Day 133 Bolton Landing to Saratoga Springs, New York: Cruising on In

September 10, 2011

When entering an area from one end by bike (or any other way, I suppose) you have no idea what lies ahead and what the place may really be like. On the north side of Tongue Mountain we looked hard for a place to stay, but there was little and what there was was not only weekly/monthly cottages but was also closed for the season. Once over the mountain and down into Bolton in the dark, we were really glad to finally find the place that we did. Today, though, in the bright light we could see that motels and resorts were cheek by jowl all along the road, for miles and miles. None had illuminated signs, so in the night they would have been (and were) mysterious.

There are motels one after another for tens of kilometers from Bolton Landing down to Lake George and on to Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs. The Garmin only knew of a few of them.

We had only gone a short way when I noticed that the now familiar noise from Dodie's worn out BoB axle was louder and different. Indeed, she now had a flat in the BoB tire. This tire had an "official" Slime branded tube. Yeah right. It was still flat.

Add Slime to the list of equipment that does not work.

The tourist wonderland that this area is would soon offer an unlimited choice of restaurants, but this one came up early and the sign was most enticing.

Working on only 1 1/2 slices of pizza from last night, this sign seemed inviting.

Of course, a "dare" is not a guarantee, and we knew when we saw the three rather skimpy pancakes and no toast that this was not a flat out "lumberjack" or "cyclist" effort. On the other hand, it was about three times what we would eat at home.

Things began to really hop as we entered the town of Lake George. The place was packed with people, and many had set up folding chairs by the roadside. Of course we would like to think this was to watch us roll by, but in fact a really major classic and custom car expo was in town.

It was fun, but a little dangerous as the well stuffed drivers cruised their unmufflered muscle cars up and down the main street, pushing lesser vehicles (and cyclists) aside as they burned rubber.

We were reminded of Gatlinburg, Tennessee where two years ago we were minding our business rolling down a quiet road when we suddenly found we had entered a madhouse of tourists and attractions.

After being on our own in the wilderness yesterday, we were now in playland.

We actually avoided the luxury $2 items and bought a pile at 99 cents.

You can find this same chair in other blogs. It makes us look like kids. Steve and Dodie in a 99 cent tee shirt store do run around like kids.

Martha's "famous" ice cream store near Six Flags

Note the upside down car. No way we would be caught on this (bike with BoB on a downhill is exciting enough).

The madhouse section of Lake George and Glen's Falls did transform into other classic and recognizable sectors, but first we came upon the following and we include it for Glenn (okdmanonabike) who ended each entry of his blog with:

A bike shop popped up, and we thought, may as well go for it:

Cone wrenches, plus a refreshing cup of grease. A bit late to be rebuilding wheels, but what the hell.

Now came the various recognizable sectors:

Homes gave way to historic downtown in Glens Falls

Jeremy has asked in an email whether the 9/11 anniversary had much of a presence here, since this is New York. The answer is that it is not jumping out at us, as July 4 did, but it is there:

Near Saratoga Springs, firefighters remember 9/11. It's one day from the 10th anniversary

We are so close to Schenectady that we actually have to cool our jets a bit. So we decided to hang out here in Saratoga Springs, which is a very pretty town.

Saratoga Springs features many outdoor cafes and nice boutiques.

We walked out in the evening and had a little look at the place. The stores and restaurants are definitely upscale, though not quite Gucci, Ralph Lauren, etc. Here are a few things we spotted in windows:

Lots of stuff like this in the store windows

This index of what lies down one side street gives a further idea of what Saratoga Springs is about. It is a spa/tourist town, and set at a different level from the roller coasters and pirate golf farther North.

Anyway, "Life is Good"

Today's ride: 58 km (36 miles)
Total: 7,336 km (4,556 miles)

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