Bike Vermont & Classic Adventures trip to Lake Placid

Cycling with Bike Vermont & Classic Adventures

July 24-August 5, 2005

Introduction

I spent one week with Bike Vermont on their Stowe/Northeast Kingdom tour from July 24-30 and one week with Classic Adventures on their Lake Placid & Adirondack Mountains tour from July 30 to August 5.

I have organized 69 thumbnails that you can scan and click to enlarge only those pictures that interest you. I hope you enjoy many of them, and I hope you also enjoy some of my explanations.

www.bikevt.com

pictures of my trip

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www.classicadventures.com

Bike Vermont

On July 22 I started driving east for a two-week cycling adventure. I did the Stowe/Northeast Kingdom tour with Bike Vermont from July 24-30 and then the Lake Placid & Adirondack Mountains with Classic Adventures from July 30 to August 5.

I selected the trips because they both included a little hiking and either kayaking or canoeing; however, I found out it was one of Vermont's hardest cycling trips. I should have known this as the online information stated that the route was intermediate to advanced terrain. I could have handled it when I was riding the light weight Trek bike, but the recumbent is too heavy, and I can't get any speed on it and can't climb hills well.

I left Saturday morning and drove about 600 miles and spent the night in Buffalo, NY. I finished the last 450 miles on Sunday. Once I left the NY toll road and started using state and county highways there were a LOT of hills and a LOT of curves. I didn't like driving on the roads and began to question the wisdom of cycling on them.

Stowe/Northeast Kingdom

The Northeast Kingdom is the least settled and most rural, untouched corner of Vermont. The region contains ponds, lakes, open farmlands, rolling hills, and a host of unspoiled villages. We stayed in three lovely inns. The Edson Hill Manor had a warm country feel and was nestled in a quiet corner of Stowe. The Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery was an 1803 stagecoach stop and has pleasant rooms and excellent food. The family-owned Highland Lodge in Greensboro overlooks Caspian Lake in the heart of the Northeast Kingdom.

During the cycling we enjoyed the gorgeous countryside around Stowe, the meandering Lamoille River Valley, and great views of the Worcester Range and Mt. Mansfield. We also rode through some quintessential Vermont villages such as Craftsbury Common, Greensboro, and Cabot, stopped at some wonderful old-fashioned general stores, saw some covered bridges, had a 1/2 day hike to the top of Jay Peak, and enjoyed a 1/2 day kayak trip on Caspian Lake.

On Monday the basic route was 30 miles with an 18-mile option. Everyone--including me--chose to do the option. When the option started, we hadn't had any bad hills yet, the wind had been at our backs, and I was in good shape. The first bad hill came immediately after lunch. Then after we finished the option and connected again with our main route we had one hill after another and at least 3 of them were bad, and the wind was in our face. I finished, but my right knee was VERY sore, and I gave up at the bottom of the dirt road up to Edson Hill Manor and got a lift in the van. I rode 47 miles.

On Tuesday 60 miles were scheduled and we were going to cross a mountain pass called Smuggler's Notch. It was described to us as having 12% grades in some places, hair pin turns on the switchbacks, and banked corners that would require us to climb the high side as we were coming around the corner. Matt said there would be a long 10% grade early in the ride that we could test ourselves on. I failed the test! I climbed a good portion of the hill, but when I came around a curve and saw that it continued, I decided to stop and walk but when I tried to unclip my right foot I was unsuccessful and fell over on my right side. Two cyclists who had just passed me heard me fall and came back to help. Caretha lifted my bike off of me and Peter helped me up. I was all right except for a skinned arm, but I needed some first aid. Our van was waiting at the top of the hill and Matt came down and cleaned my scrapes and bandaged them. I then got in the van and rode the rest of the way to Smuggler's Notch and up and over the pass. After seeing the road from the van, I was very glad I wasn't cycling it. The rest of the day was uneventful and I finished successfully. Just before I got on the Missiquoi Rail Trail in Enosburg I bought a delicious soft serve black raspberry ice cream cone.

one of the views from Edson Hill Manor

Sarah climbing up one of the milder sections of Smugglers Notch

one of the covered bridges we saw

Tom & Jim are obviously very tired so there must be a bad section before this gentler grade. I walked down from the top so I don't know what preceded this section. I do know that it all looked bad to me as I rode up in the van.

we only saw this bridge from a distance

one of many beautiful views we saw

Wednesday - Saturday

Wednesday was the optional hiking day, and 4 of us opted to hike. Matt went with us and drove us to the trailhead for the Jay's Peak Trail in the van. The other 6 cycled a shorter than usual--34.2 mile trip with Jay. The route included a short visit to Canada, which is what interested most of the cyclists.

When we got out of the van to start the hike, it started raining. It continued to rain all the time we were hiking and was still raining when we got back to the inn. The trail was not excessively steep, but it was very narrow with trees on both sides and full of boulders and often had a small stream of water running down the trail. At times the footing was very difficult as you had to climb up large boulders--my hiking poles were very useful. Naturally after all that work we couldn't see anything when we got to the top due to the weather.

Thursday was another 60-mile day, and it was a beautiful day to cycle, and I was feeling good. However, with one hill after another constantly I soon got tired and decided I wasn't having any fun so the next time I saw the van I told Jay I wanted to ride in the van. After lunch he asked if I wanted to ride and I said no I just wanted to take it easy and rest. So Thursday I only rode 17 miles.

The inn we are staying in Thursday and Friday night is bigger than the other two were. It has 11 cottages and has access to Caspian Lake which we can see from our windows. It is a large lake with very clear water and a shoreline of 8-9 miles.

Friday there was an optional 4-hour kayak trip on the Caspian Lake. The same 4 that went hiking went kayaking, and the others cycled. This time Jay went with us and Matt went with the cyclists, and we also had a guide from the company providing the kayaks. We paddled all the way around the lake and stopped at the public beach near town to eat the sandwiches we had brought. The kayaks were a little different from the ones I have been in before--there was no skirt covering the opening after you got in and there was no rudder controlled by your feet for steering. However these differences were minor--you still paddled them in the same way and it was still a lot of fun.

Saturday was a short day since we were leaving early in the afternoon. There was only 30 some miles and I was able to do them all and enjoyed them as I had cycled only 17 miles on Thursday and had kayaked on Friday. However when I got back to Stowe I stayed on the road instead of taking the recreation trail as I didn't like the narrow bridges on the trail, and I knew the trail would be busy on Saturday afternoon. When we got back to the inn there was a room for the men to shower in and one for the women to shower in. After showering, repacking the car, getting some ice for my cooler, and taking some pictures I left about 2:30 for the inn near Lake Placid, New York and the trip with Classic Adventures.

Caspain Lake and our kayak adventure

our kayaks are beached as we eat lunch

the buildings in the clearing are part of the B&B in which we are staying

on the left are Jay, Emily, Jim, me & Sarah

our last dinner together

Pam, Jay's wife, Jay, Sarah, Emily, Jim, someone who joined us just for the evening, James, Ellie, Peter, Caretha, Tom

a group picture the last morning

Caretha & Peter are riding on the wrong side of the road so Jay and I could get a better picture of the mountains and the barn

sign explaining Fisher Bridge

Fisher Bridge

me, Sarah, & Ellie saying goodbye

Classic Adventures

Lake Placid & The Adirondack Mountains

This tour started at The Warbeek on Upper Saranac Lake, and we stayed there 3 nights. There were 10 of us and 2 guides on this tour also.

On Sunday I rode 49 miles, and it was very enjoyable. The scenery was pretty, the roads good, the temperature almost perfect, there wasn't much traffic, and the hills were doable!

Monday we hiked. We were suppose to hike 10.5 miles round trip up McKenzie Mountain, but it had a lot of wind damage and Dan didn't think the trail would be safe so he substituted a 5.5 mile hike up Ampersand Mountain--named after Ampersand Creek which was given the name because of its curved course. The trails are rugged in the Adirondacks so I'm glad we did the shorter hike. Just like in Vermont we had to climb up large boulders a lot finding footholds and handholds wherever we could. Also the dirt was clay so when it was wet it was slippery especially when we were coming down. The views from the top were great. We could see the mountains; the upper, middle, and lower Saranac Lakes; the Saranac River connecting the lakes; and Ampersand Lake. The inn had made sack lunches for us, and they were super. Everyone else was faster than me so they went ahead with Amy and Dan hiked with me. After only two days, I knew I was going to like the Classic Adventures trip better than the Bike Vermont one--that's bad since it is more expensive but I guess you get what you pay for. Their equipment (van, trailer, and rental bikes) is better, and the guides are better.

The Wawbeek on Upper Saranac Lake

views of the Wawbeek from their website

views of Saranac Lake from the Wawbeek Inn

Dan took this picture of me & the mountains

more views of Saranac Lake

Upper, Middle, & Lower Saranac Lakes from Ampersand Mountain

Upper Saranac Lake

Saranac River

Ampersand Lake

me on the summit of Ampersand Mountain

views of Upper Saranac from the Inn again

a picture of 7 of us Tuesday morning at the Inn

Rick, Faith, me, Loren, Florence, Barbara, John

map showing all the lakes in the area

Tuesday we cycled from Wawbeek to the historic town of Saranac, and we stopped on the way at the Adirondack Visitor Interpretive Center to see the exhibits and learn about the ecological and geological history of the Adirondack Park. It was another good cycling day, and we stopped in Vermontville for a soft-serve ice cream cone--black raspberry twisted with vanilla.

Wednesday we went canoeing. We walked to the St. Regis Canoeing Shop from the hotel and put in on the Saranac River just across the street. There were 2 to a canoe and I was teamed with Dan--as he was an experienced canoer and I was a beginner. He got in the stern and guided and I got in front. We worked together well, but of course he provided more power than I did. We went downstream for 9-10 miles and there were some minor rapids but nothing bad. The main problem was submerged rocks--we had to watch for a "V" ripple in the water and then steer clear of it. We beached the canoes for lunch about 11 o'clock. They had a cooler that contained fixings for turkey, roast beef, or ham sandwiches; potato salad; apples and oranges; Pepperidge Farm cookies; and lemonade. When we reached the final take out point, the canoes were loaded onto a trailer then we got in the van and they drove us back to the Saranac train station. We took a scenic Adirondack train to Lake Placid where the Classic Adventures guides met us and drove us to the Mirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa which is ranked by the Conde Nast Readers as one of the top 30 resorts in North America and top 3 for service.

Thursday I rode 31 miles and at times there was one hill after another, and they weren't rollers. We stopped at John Brown's farm and saw his grave. We also stopped at the bobsled training track for the US Olympic team at Lake Placid, and we saw Whiteface Mountain and some of the ski runs.

On Friday we left by van around 9 o'clock to go back to the Warbeek to our cars. I drove part of the way home on Friday and finished the trip on Saturday.