Martha. Martha had left with her kids and grandkids who are visiting, but thoughtfully left out some room keys and registration forms so that we could settle in and pay when she returned. The bar across the street, the gathering place in this end of town, had decent food and even a Bass Pale Ale. So the plan for tomorrow is breakfast in town and on to Caroga Lake. We might be able to close our loop on Wednesday.

Saranac Lake

We are becoming so...mature! Yes, that's it - mature! Today was not an easy ride; jackets on, jackets off, clear lenses in, sun lenses in, clear lenses in. We rode for the first part of the day in fairly vigorous rain. We broke the day up by making stops (Bob is becoming addicted to Lipton's spiced chai teabags by the way) and between stops the sun actually came out. Backing up, we left the Magic Pines campground this morning after finishing the rest of Bob's roast beef sub to get us started. About 15 miles down the road, we stopped for breakfast in Keeseville, and continued toward Whiteface. We had asked a woman in a gas station about a good place to pick up breakfast, and she gave us directins to the place where she was headed. Then she commented, "And I'm a Steelers fan." She'd spotted the Pittsburgh flag on our trailer. She went on to explain that she'd gone to Duquesne in the '70s and then lived in Mt. Lebanon for a time. We continued or conversation at the restaurant, where we a couple who had lived in Beaver Falls for a time joined in. As we learned on our trek across the country, it's a small world. At our snack stop, we committed (or should I say we should be committed) to riding over the mountain instead of the 17-mile detour around. Now to be fair, the road doesn't go all the way to the top. There is a toll road that doesn't even allow bikes that does that last five mile winding steep trek to the top. But the four-mile ascent to the toll booth was quite the ride. Fortunately, we had a lot of company. People training for a triathlon to take place here in about a month were out on the road by the dozens today. Riding their 3 oz. racing bikes with 1-inch wide tires, they were bewildered and confused by the sight of two middle-aged touring cyclists pulling 100 lbs. of gear up the same mountain. They whizzed past us up the hills, but we smoked them on the down hills. Nonetheless, the four-mile ascent up to the Whiteface toll road was tough. We arrived in Saranac Lake glad we had a reservation at the Sara-Placid Motor Inn, which turned out to be splendid, and were happy to get cleaned up and settled for the night. After consulting with the owner of the motel, we decided on the Italian restaurant owned by Bosnians within walking distance. and we decided to spend an extra night here. It's a great motel, it's a beautiful town (once in another life, we considered living here), and our knees could use a rest. So, we might kayak tomorrow, or just relax and enjoy
the scenery while the storms finally pass through, and then continue on Monday. Ahhhhh!!!

Bob's Blog

By the way, Bob is also blogging on the Crazy Guy on a Bike site, with possibly a more hard-core cycling slant. In any case, to get his version, go to

www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/TandemtwoAdirondack

Lewis, NY

We had a great breakfast this morning at the diner across the street from our motel, then headed out in...rain! We didn't get very far before we had to dig out the rain jackets. Even with that, the temperatures are perfect for riding. Today took us north on Route 9N, passing through Port Henry, kind of the gateway to the Lake Champlain area. In addition to breathtaking vistas of the lake, we were treated to the sight of the beautiful homes overlooking the lakeshore. We agreed that the architecture in this area is unlike any other; the homes are imposing and strong, as opposed to the more fussy Victorian style often seen in other places, but built around the same time. We did a couple more climbs today, early enough in the day to not be too daunting, and enjoyed lunch at a wonderful cafe in Westport, where we talked with the owner for a long time after enjoying our meal. She is a very savvy business person with a great eye for decorating and we really did have to tear ourselves away from the pleasant place. The afternoon was mostly jackets-on, jackets-off as the weather played with us. We arrived in Elizabethtown around 3:00 and contacted the campground where our friend Brenda stays in the summer. We found out she wasn't there yet, but ended up having a great conversation with the librarian where we had to go to get wifi. At that point we decided to just call it a day and stay in E-town, but alas, it was not meant to be. When we inquired at the town's only motel, though there were no cars in the parking lot, the owner told us he had no rooms available: a group was cycling from Montreal and had reserved every one. We decided then to head out for the Magic Pines Campground, where we rented a cabin and traded Brenda stories with the owner, but not until we had met the rowdy group from Montreal on the way. They informed us that there would actually have been s room, since one of their group took a spill on some diagonal railroad tracks and broke his arm. Since it was raining when we arrived, we rented a small camping cabin and at least used our sleeping bags, if not our tent. We were actually beginning to be frustrated pulling them around in the trailer and not having used them yet. For the past three years it's been too hot to camp, and we are just too spoiled to set uo and camp in the rain if we have a choice. so we enjoyed our dinner from the deli we stopped at earlier and are cozy in our cabin, planning our route for the next few days. Life is good.

Ticonderoga

Not quite so wet today. We left our very spacious accommodations with the skies overcast; we'd been out an hour or so when we had to pull over to put on rain jackets. The riding was good, though, and the rain not nearly like yesterday. It rained for about an hour, but not so hard, and by the time we made a stop (about 10:30) it had stopped. We switched lenses in our glasses several times, since the clouds didn't really let up, but the temperature was perfect for riding, about 70. Such a contrast to the last three trips when we weren't surprised to see the temps go over 100. As we rode today, we were reminded of why we fell in love with this area, our climbs were gradual and with wide vistas. The whole world smelled piney, and the water that either crashed past us or pooled into beautiful lakes had the amber color that it gets from the tannin (think "tea") from the pine trees. Altogether an Adirondack day. We thought about all the things that make this area unique: unlike most mountainous regions where snowfall is heavy, the roofs aren't particularly steep. We passed many signs advertising guide boats for sale. I'd almost forgotten about those unique vessels: they are like a very wide canoe, but are rowed instead of being paddled. I have been thinking about buying an Adirondack pack basket this time around, though I haven't a clue how I'll get it home! Our original destination for the day was a town called Hague, about 50 miles from Lake Luzerne. When we arrived and looked around, the one motel had no one at the office. It did not look promising, so we decided to roll on to Ticonderoga. But first: two pieces of wild berry pie at the Hague Market, the longest continuously operating store in the Adirondacks, as the owner proudly told us. We were back in small-town America, in a store that sold basic groceries, tools, had a deli, and of all things-a guitar shop. Actually, a rather full-service music store if you incuded the Steinway and banjos upstairs. Turns out the owner used to be a neighbor of Pete Seeger's, and they jammed together. We were wishing our friend John had been there; he may have found a guitar or two to add to his ciollection. The ten miles to Ticonderoga were rolling, but with no hills we couldn't handle. At the first intersection of America's Most Historical Town (it said so right on the sign!) we found not one but three motels, all staffed. A quick comparison of rates brought us to the Stone House Motor Lodge. They allowed us to register, even without a motor. After cleaning up (us and the bike), we struck out for a restaurant and hit the jackpot with Gino's. Bob had lasagna and I enjoyed mussels with marinara sauce, excellent. Cannoli finished us off and a short walk to our "motor lodge" later we are relaxing and looking forward to a good night's sleep.

Lake Luzerne

Okay, the word of the day is WET. We had a teensy false start today: the bike trip equivalent of "Did I turn the iron off?" is "Did we lock the car?" about a half-mile away from the motel, we turned back just to make sure. Of course we had. And of course it started to rain. we talked about it as we rode, and could recall exactly five days in the five thousand miles it took us to cross the country that we had rain. Two of those were days we chose as rest days anyway, and the other three were light enough rain that we really had to think about them to remember. Today was not one of those. It started out as a light sprinkle and then became a steady downpour of flash flood proportions. We waited out one particularly heavy shower under the gas canopy of a convenience store. The convenience store chain here, by the way, is Stewart's, quite nice. We've actually become experts since riding through the Midwest. Anyway, we pedalled on, figuring there was nothing much better to do. Our ride was mostly uneventful, though we are beginning to see the signs of being in the Adirondack region. Many houses had walls made of the huge rocks which are common in this area, and we climbed one big hill that foretells of more to come. Pittsburghers: think Sycamore St. The architecture here reminds us that Eastern NY has Dutch history, since many of the houses resemble ones we saw in the Netherands. One even had a mailbox that was a huge wooden hand holding a huge wooden shoe with the mailbox nestled into the front of it, admittedly not the classiest thing, but it got the point across. Since the weather wasn't conducive to sightseeing, we'll concentrate on the food. Lunch was in Saratoga Springs, a wealthy town with many expensive choices. We managed to find a Mexican restaurant on a side street that, according to the menu, prided itself on authenticity. We shared an order of Ceviche for two and enchiladas with mole poblano. They were both excellent, and the service was fabulous. Our meal was about $20, so there!! Our destination today was Lake Luzerne, and we had decided on a motel rather than camping after the first hour of rain. The forecast includes steady rain all night, and tomorrow scattered showers. Things look up after that for the weekend. In any case, our arrival here was about 3:00 and as we reconnoitered at the local Stewart's, we noticed that we were right across the street from a place called The Elms, rental cottages on the edge of the lake. We didn't really need a cottage, but according to the local man we talked with in the parking lot, the motels were about a mile or two down the road and we figured we might as well inquire. My question about rates was met with a question from the owner: "What's your budget?" My response of $60 got us a part of the house, including full kitchen, bath and dining room with fireplace for that price. I checked the website and his story that it normally rents for $150 is true. I guess he figures $60 is better than nothing, So, we are relaxing for a bit and trying to dry out and deprune our fingers and toes before we head a block up the road for dinner. Dinner will come with a 10% discount courtesy of The Elms. Life is good. I am just hoping this guy's name isn't Norman,

Schenectady

Our arrival in Schenectady was pretty smooth. We are happily relaxing in a Days Inn, where the owner has graciously agreed to let us leave the car until our return, but even so we are eager to get out on the bike. We found a menu for a nearby Italian and Greek restaurant that we might check out for dinner, so life is good. I am going through my usual frenzy about having brought too much. My bag always seems heavier than Bob's, though I keep trying to remember that I have all the vitamins, the clothesline, etc. I did remove a few things which I'll leave in my bag in the car, along with my "civilian" change of clothes. Experience has taught that no matter the length of the trip, I crave wearing ANYTHING different by the time we reach our destination. Tomorrow we'll build the bike, secure the car and set off on a bike trail that begins less than a mile from here. That will take us to the southern end of the Adirondacks and we'll begin our "counter-clockwise" loop.

The drive today took us through the Lock Haven/Williamsport area, always gorgeous scenery. We were wishing for Bob John's geologic expertise to explain the cuts in the hillsides and the faulting that we saw. It was definitely a good way to get ready for the mountains we'll be riding through for the next week or so.

Okay, food update. Turns out the Greek/Italian place is long gone. Our innkeeper recommended a bistro in the university area. On the way to it we found Café NOLA, a fabulous Cajun place. We both had red beans and rice. A fine Chardonnay made a great accompaniment. Off to a good start indeed.

Heading out

This trip seems so laid-back compared to the last few years. It seems odd to not have our route prescribed by the goal of reaching the east coast. In the interest of being gone a little less time and keeping things simple, we decided to revisit the Adirondack region, one of our favorite places fromt the past and the site of both part of our honeymoon and our first bike trip together. After we had decided on the locale, we realized that that first bike trip was exactly thirty years ago, in 1981. We left home today and are now relaxing at the Quality Inn at State College. Tomorrow, we'll complete the driving to Schenectady and set out Wednesday on a counterclockwise loop around the Adirondack State Park. We are looking forward to seeing some of the places we have such good memories of and possibly reconnecting with our friend Brenda, who is now 86. We met Brenda on that first trip at a campground on the Schroon River. She is now living in Old Forge after years of Florida life, and will be in her camper in a campground a few miles north of where we first met. In any case, we are off to a good start.