OnTheTrace: Early Fall colors with Late Fall temperatures

Friday, October 10: Speculator to Ticonderoga

Our second and last day biking the Adirondacks, and another beautiful but cold day. An early breakfast at a nearby diner, and on the road by 8:12 (the temperature was 37 degrees) , due to Rob’s “just saying.” Off our bikes by 5:17 (the temperature had reached 52 degrees). The 71.0 miles were covered fairly quickly, given there were considerable climbs, including a 1908 foot summit. The total elevation loss between Speculator, at 1739 feet, and Ticonderoga, at 273 feet, does not tell the day’s story of hills after hills after hills, including two-mile pulls. The elevation loss occurs primarily in the last five miles before Ticonderoga.

We enjoyed some good roads, and suffered some bad ones; except for the fall colors and the beauty of the Adirondacks, it was a “get there” travel day. Neither of us spotted any wildlife (we were hoping for a moose), except for the wooly caterpillars, which were less abundant today. Again the day was cold, but not much wind, so it seemed warmer than yesterday. Rain clouds threatened almost all day, but except for intermittent sprinkles it did not rain. YAY!

We stopped for an inside lunch at a meager café in Schroon Lake. Two customers overheard our conversation with the wait staff about gluten-free menu items, and out of concern for her going hungry, gave Diane a Crispin apple. Very satisfying! Turns out the customers were from Syracuse, and run a studio for aspiring actors. One of them is a recently retired Syracuse University drama professor. We didn’t interact with anyone else during the ride, until the last long pull, which had a passing lane and a decent shoulder to boot. Rob had already begun that ascent, when a local cyclist joined Diane. He said, “I’ve heard lots of stories going up this hill with cyclists passing through. What’s yours?” And thus began a conversation that got Diane up that hill. A trim, 69 year old grandfather, he puts in several miles each week, sometimes biking to Speculator, where his wife meets him and brings him back in the vehicle. When we got to the top of the hill, he gave us a good tip – take the newly resurfaced side road for about two thirds of downhill, until it loops back and joins the rough main highway. Diane was in no mood to make a mistake, so she braked quite a bit on the downhill. Rob threw caution to the wind, and hit 39 mph.

Dinner at the nearby Subway, and a quick trip to the nearby Walmart for snacks and WD-40, then back to our motel, to gear up for tomorrow’s ride, which includes a ferry ride across Lake Champlain.

Up the grade.