10th August: Boonville to Long Lake
Odometer: 124 km, Start: 9.00am, Finish: 5.30pm, Avg: 19.5 km/h,
Weather: Overcast, sunny intervals PM, Temp: 18-24°C
Road Conditions: #28, mostly 2m shoulder, good surface, moderate traffic to Old Forge, less after that. Hilly. Good stops at Old Forge (44km) and Inlet (65km), then only a gas station at Blue Mountain Lake (107km). Ascent: 1200m/1000m.
I left Boonville and at first continued on my rollercoaster ride towards the Adirondack Mountains, but eventually reached a wooded plateau. I rode through the forest and noticed it was strangely quiet. No birdsong, not even the crickets that usually chirp incessantly around here. Not sure why? The country road I was on eventually followed the Moose River and then linked up with the main #28 road to Old Forge.
I arrived in Old Forge, a popular tourist town via a cycle route. It passed the old railway station, Thendara Station, which is now a tourist destination. (You can take scenic train rides from here).
I continued along the #28 which only occasionally provided glorious views of a number of lakes. First I passed by the imaginatively named 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th lakes. (Maybe there was a 1st-3rd as well, I don’t remember)? Raquette Lake provided the best scenery and the sun also came out at this point, which helped.
Next was Blue Mountain Lake which was busy with holiday makers but disappointingly didn’t have anywhere to eat except a small gas station. I was at 107km by this point and needed some food. I decided to push on to Long Lake the next town, but nearly regretted that when the road headed into the hills via a steep and hot climb. Luckily, it was too long and it was mostly downhill then to my destination.
It was a slightly frustrating day. The #28 didn’t quite have enough views to counterbalance the effort required to ride a bike along it. It was a hard day with relatively few open scenic points available from the roadside. (There were a lot of points for parking and walking to viewpoints). I’m on the #30 tomorrow for my second of two days in the Adirondacks. We’ll see if that brings better rewards from my effort…
2 comments:
Photography great
Views look pretty cool to me. Maybe you have been too spoilt - it's just another lake huh???? (haha)
Mx
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