Home from the Adirondacks

It's not often that we  have two sunny, warm, beautiful weekend days, but the weather was smiling on us for day 2 of our Adirondack trip. We were greeted with fog when we woke up, but by the time we walked into town and enjoyed another delicious breakfast at Jane and Cathy's restaurant (check out the Elron breakfast sandwich on a hard roll) and strolled back to the motel, the sun was shining and all the fog had burned off.

Wayne and Colleen headed north toward home, and Mike and decided on another circular route before we turned toward Vermont. We started out going west on Route 28, and turned north on 28N in Blue Lake. This is a wonderful spot:  small, friendly town on a large lake ringed by the mountains. We didn't have time to stop at the Adirondack Museum, which is another reason for us to head back to this area.

We followed 28N east until it joined back to Route 28. We rode about 2 hours in a large circle, ending up just 18 miles east of our starting point. It was a gorgeous 2 hour ride with forests as far as we could see, lots of steep climbs and downhills, and again almost no traffic.

Home was calling us, so we set a more direct course back to southwestern Vermont. I never get tired of riding east, seeing the Green Mountains in the distance. The Mettowee Valley runs from Granville, NY through Pawlet, VT with mountains bordering dairy farms on both sides of Route 30. Some favorite stops on this route include Mach's General Store in Pawlet where you can sit outside and enjoy the scenery with a snack, the Dorset Union Store on the green in Dorset (don't miss their fresh-baked treats), and the Dorset quarry (an old marble quarry that supplied stone for the New York City public library building and now is a favorite swimming spot).

We rode 145 miles, starting in the middle of the Adirondacks and ending up back home in the Green Mountains. That's one of the great things about riding in the northeast:  there are always mountains to explore!

Adirondack trip

What an awesome trip! We drove up to Indian Lake, in the  middle of the Adirondack State Forest in the rain on Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning we had clear blue skies and temperatures in the 70's - perfect for a long ride!

Check out the map of our route here. We basically rode in a big circle, with a couple of little jaunts to the side when something was interesting - like the Great Sacandaga Lake, which is actually a reservoir developed to reduce spring-time flooding from the Hudson and Sacadaga rivers. The roads along the lake are perfect for riding - and watching all the various types of boats on the lake. Don't miss Northville, a great little town with a fabulous spot for mid-ride stop:  Java John's coffee shop. We stopped mid-morning, sat outside and enjoyed cold beverages, scones and muffins.

After lunch, we were riding through farmland, and all of a sudden came across huge windmills marching across the ridgeline. Later on we found out it's the Hardscrabble Windfarm in Herkimer, NY with 37 windmills! Check out our video of the trip, and you'll see how huge these windmills are.

The Adirondacks is a huge area, over 6 million acres. Designated as a park in 1892, it's actually larger than Yellowstone and Yosemite parks combined - and doubled! There are only 100,000 fulltime residents in the entire park, which means if you stay outside the major tourist towns you have the pavement all to yourself. Camping, hiking, kayaking, and snowmobiling opportunities are everywhere. Some of the thousands of lakes are quiet and undeveloped, while a few are major tourist attractions. In between you'll find lots of small lakes ringed by summer cottages with a small town anchoring the shoreline. One of my favorites is Inlet, on a chain of lakes that are numbered (First through Eighth) rather than named.

We finished the day back in Indian Lakes, right on time for dinner reservations at 6:30pm. There aren't a lot of restaurants, and on a busy summer weekend reservations are definitely in order. It was a perfect day:  sunshine, warm but not-too-hot weather, twisty roads up and down through the mountains, very little traffic, and good company. I'm ready to go back!

First trip in the rain

Who cares about fashion when the weather forecast is for rain, heavy rain, and possible thunderstorms?

Friday afternoon we set off for Indian Lake, smack dab in the middle of the Adirondack National Forest, a 2.25 hour ride from our home in southwestern Vermont. We knew it was going to rain, but we had fantastic plans to explore the Adirondacks with Wayne and Colleen for the weekend, and we weren't going to let a little rain get in our way.

I wrestled myself into my FroggToggs rain jacket and  boot covers before we left, feeling a bit like a deep sea diver with the extra bulk. It was sprinkling when we left, but by the time we reached Granville, NY we were riding through a steady, heavy downpour.

Guess what - I stayed completely dry!

It was a unique experience riding pillion in the rain. I could barely see, but Mike reassured me his vision was fine. If you've ever opened your eyes underwater, or smeared vaseline on your glasses, you have a good idea of what the world looked like through the visor of my helmet. Since I couldn't look at the scenery, I paid attention to the sound. I've always enjoyed listening to rain pounding on the roof, and it's even better on my motorcycle helmet! Riding through the rain, exposed to water coming down from the sky and also water kicked back up by passing cars, ended up being a fun experience.

I'll be honest - I was surprised that I stayed dry and not even a bit damp. No rain dripped down my back or seeped through the seams. My jacket came down low enough over my pants to prevent wayward leaks. Mike didn't wear his booties, and his feet were completely soaked. Mine were absolutely dry! No squishy shoes for me the next day.

My one complaint was my leather gloves didn't keep my hands warm or dry. I'm going to try out the waterproof mittens that I wear for winter running during the next motorcycle ride in the rain, and am betting that they'll keep my hands as dry as the rest of me.

Saturday and Sunday the weather was warm, sunny and dry, just as predicted. I'll tell you all about those days in posts later in the week.

Footnote:  After spending some time at the nearby laundromat to dry their clothes, Wayne and Colleen decided to purchase raingear for future trips.