May 19, 2021
Day 14: Long Lake, NY to Old Forge, NY
Breakfast Pizza, Lakes and More Lakes
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Climbing today was about 2,300 feet, maybe. Doc's Garmin gives a lesser value but Strava gives a larger value than RWGPS. So who really knows, and who cares about a couple hundred feet difference anyway? But let's start at the beginning.
The alarm was set for 06:00 but we were both up ahead of it. We had breakfast at the local convenience store in Long Lake and enjoyed a slice of breakfast pizza. Breakfast pizza? What will they think of next, a dinner omelet? It was very good, BTW, and I hope to repeat the experience. We took a little extra time at breakfast to plan ahead and try to forecast IF there would be any place ahead where we might grab lunch - after yesterday's picnic with the black flies having a picnic of us we were hoping to avoid that experience today.
Today was going to be a shorter day with less climbing than yesterday - it needed to be cause we couldn't have handled a repeat of yesterday, at least not for a while. It was a beautiful day riding alongside numerous mountain lakes with clear still water. We rode beside Long Lake for several miles as we were leaving town, then went past South Pond, Mud Pond, Blue Mountain Lake, Raquette Lake, and then the 8 lakes that comprise the Fulton Chain Of Lakes.
Approaching the town of Inlet, we stopped and asked some road construction workers if there was anyplace to eat in town, and they directed us to a small grocery. The grocery deli made sandwiches, and they were pretty fantastic. We ate outside on a streetside bench in the shade and mercifully we were not attacked by black flies. After lunch we had 12 miles to reach Old Forge, and it took longer than it probably should have cause we were still beat up from yesterday and stopped often. We didn't stop for long though, cause the black flies swarmed when we did. I bought some insect repellent with 25% DEET, and that helps but it doesn't provide complete protection from the really crazy bugs.
We rolled into Old Forge a bit early, and we needed the extra time to prepare for tomorrow - we expect a 63 mile day with 3,000+ feet of climbing tomorrow, and that will be a handful for us right now. The proprietors at the Pine Knoll Lodge were extremely kind and helpful and helped us plan for where we could eat along the way tomorrow. BTW, Vicki and Joe said they would never turn a touring cyclist looking for a place to camp - this could be very beneficial to know for the folks headed from west to east this year on the Northern Tier route, because this area fills up during the tourist season.
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It appears that the Canadian border will remain closed for a bit longer. So we will not be able to follow the ACA routing into Canada near the Niagara Falls area. We will miss seeing the falls, and will take a detour provided to us by ACA wherein we head SSW from Lockport. That's a bummer, but it is what it is.
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Special Note; Eastbound Cyclists Take Heed. If you are riding the Northern Tier from west to east (I know of 2 groups, and there are certainly others) you will likely arrive in this area in the height of tourist season. Tourist season is always busy, but this year is special because of the pent-up demand from the travel restrictions of the pandemic last year. Plan ahead! Some motels are booked up for the entire summer already - we know this because the owners have told us so. It's difficult to forecast your arrival when traveling by bike, but you really need to do as much advance detailed planning as you can. The roads are going to become quite crowded, and bicycle traveling will not be as pleasant as it has been for us. This information comes from talking to some road contractors who say they are rushing to get their work done before the roads become choked with tourists.
What I feel pretty certain about is that in the New York Adirondacks, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and all along the coast of Maine, it's going to be much more challenging to get lodging this summer when traveling by bicycle. And there's going to be a lot more traffic. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, but now you are forewarned. On the other hand, you will find every restaurant and store open for business, so you won't have the same challenges we have had. [End Special Note]
Tomorrow will be another challenging day for us. We are on a pre-set schedule through Sunday, so we must complete each day as planned to arrive at our lodging. Some of the lodging was very hard to get, so we really need to keep to our schedule. We are enjoying the ride through some very beautiful country. There's so much more I want to say, but the last few nights it seems I'm always in a rush just to get the journal entry complete. But hey, I know some of you want to see it, and who loves you if I don't? Wherever you are I hope you are safe and away from the black flies. Good night all...
(if you haven't had enough, another totally amateurish video follows for your viewing amusement)
Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 587 miles (945 km)
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