Strong Tony from Holland

I have ridden many days with Tony from Holland and he has become a very strong biker considering he has the heaviest bicycle on the tour. Tony rides a lot in the Netherlands where he reports bicycle theft is a huge issue. His bike has a lock that is built into the bicycle and makes it impossible to ride even if stolen! Tony was an accountant and now he and his wife spend time vacationing all over the world. I would say he is probably the most up-beat and positive person I have met this year on the tour across the country.

Ausable Chasm in NY

Our lunch stop was right next to this huge gorge in New York. The diagram looks a lot like what we have in Ohio just near Yellow Springs in Clifton, Ohio. Here the gorge is privately owned and the cost to walk around the 3 miles is 16 dollars. None of us took the tour but we did pause at the highway bridge to take photos! This is only 3 miles from the Port Kent in New York which was our entrance to the ferry to Burlington, Vermont. Weather at time of boarding was 82 degrees, sunny and very windy. The Lake Champlain that we crossed had white caps during our 45 minute excursion.

Elk in New York

Today we ate breakfast at an old hotel in Lake Placid and left under cloud cover around 7:45 a.m. Our ride was short today (46 miles) but we still climbed 2,007 feet and rode in rain for about 45 minutes. Climbing one small grade of road we saw this heard of elk behind a tall fence. They all had their noses in the air because it was thundering in the distance. We figured they sensed rain and we rode off but the rain caught us anyway. Was is so interesting in the mountains is the fact that the rain comes ands goes. Just an hour later we were drying out our shoes and socks at the lunch stop!

Multiple Homes for Layover

In the foreground is my tent for the Saturday evening lodging but on Sunday, today, with a weather forecast of 60% showers we have decided to relocate our bedding to the pavilion area in the background of the photo. One side of the pavilion has glass doors and the other side next to the horse arena is open. We have placed our mattresses and sleeping bags on the wooden floor and used the picnic tables to place our supplies. I am typing this blog from a table next to my sleeping bag and unlike most places we visit, this location has free WiFi that allows me to send out information on the trip. Tonight we head to town (2,5 miles) for dinner and our orientation for the next and final week from here to Gloucester, Massachusetts! Our final 450 miles await us but first we have a few tall mountains to climb! Bikes have been cleaned and lubed for the final trip.

Site of 1980 Olympics

To the left is the Olympic flame from tjhe 1980 winter Olympics held here in Lake Placid. Our tent site is only 200 yards away and the flame is lit at night with just a small electric bulb. Of course, Olympic flames are now much more elaborate than the ones used 30 years ago. To the right are the two ski jumps that we can see from our camp area. They are like huge creatures reaching into the sky. Having never experienced skiing, I cannot imagine going off one of those towers and being airborne! Yet, some people may not comprehend riding a bi9cycle down a mountain side like we do at 50 miles an hour!

Mountain Ranges Coming into View

This is the view from my bicycle as I approached the final descent into Lake Placid on Saturday, August 14. In the past two days we have traveled 140 miles and climbed over 6,600 feet but we know that more climbing will be necessary as we leave this area and head through Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and finally Massachusetts to our final destination. This week we pedaled 443 miles from Niagara, Canada to Lake Placid, New York! I think nearly every Coaster has lost considerable weight even though each of us continues to eat large amounts of food!

I am down at least 15 pounds from our first day of cycling.

Beautiful Ports, Inlets and Habors

One right after another we travel through beautiful ports, inlets, marinas and harbors as we travel across a great section of New York State just above the Finger Lakes Region. On day four of the 8th week we will turn in land from Watertown and head to Star Lake as we begin our climb to Lake Placid, NY and our layover from Saturday night until Monday morning. Both excitement and let down are being felt as the Coasters realize the great adventure is coming to an end in just over one week!