August 12th: Old Forge to North Creek, NY

Pictured above are four of my closest friends from Philadelphia (left to right, Nini and Jim Wolitarsky, and Ted and Kristin Laws) who made a special trip to North Creek, NY to visit me on my tour. We shared a wonderful dinner in the Tavern at Copperfield.

August 12^th Statistics:  Old Forge to North Creek, NY

• Today’s Biking Distance – 65.3 miles
• Today’s Average Speed – 11.4 mph
• Today’s Time In Saddle – 5.7 hours
• Today Ascent – 2,722 feet
• Total Trip Biking Days – 49
• Total Trip Biking Distance – 3,754.8 miles
• Total Trip Average Biking Distance/Day – 76.6 miles
• Total Trip Ascent – 96,697 feet

Today had its highs and lows.  The high was certainly the visit by my close friends Jim and Nini Wolitarsky and Ted and Kristin Laws.  The biggest surprise of the day was biking a tough section of Route 28 with my eyes totally focused on the road and having a convertible (top down) pull up next to me with Ted and Kristin.  They had been cruising the road between Old Forge and North Creek looking for me (using my yellow handlebar bag to identify me which turned out to be meaningful as there were hundreds of cyclists on the same route biking the 78 mile Adirondack Ididaride being held today).  After finding a place to pull over we had a joyful reunion after two months.  We continued catching up and sharing stories over dinner with Jim (who is joining me for a bike tomorrow at the Ticonderoga Ferry) and Nini.

The low was the loss of my energy level early in the day.  I felt great for the beautiful first 11 miles of today’s ride from Old Forge to Inlet, NY on a country road.  Then it felt like someone had tied anchors to my feet (but no other symptoms) or that the excellent blueberry pancakes I had for breakfast (I am occasionally eating breakfast) went to my feet.  I was struggling to maintain my new performance levels for speed and cadence (yesterday I climb more elevation and rode more miles, but went much faster than today).  Making me feel even more depressed, dozens of riders were passing me from the Ididaride and our own group at speeds far below my recent performance.  Fortunately, the ride was short (only 65 miles) so I arrived at our lodge at about 2pm and spent the entire afternoon napping so I would be in better shape for dinner with Jim, Nini, Ted, and Kristin.  I felt surprisingly better after the nap and even more so after a great evening with my friends.

Now the rest of the story – When I was preparing my bike for the ride the next day, I found that the front wheel was very loose.  Now it appears that my problem today was mechanical, not physical.  My front wheel may have been rubbing the brake pads for the entire ride providing me an extra challenge.  Supporting this conclusion was the fact that on the ride the next day, my performance immediately returned to my new expectations and I was energized.

Steve & Nancy highly recommended Keyes Pancake House for breakfast, so Jim (pictured), Robert, Doug, and I left the hotel early so we could be at Keyes when they opened at 7 am. Thank you Steve & Nancy, the breakfast was delicious.

View of Fulton Lake on our ride today.

Another view of the Fulton Lake Chain near Inlet, NY

View of one of the many lakes we passed on our ride today.

View of one of the many river crossings on our bike route today.

View of our lodging in North Creek, NY, the Alpine Lodge.

View of my room at the Alpine Lodge showing the rustic theme of the furnishings – very nice.

I was not the only biker to have company for the evening. Doug was thrilled for the second time on the tour to be surprised by family members showing up unexpectedly at one of our overnight cities. Pictured above are two of Doug’s sisters and a brother-in-law who drove up from Albany to share the afternoon and evening with him.