Sodus Point, NY

Day 11 (07 June 2014)

Selkirk Shore State Park to Sodus Point, NY

Day: 63.68, Trip: 687.54

Weird event that happened last night / this morning. I woke up on the wrong side of the tent. My head was where my feet was and my feet where my head should have been. I am not sure how that happened.  Other than that, today was an uneventful morning. I rode with Ron, Mason and Catherine until the first rest stop and then with Richard from then to the end. We were making great time and completely missed the second rest stop because we were ahead of the van and trailer. 

                                      

We arrived in Sodus Point, NY by 3:15 which was too early since there was a wedding at the light house where we will be camping. To kill time we (myself, Jen, Caroline, Drew, Mike and Joe stopped at Captain Jacks Tavern for a late lunch. We then moved on to the light house. The view from the light house is beautiful and we watched the sunset over Lake Ontario. A very relaxing night hanging around the light house.

Selkirk Shore State Park

Day 10 (06 June 2014)
Old Forge, NY to Selkirk Shore State Park
Day: 83.50 miles, Trip: 623.86 miles

We (Sonja, Michelle, Bethany, Richard, and Eric) stopped at Walts Diner in Old Forge. Today we had to say good bye to Sonja. It is hard losing riders.

The riding today was quick and easier than the previous two days. Rolled into the first rest stop (Boonville, NY) at the end of the bunch. After that my legs felt really heavy. I thought I would remain at the back of the pack but apparently several of the group have been missing turns or getting flats so I caught up to most of the group. After the second rest stop I was feeling good and could actually keep up with the other riders. We rode on to Pulaski, NY for a good burger and a Lager at LD Ale House. From there it was a short ride to Selkirk Shore State park. We are camping right on Lake Ontario. I grabbed a quick shower and saw a beautiful sunset over the Lake. After sundown we had a fire and made smores (compliments of Mike and Joe).

Old Forge, NY

Day 09 (05 June 2014)

Newcomb, NY to Old Forge, NY

Day: 64.52 miles, Trip: 540.36

The first day of the Adirondacks kicked my ass. I am not sure if it was just tough and hot or I was feeling the effects of the day off. Today was not as bad as yesterday. Not easy, but better than yesterday. It was cooler which helped, plus there were less large climbs.

We rolled out of camp with the thought of breakfast being 10 miles away, this turned into 18 miles. The breakfast when I did get it were just what I needed. From Long Lake, NY it was a short ride to Blue Mountain Lake for the first rest stop.The ride got a little tougher heading to the second stop about a mile before I saw a stack of bikes outside a diner, so I joined in for some rest and food. Then after a long break it was a quick sign in at the rest stop in Inlet, NY and then on (through the wrong route, which happened to be shorter) to camp at Old Forge Resort Campground.

Disclaimer: they were not all his

We arrived relatively early so lots of talk around the table while we ate. Today was the first mail drop so a lot of the riders shared some of the goodies from home. Richard's wife sent brownies that were delicious. 

Tomorrow we reach Lake Ontario.

Newcomb, NY

Day 08 (04 June 2014)
Middlebury, VT to Newcomb, NY
Day: 70.85, Trip: 475.84

Up super early, packed and we were both eager to get back on the bikes and wishing it was just another zero. My legs feel fine but my butt is killing me. We crossed the border by way of a Ferry over Lake Champlain. Most of the group pushed on and took the ferry before ours so the rest of us didn't get a group photo.

Once in New York we were heading towards the sign for a photo and were passed by a large group on motorcycles. One of the riders had his radio up loud playing a soft rock radio station. It was amusing. After the photo we headed into Ticonderoga, NY for our rest stop. The rest stop was at walmart and of course when I went inside I forgot everything I wanted to pick up. So instead popped over to McDonalds for some air conditioning and to charge my phone.

After the rest stop we got a very quick "Welcome to the Adirondacks" with lots of climbing. They continued on the rest of the day and none of the downhills compared to the ups. I felt ripped off. I spent most of the day riding with Michelle and Sonja. When we finally arrived in Newcomb, NY (population 440) we stopped at the community store and got some chocolate milk. Apparently this is one of the best recovery drinks after exercise. I never really liked it before but I am developing a taste for it now. The lad at the community store told us about a diner but we never found it.

We reached the campground about a mile later and it was a long ride to get to where we are camping. We are camping next to Harris Lake with a lot of great views but also lots of bugs.

It is hard to believe we are 8 days in and already finished with 3 states.

Rest Day: Middlebury, VT

Day 07 (03 June 2014)
Middlebury, VT

Stopped at some of the shops in town and did laundry, got groceries and finally got caught up with some cleaning of gear and writing in my journal (now I just need to type them and upload them online). Tomorrow we continue on and enter our third state ... New York.

Middlebury, VT

Day 06 (02 June 2014)
Thetford, VT to Middlebury, VT
Day: 69.94 miles, Trip: 404.99 miles

Not only did the town of Thetford, VT provide us a place to camp and a wonderful dinner but they had stuff for us to have for breakfast. As much as we said this at the time, we were all very grateful.

After breakfast I hit the road. The route started by turning onto "Tucker Hill Road". I really don't like when roads with the word "hill" in them, especially first thing in the morning. Sure enough this one was quite steep but this was nothing compared to the climb we had later to South Stafford. At least the larger climb was followed with a great downhill for a reward. We always say the reward makes the climb worth it, but some of the downhills are pretty weak and not worth it at all.

We took our first rest stop in Royalton, VT. June is here and the days are getting hot. I started riding out with Bethany towards Bethel but as usual I couldn't keep up. The climbing rolled on until the second rest stop even though the climbing really hadn't even started yet for the day. We stopped again in Rochester, VT for a second rest break and had lunch in a great little cafe. I downed the food quickly it was delicious. Then the climbing began. It took me awhile to get to the top of Middlebury Gap (Bread Loaf). It got very steep in sections (up to 15% grade) and I thought I would never get to the top. What really helped were the King of Climb markers with distance to the summit so I knew I was getting there. We were suppose to have a rest stop at the top but when I got there, the trailer was no where to be seen. So I figured I was just that far behind. I was wrong, as I was flying down the hill I came across the trailer and slammed on the brakes and I really didn't think I was going to be able to stop. I did and they had some popsicle for us. The rest of the decent was also extremely fun. I am limited on my speed do to my beastly tires but I still manage to get 45 mph on these tires.

Unfortunately though, we were expecting downhill all the way to town and this was not the case. We headed downhill until outside of East Middlebury and then it was more or less flat. We arrived in Middlebury, VT (population 8,250) Home of Middlebury College (but all the students are gone) so its pretty quiet here. We are staying the night St. Stephens Catholic Church for both tonight and tomorrows rest day.

A Sad note of Middlbury is that we lost two of our riders today. Both Molly and Chris have to return home to the real world. They will both be missed by us all.

On our way to dinner we were heading to a tavern and started crossing the street and a police office came pulling up and yelled at us and made us walk the rest of the way down the block to cross at the cross section. Either they take jaywalking seriously here or more likely the cops are really bored with college being out of session.

Thetford, VT

Day 05 (01 June 2014)
Jigger Johnson Campground, NH - Thetford, VT
Day: 75.60 miles, Trip: 335.05 miles

The route leaders prepared some breakfast in the morning. It is actually a chilly morning but it warmed up quick as we climbed Kancamagus. As mentioned this section was much steeper than yesterday. I quickly dropped back to the back of the pack and just spun up it. At the top there was a rest stop / check to make sure everybody survived the first big climb of the trip. This was followed by the reward of the climb.

The decent down to Lincoln, NH was a lot of fun. However, this was followed by a beastly climb out of North Woodstock, NH that has several false summits and seemed to be going on forever. There were points of the climb that were hitting grades of 13%. These grades and false tops were given some very choice words as I was riding that won't be repeated. Most people stopped for lunch in town and I just stopped and grabbed a bagel before pushing on. I finally reached the top for the next rest stop. The rest stop was next to a beautiful pond and I was actually early on in the group. I was exhausted but at least we got another fun downhill as a reward. In Piermont, NH I had some ice cream but decided not to hang out and instead pushed on.

The Ride after the last rest stop was really enjoyable but I was getting tired. I reached East Thetford where we were suppose to be staying but nobody was there. I tried texting people to find out where were were staying and road around the tiny town but nobody replied or came. So I enjoyed a cold drink from the convenience shop and waited. Eventually the group caught up and I found out that we were Staying in Thetford not East Thetford (whoops they posted the wrong town). This meant doing a pretty large climb to town.

When we arrived in Thetford there was a welcome party there for us cheering and clapping and they gave us cold, wet towels to wipe the sweat and grime off. They ushered us into the community center and provided us with a pot luck dinner which was absolutely amazing. People from the community took us home and allowed us to use their showers and a few people helped us do laundry. I didn't get much in the pile so will have to wait and do mine in Middlebury, VT. The support was organized by Meg who has MS and she shared a little with us about her experiences with MS.

Tonight we are camping next to the community center in Thetford, VT (population 2600). A few of us were in the community center working on journals or just talking. It is well past bedtime and we are all tired. Eric added a GoPro to his bike and it stuck up between his inverted drop bars. It looked a bit ridiculous and he said to call it Unicorn or Uni for short. So from this point on Eric's bike shall be known as Uni.