It was wonderful waking to the smell of fresh brewed coffee coming from the kitchen. Breakfast was the rhubarb cake from the previous night – the maker of the cake was allowed to leave with the plate ONLY….Cake stayed! Cake good! (Something about us being from the NYC area and bikers—they just backed away slowly and left the desserts.)
We waved goodbye to Uncle George and began to meander through Adirondack Park. “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” from the musical Oklahoma played on the XM radio and what a beautiful morning it was…This part of the country is our back yard, a good days’ ride from Long Island, but the familiarity was comfortable as the roads wound through the mountains. Rivers, lakes and boulder filled streams lined the shadow dappled rural routes heading south and east. Occasionally, a deer would trot quickly across the road up ahead.
Yes, we hit traffic. There was a traffic jam in Lake Placid that was bad enough to make a clutch hand ache. It seems they had the Ironman USA competition yesterday and today was the awards ceremony or something. Suffice it to say, it was unexpected.
The Ticonderoga Ferry was the crossing point to Vermont. Unusual folks live up that way. We met The Guy Who Throws Cheetos on the Ground or Bird Food Man. Everyday he feeds the sea gulls who congregate on the lakeshore. A pull on a cord sends up a sign to call the ferry over. It’s a small one.
Into the Green Mountains of Vermont we went. The thin strips of rural pavement ran alongside dairy farms on rolling hills that gradually rose into the mountains. The pace for the day was slow as we enjoyed the ride on local roads.
Home is on everyone’s mind. One more night in a hotel and then the final ride of the trip will bring it to completion.
Road Signs:
Society for Institutional Advancement
Bear Crossing
Snowplow Turnaround
Pull To Call Ferry
Things We Learned Today:
• There’s no place like home...
The ride from Uncle George’s house in the north country of NY, through Vermont to Keene, NH was 256.8 miles. Tomorrow we will be on the 11:30 am Bridgeport ferry due to arrive at Port Jeff at 12:45 pm.
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