After cycling over 3,500 miles since August 13th, I was feeling pretty good as we rolled out on a cold clear day with the fog shrouding the shore of Lake Piseco at 8:00 AM sharp. With less that 300 miles to reach the Atlantic, I thought having only a few minor mishaps to date was a decent record. But a momentary lapse of concentration in a construction zone changed that in less than 2 seconds. Based on the route scout by our guide Caleb, we knew that at mile 49 we would encounter 6 miles of scraped and grooved pavement until we reached our lunch stop at mile 57. So at mile 55, we entered the section of the highway undergoing repaving and it was a little chaotic. The first flag guy waved us through and told us to be aware of the equipment. Just a few hundred yards down the road, the workers are looking at us raising their arms raised as if to say – “What are you people doing?”. We were directed to another lane with traffic cones and as I was following my friend Greg, he made a jerky movement to the left around a traffic cone which I didn’t see until it was too late. So, my right knee tips over the traffic cone and the base of it connects with my gear derailer and rips it right off the mount. I was able to stay upright but my bike was done for at that point. Fortunately, our guide Brent wasn’t too far behind and he and our guide Marty soon did their magic. Within 25 minutes, I was back on the road with another bike with my electronics, pedals, saddle moved over and my fit dialed in and on my way. These guys are amazing!
It was cold again this morning and I was dressed the same as I was yesterday – in 3 layers. As I went to my rustic cabin that I was sharing with fellow rider, Doug, I was smart enough to cover my saddle to protect it from the dew. This morning that cover had frost on it – it was close to freezing. Speaking of freezing, the heat in our cabin was not working. I gave up after 15 minutes of trying to troubleshoot it. So, I slept under 3 blankets last night and amazingly I had a great night’s sleep! Go figure!
Today’s ride had us headed further north and east to Ticonderoga, NY which sits on the shore of Lake Champlain. There is some great history here just a few miles away at Fort Ticonderoga in the American Revolution. In the Spring of 1775, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold (before he became a scallywag traitor) did a successful raid on the fort which was held by a small British garrison. Taking all of the artillery there and dragging it to Boston, the Americans trained the cannons on the British ships in the harbor and after a standoff, were therefore able to convince the Brits to evacuate the city. As one of the first successful offensive actions of the Revolution, it proved a pivotal point in the war.
In any case, we had an 84 mile route with about 4,000 feet of climbing. It was a beautiful ride and the climbs were generally manageable. With the fall colors really coming on now, much of our route was on the Adirondack scenic byway. One milestone marker for me was crossing the Hudson River a few miles north of the town of Warrensburg. The Hudson at that crossing though is nothing but a larger creek, but 150 miles south of that bridge at West Point, it is a mighty river flowing right past my former “rockbound highland home” – for 4 years at least.
After getting to the lunch stop late, I ended up cycling the final legs with group of 5, but only after we had some ice cream at the shop next door. We had one final big 3 mile climb and 850 feet at mile 67 followed by a great 5 mile descent to Brant Lake. With a few rollers and smaller climbs between the descent and Ticonderoga, we made it to the Best Western at around 4 PM or so.
Tomorrow will be a challenge – 104 miles and over 8,000 feet of climbing. We will cycle 3 miles to the ferry landing where we will take a 15-20 minute ride across the narrow northern stem of Lake Champlain. We have a chance to stay dry tomorrow with the Nor’easter coming in but hopefully it will continue its drift to the south and let us escape the worst of it. As it has been said before, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. We will see what happens. But tomorrow we hit our 13th state as we disembark the ferry! Vermont! 3 riding days left! We can all feel the cumulative fatigue but onward to the Atlantic we will march!
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