Day 1: Glen Falls to Ticonderoga NY
Surprise – much like OMBT 97, we were the Boyz-n-the-Bubble ™ - cloudy skies but dry as a bone. Breakfast at the Silo restaurant next to the Econolodge and we were ready to roll. Chris had the Navy Swabbies hearty breakfast. After a short drive to the airport, the bikes were unloaded and we were on our way.
The first day’s plan was 55 miles from Glens Falls to Ticonderoga, NY via Whitehall NY. Once we arrived in Whitehall we would have a choice of taking the Vermont route (scenic, lower traffic but about 8 miles of unpaved roads) or the NY side (the opposite, also missing out on Orwell, VT.) The route to Whitehall was Route 4 all the way, which is a great road for cycling: good shoulders, gentle grades, nice downhills.
Twenty five miles later in Whitehall, we cycled over to the Skenesborough Naval Museum, which wasn’t yet open for the season. However, some retirees were walking along the canal and filled us in on the history of the area. Whitehall is your typical town that began to die as cheap non-union labor and cheap trucking spelled the death knell for the various mills and canals in the area. We had a beautiful view of the Skenes mansion up on a hill overlooking the town, and enjoyed the sound of church bells ringing in noon.
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As it had rained heavily over night and was still threatening to rain, we decided to take the NY route to Ticonderoga to avoid the unpaved roads in VT. It was another 25 miles to Ticonderoga, pretty much all on Route 22. The road was in good condition, with good shoulders, and traffic was pretty light. This was a good thing, as the route included numerous steep climbs, including the final mile long climb up Dresden Mountain. The climb was actually about 1.3 miles at a 6% grade but checking the DeLorme Topo software it appears that the last mile was actually a 7% grade with the peak at 570 feet.
Chris reached the top first and climbed up a big rock to enjoy the view of John slogging away in his granny gear arriving last. The hill gods punished Chris by causing him to leave his water bottle behind. Rick, jealous of Chris’ lightened load, removed the reflective tape on his panniers and switched to titanium zippers.
After a nice downhill we arrived at the Putnam grocery, which didn’t have a very exciting array of food. We did learn that "Michigans" were spicy hot dogs died red – yum, yum. We stocked up on liquids and took the alternate route along Lake Shore Road. This involved many short sharp ups and downs but had nice views of the southern end of the lake and Fort Ticonderoga.
Rather than stay on Rt. 22 across the top of Ticonderoga, we cut through the town on Montcalm Street and were rewarded by a few miles of sharp climbs in traffic. After 52 miles in the saddle we were getting a little grumpy, but we found the Super 8 motel at the northern edge of town and hit a nearby Subway for lunch.
Our plan was to walk or cycle to Fort Ticonderoga (about 4 miles) to get dosed with history, but as soon as we sat down in Subway it started to rain. We tried calling a few taxi services in town but all of them felt that driving people around was beneath them. We ended up sinking to a new low and renting a mini-van till the next morning and driving to the Fort. We later told our wives we rented a Porsche to drive to a strip club.
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Fort Ticonderoga is a very interesting place, well restored and pointing out once again how inefficient we used to be at killing each other. A short walk to view the LaChute falls (and companion hydro-electric power plant) and a great dinner north of town at the Schoolhouse restaurant closed out the day and we were off to sleep.
Today's ride: 55 miles (89 km)
Total: 55 miles (89 km)
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