Sunday, July 12, 2009

Why I love biking


Let me count the ways. The open road, and the great adventure. This trip provided that and much more. Memories to last a lifetime.....

One never plans on getting sick, and when I came down with chills Tues., June 30th, I thought it would pass. We all wanted to see Maine, and since the weather was stormy, we drove through Vermont, NH and got to the coast of Maine on Wed., July 1st. We spent the night in Freeport before heading to Bar Harbor and Acadia. I still was not feeling well, and the weather so foggy, you couldn't see the coast, it was time to head back to Madison. The doctor diagnosed me with pneumonia, and the first week of recovery was the hardest, but am now eager to get the rest of our trip posted and hope to be back pedaling the roads of Dane County real soon.

Thanks for following along on our journey. I am glad Steve and I could share such an experience for Zoe and Eric!!

Riding to Ticonderoga - Tues. June 30th


Steve, Eric and I had spread out on what was to be our final day of biking, and Zoe ended up rescuing all of us from a pretty bad thunderstorm. Eric had made it most of the way, 70 miles this day, and Steve and I met up in North Hudson, where we got the bikes loaded and then the rain came. We all agreed the mountains were our favorite part of the ride, the most scenic, and even though there were a few logging trucks, the traffic was pretty light.

mornin' chores


Eric is applying sunscreen, getting ready to ride, and Zoe is washing the morning dishes. We know it's going to be a tough ride today through the mountains, so we wanted to get an early start. Eric and I took off a little earlier than Steve, who helped Zoe break camp, and then got caught in a morning shower. The climb out of Blue Mountain Lake was a tough climb, a good way to wake your body up.

Sunset over Durant Lake - June 29th

Durant Lake Campsite

Durant Lake Campsite


Scenes from our campsite!!!

Blue Mountain Lake


A site to behold at the end of a 70-mile day. Steve and the kids got a great campsite on Durant Lake, just south of Blue Mountain Lake. It was to be our last campsite of the trip.

Adirondacks sprinkled with Lakes

Moose River


Just another lovely spot along the route.

Moose River - Adirondacks


Hard not to stop and take in the beauty of the land.

Mon. June 29th - Boonville to Blue Mountain Lake - 70 miles

I let Zoe and Eric ride the pace they wanted, which was faster than mine, and they had a challenging day of biking. I did, too. There was a significant climb out of Boonville to Old Forge, a real resort town in the Adirondacks. A beautiful day for riding along the Moose River. The mountain views were stunning!!

Day 20 - June 28th, Pulaski to Boonville, NY

I drove the car on this day, and was amazed at how the kids were climbing. The temps. have been great for biking, the humidity not too high. They were predicting storms for the evening, so we decided to play it safe and hotel it for the night.

Day 19 - June 27th - Fair Haven to Pulaski

Steve, Zoe and I rode this stretch of the route and wanted to get beyond Pulaski, but beyond Pulaski 30 miles there was no camping or lodging, so we camped at Selkirk Shore State Park, a nice state park on Lake Ontario.

Shelter from the storm


Waiting patiently for the rain to clear near Palmyra.

Friday, June 26th - Pittsford to Fair Haven State Park

Zoe's turn to drive today and find a site at Fair Haven State Park. Steve, Eric and I set out, but got caught in some rain in Palmyra, waited it out at a park shelter. The weather cleared and we were on our way, riding some rolling hills. Because of the layover, we didn't get to our site until 7 p.m., a 76-mile day. Sleeping never felt so good.