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We set out
early on the Monday morning after the Tour de L'Ile for our ride back to
NYC. (For scenes from our weekend in Montreal, click
here.) After crossing the Jacques Cartier Bridge leaving the city,
we proceeded to lose our way many times in suburban Quebec, learning, for
example, that Cr. means crescent, and that a road with that in its name
won't bring you anywhere useful. Then we hit the big wind along farm roads,
but finally we made it to the border--hours later than expected. I did
not document this unhappy part of the ride.
To the left
we have Chris's butt, wind-blown trees, and Lake Champlain just a few miles
south of the Canadian border. |
| Though I'd
originally planned to take roads along the lake shore, we opted instead
for the more direct Route 9, which gave us great mountain and lake views--and
almost no traffic--as we headed toward Plattsburgh. We were already at
90+ miles when we ate dinner there, but due to our morning miscalculations
we still had a long way to go to Elizabethtown, where we had motel rooms
waiting.
Just south
of Plattsburgh Route 9 begins climbing into the Adirondaks. That's the
lake in the background and one of our first substantial hills. |
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One benefit
of traveling so late in the day was that we missed the crowds at the stunning
Ausable Chasm, the waterfall in the background here.
I like this
picture because we're all in it--that's my shadow in the lower left. |
| As we continued,
the sky and the scenery became more and more dramatic with the setting
sun. I didn't take a picture of the moon rising in the mountains, but that
was beautiful too.
We reached
our motel just as it got dark, around 9:00--132 miles. Ugh. |
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We slept in
(well, until 8:30 or so) the next morning, ate a leisurely breakfast at
a friendly diner, and hit the road toward our goal of Schuylerville. We'd
had a long (10+ miles) downhill into Elizabethtown the night before, and
it continued a few more miles before the climbs picked up in earnest. By
the time we'd covered the 30 miles to Schroon Lake, our first stop, I'd
worked up quite an appetite.
This is also
a good place to point out how much I used various "warmers" during the
trip. Here I've got on knee warmers, hiked up above the knees. Along with
my arm warmers, they made the trip very comfortable.
(Photo by Greg,
our official photographer) |
| We stopped
again about 30 miles later in Warrentown for a pizza lunch. The back roads
we took between here and Schroon Lake were amazing--winding right along
a fast-flowing river, asphalt so fresh and smooth they hadn't taken down
the construction signs, and no traffic. Unfortunately we traveled these
roads too fast to take pictures! |
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Still, we
were completely thrilled when Steve spotted a bike path off the left side
of the road. We cross over, through all the motorcycles, and instantly
left behind the noise and crazy tourist attractions (think giant Uncle
Sam standing next to larger-than-life Santa) of Lake George. |
| We rode along
blissfully for a while, not caring where we were going so long as we had
such a lovely path to travel on, but imagine our delight when we learned
that the trail continued toward our destination for 17 miles, via some
city streets in Glens Falls and then canal-side gravel paths to Fort Edward. |
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In Fort Edward
we crossed the Hudson (the first of many crossings) and then followed yet
another no-traffic riverside road to our destination for the night, the
restaurant-deprived town of Schuylerville.
At just under
100 miles, we considered this a short day. |
| My only picture
from Day 3--Schuylerville to Poughkeepsie (116 miles)--is from our lunch
stop at this hilltop restaurant in Germantown, about two-thirds of the
way through our day. The Trail, as it was called, was a bit pricier than
our normal fare, but the food was so good, and there was so much of it,
that it was worth it. Here we are before eating, clearly in need of nourishment. |
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Day 4 was
a leisurely 80-something miles back to Manhattan--made that much more leisurely
by poor Steve's many flat tires. Here he is with the first of the
day (yes, there would be another), near the South Hills Mall in Poughkeepsie.
Altogether he had about eight during the course of the trip. Though he
never complained, I became increasingly vocal about my hatred for his back
tire (all the flats were in the back), and less interested in the excitement
of patching tubes. Fortunately, the tire is gone now. |
Home sweet
home! We're just over the New York border (having traveled some miles in
Jersey) on the George Washington Bridge. (Those of you who are attentive
may notice that we had a bit of an attrition problem. Let's just say that
everyone got home safely and Metro North proved useful to some.)
(Photo by Greg's
camera) |
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