Our mornings our fairly consistent, waking early to ride up to 20 miles into a town for a good old fashioned American breakfast. Although the diner was run down, we enjoyed fresh baked cinnamon raisin bread accompanied with eggs and pancakes in the town of Fulton. Full bellies and a few days without internet, we stopped by the library for internet to be in touch with family and friends and to update the blog with the latest written post. Yes, we are always about a week behind but do try and stay fairly up to date. Sitting outside the library on a bench in the shade of an enormous tree, a couple in their 70's stopped to chat. The man had just returned home after riding his way back to Fulton from Alabama. Kudos to him! A solo bicycle trip over the course of four weeks all the way from Alabama. Wow. Very inspirational. We swapped stories (we were told again how Kentucky is notorious for dogs off leashes. He was bitten. If you are reading this and live in Kentucky, maybe there is something that can be done about this???) for a few minutes and they were on their way. 30 minutes later, he returned in his car to stuff money in Ryan's shirt pocket. We tried to give it back but he wouldn't have it. He quickly left and we pulled out $50. What?!?! More generosity from a complete stranger. Unbelievable.
We started making our way into the Adirondacks, climbing mountains and riding along lakes and rivers. The small mountain towns have a block or two of stores, always having a pizza place and an ice cream shop. We have consumed quite the amount of soft serve ice cream as well as pizza. Our diets these days are not what they probably should be, but it's tough to eat in this heat, so getting anything down works for us.
Wanting to make for a shorter day, we decided to call it quits early and stay at an actual campground that had swimming on Eighth Lake. This would be our first night to pay for camping since we left Ohio. We pull up and sure enough, the guy in the booth tells us they do not charge those who show up on foot or by bicycle. What luck! Swimming, shower, and hand laundry. All things we were in desperate need of. The water was cold and we were truly clean for the first time in days.
The hills through the Adirondacks are fairly reasonable, the grades never being too steep. The heat from the pavement makes for tougher climbs, giving more the reason to stick our heads under faucets any chance possible. I cannot imagine what people think when we pull out our shampoo and soap for our pseudo clean-up.
The further west we rode in New York, the more sparse the towns. Shops close up early and on this particular night we missed the market by two minutes. 6:02pm and not much food to cook, we walked in the local and only pub in Newcomb. The ambiance was just what we always want, filled with the townspeople, the juke box being run by the patrons, and a home cooked meal of chicken, potato salad and corn for $7 cash. Before long we were sharing a table with a few others, drinking beers, sharing stories and laughing. Although we planned to stop for just one beer and some food, we stayed until 9pm, just as the sun was setting. We met Cleeve Friend, the caretaker for a historic Adirondack Great Camp. He bought us a beer and offered the camp grounds to put our tent up for the night. Lucky for us the camp was across the street making our trip home short and sweet.
The best part of climbing is often the downhill cruise. To be honest, I love the burn in my legs when climbing something steep, but nothing beats the wind in your hair as you glide down a newly paved road. It's a bit of heaven knowing you and all of your possessions are flying down at top speed. This is the greatest thrill I have felt in life thus far. After a fast and steep descent into Ticonderoga, we boarded a cable ferry across Lake Champlain over to Vermont. The intense heat zapped most of our energy and we gladly accepted the offer to tent in a locals yard. The nights never really cool off but we somehow sleep like babies, easily closing our eyes for a solid nine hours a night. Now to enjoy a day off in Middlebury, VT and hope tomorrow brings slightly cooler temperatures.
We started making our way into the Adirondacks, climbing mountains and riding along lakes and rivers. The small mountain towns have a block or two of stores, always having a pizza place and an ice cream shop. We have consumed quite the amount of soft serve ice cream as well as pizza. Our diets these days are not what they probably should be, but it's tough to eat in this heat, so getting anything down works for us.
Wanting to make for a shorter day, we decided to call it quits early and stay at an actual campground that had swimming on Eighth Lake. This would be our first night to pay for camping since we left Ohio. We pull up and sure enough, the guy in the booth tells us they do not charge those who show up on foot or by bicycle. What luck! Swimming, shower, and hand laundry. All things we were in desperate need of. The water was cold and we were truly clean for the first time in days.
The hills through the Adirondacks are fairly reasonable, the grades never being too steep. The heat from the pavement makes for tougher climbs, giving more the reason to stick our heads under faucets any chance possible. I cannot imagine what people think when we pull out our shampoo and soap for our pseudo clean-up.
The further west we rode in New York, the more sparse the towns. Shops close up early and on this particular night we missed the market by two minutes. 6:02pm and not much food to cook, we walked in the local and only pub in Newcomb. The ambiance was just what we always want, filled with the townspeople, the juke box being run by the patrons, and a home cooked meal of chicken, potato salad and corn for $7 cash. Before long we were sharing a table with a few others, drinking beers, sharing stories and laughing. Although we planned to stop for just one beer and some food, we stayed until 9pm, just as the sun was setting. We met Cleeve Friend, the caretaker for a historic Adirondack Great Camp. He bought us a beer and offered the camp grounds to put our tent up for the night. Lucky for us the camp was across the street making our trip home short and sweet.
The best part of climbing is often the downhill cruise. To be honest, I love the burn in my legs when climbing something steep, but nothing beats the wind in your hair as you glide down a newly paved road. It's a bit of heaven knowing you and all of your possessions are flying down at top speed. This is the greatest thrill I have felt in life thus far. After a fast and steep descent into Ticonderoga, we boarded a cable ferry across Lake Champlain over to Vermont. The intense heat zapped most of our energy and we gladly accepted the offer to tent in a locals yard. The nights never really cool off but we somehow sleep like babies, easily closing our eyes for a solid nine hours a night. Now to enjoy a day off in Middlebury, VT and hope tomorrow brings slightly cooler temperatures.
No comments:
Post a Comment