First trip - around the Adirondacks

[RBHolmes]

Hello all -

I was glad to see this board start up. We live closer to the Lake Erie area (Rochester NY), but our touring interests are to the East. We’d like to get up into Vermont and further, and we need advice on places to ride and accommodations there. Last weekend we took a three day ride up around the Adirondacks, an area we’ve spent a lot of vacations in.

This was our first real tour of any distance – 610 miles. It was also our first long ride in the rain. We caught the tail end of some great weather, but halfway through a light to moderate rain started up for the rest of the trip. The gear held up though. Leatherlyke bags and a RiggPack SVT300 pack ARE waterproof, wife's Tourmaster Flex jacket and pants kept her dry and warm, my cheaper stuff kept me warm, and the bike ran like a top. I got used to the rain... vision wasn't too bad (polishing the windshield helped) and I remembered the tips for riding in the rain, except for one bit of excitement when I put my foot down on a crosswalk stripe.

The first day was perfect. We rode up NY3 along the lake, then crossed the Tug Hill plateau on NY178 and NY177. From Lowville NY812 North to NY3, then East to our stay in Wanakena (on Cranberry Lake, pop. 73). All excellent roads with little traffic. Stayed at the PackBasket B&B (very nice but very pricey) and ate at the Pinecone Restaurant in Wanakena (plain and simple and good food). I think everyone in the whole town was there.

Friday we rode West along NY3 to Saranac Lake, NY86 to Lake Placid, and NY73 to Keene. Perfect ride and spectacular Fall colors. South in the rain on US9 to North Hudson to find the gas station long gone - it took a 6 mile detour to find gas in Schroon. Back at North Hudson we took the Blue Ridge Road to the West. If you take this road be prepared for 25 miles of no gas and probably no phone service. 10 miles in from the East it abruptly transitions from a wide open highway to a country road snaking through the woods. It would have been fun if it had been dry... NY28N into Long Lake was the only bad pavement we hit... lots of jarring expansion joints. Lunch at the Long Lake Hotel, always a good place to eat. Then NY28 to Old Forge. Very pretty and little traffic on a stretch that gets a lot of use on weekends.

Friday night we stayed at Van Auken's Inn, near the train station at the West end of the village. Nice enough but kind of expensive (ok, it's been a long time since we stayed in lodging other than a campground). One of our meals in the restaurant was pretty good. We were recommended to eat breakfast at the Muffin Patch. The food was good, coffee passable and kept refilled, but two eggs, toast and bacon was $7.61 with the coffee. At the diner on the way to work I pay $3.13.

The ride home was in solid rain and uneventful. We passed a lot of bikes (two large groups) headed up NY28 into the mountains. Some didn't look too well equipped for the conditions I know they got. In the summer in the Adirondacks there are a lot of bikes on the road on weekends. In September we could have gotten by without reservations during the week, but it looks like things fill up on Saturday nights.

Fall is the best time in the Adirondacks, for camping or riding. Just prepare for the weather. Can’t wait for the next trip.

Bob

[fishbreath]

We are planning a trip up through the Adirondacks this summer. we are going up rt.30 into Canada.