Local ride to Paul Smiths NY
Sat Apr 15, 2023
(~666 miles)

After skipping out on the Jacksonville IBA meet in March this year (conserving PTO), I’ve got just a few relaxed day-rides to my credit for the year so far. With the Iron Butt Rally coming up in June (faster than you might think) and several weekends already spoken for in between now and then, I need to take advantage of any opportunity to build miles in the saddle this spring. In the IBA group on Facebook, I spotted an RTE event held in the Adirondacks of New York hosted by Ron Perlik. I figured that would make a great excuse to get several hundred miles in, with some good breakfast and fresh syrup promised as a reward.

From the event posting:

Imagine a delicious breakfast of steaming pancakes or waffles topped with fresh maple syrup tapped from trees just yards away. Dine beneath the maples, rain or shine, on Saturday, April 15 between 9 and 11:00 AM at the sugar bush (maple grove) of Paul Smith’s College near Saranac Lake, NY.

I RSVP’d to Ron via email on the 10th and he sent back some of the details. It was likely to be a small gathering, but apparently a couple of my New England riding friends would be making an appearance, so at least I’d know a few folks. With a $5 donation at the gate, and unseasonably warm temperatures forecast for upstate New York, there didn’t seem like a better way to spend an early spring Saturday!

Paul Smith College is a small school located in the northern reaches of the Adirondacks region, apparently specializing in programs related to forestry, natural resources management, and conservation. To get there in time for the breakfast, I’d be needing an early start. On Friday evening however, I discovered to my dismay that my rear tire was completely flat. After some consternation and careful re-inflation, I’ll be damned if I could find a source for the missing air. I overinflated that sucker and decided to make the go/no-go call in the wee hours after I awoke and was ready to hit the road.

As luck would have it, when I stumbled down to the garage around 02:30 the tire remained fully inflated, so I decided the mission was a go. After a cup of joe and a wake-up shower, I was headed out the driveway around 03:15 rocking my heated liner and lobster gloves. It was 52F, not bad at all, but feeling chilly after yesterday’s 95F temperatures!

After fueling up at a 24-hour station on route 85, I hit the Mass Turnpike for an easy jaunt west to New York. I checked the tire pressure when I stopped for nature breaks, but everything was holding steady. Onward! Circling the Albany and Schenectady areas, I departed from the interstate system near Rotterdam. Right away, I discovered that I’d picked out some fun twisty local roads purely by chance, setting a good mood for the rest of the morning. I hooked up with NY 147 north and jogged over to Fish House Road, towards the vast forests and great roads of the Adirondack Park region.

Day was dawning as I crossed the park boundary, and I had to pull a uey for a photo op by North Frenchman Creek. All was quiet (of course it was, I had earplugs in!) and peaceful as the early light began to tickle a light mist out of the cold landscape around me.

Very shortly, I was zooming along the shoreline of Great Sacandaga Lake, with the sky getting brighter and starting to see some small mountain peaks off in the distance.

On the far end of the lake, I picked up the main byway, NY 30, for the long blast north into the heart of the ‘dacks. As I started gaining some elevation, the temperature dropped accordingly down into the low 40s, though my gear kept me fairly toasty. I pulled into a wayside along the Sacandaga River for a quick break to put my heavier gloves back on,

Walking over to gaze at the river, I mused at the raging current for a bit. I had never been up here this early in the season, and the river was full from winter melt off. I felt gratitude for the chance to visit this region in mid-April on two wheels, on what I was sure would end up being a warm and pleasant day (please, any time now!). 😅

The view of Lake Pleasant in Speculator is always a worthwhile stop, but this morning in particular it was breathtaking. Misting ice partially covering most of the water, with distant mountains and close evergreens still finding enough open water to reflect their images. This was one of Those Moments, and I enjoyed a few minutes roadside to breathe the crisp air and take it all in. Stunning.

On the way out of town I stopped for a snap of Pig Rock, and I had the whole road to myself.

I continued north on 30 and began catching glimpses of Indian lake by the road and through the trees. It called to me, so I took time for a short photo detour, finding a decent vantage point from a side road to capture the mystical fogbank steaming off the lake ice by the early morning sun that still hung low on the horizon. Just gorgeous. If this isn’t a maple syrup kind of morning, I’m not sure what is.

Hoss’ Country Store demanded a photo as I passed through the sleeping town of Long Lake, but I didn’t stop to see if they were open. I was acutely aware of the delay caused from all the photo stops, and knew I needed to roll rubber to get to my waiting breakfast on time. However, the public restrooms on Long Lake were open and provided a welcome quick stop right by the roadside.

I passed on through the familiar mountain towns of Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, drinking in the familiar scenery and still mostly empty roads as I curved around lake after lake and pond after pond. Finally reaching the Paul Smiths campus on the shore of Lower St. Regis Lake, I followed the GPS onto route 86 and then up the well-graded gravel of White Pine Road. There were dozens of cars parked along the roadside here, with families walking up the road in the direction I was headed. I hadn’t realized what a popular local event this apparently was.

Arriving at a pop-up canopy at the main entrance to the sugaring facilities of the school, I found a convenient spot to park right there next to another rider dismounting from a Suzuki V-Strom. He introduced himself as Bob from Canton NY, and he was also here for the RTE. I also spotted a familiar face in Dave “C-dog” Riley paying his admission, though I noticed he was dressed in civvies today – an odd sight! I wondered where he’d parked his Wing.

 

The nice lady at the table took my $10 (I didn’t argue the price, still a bargain for a meal) and pointed me off up a gravel and sawdust strewn trail. She said I could wait for one of the horse wagons or just hike on up. I elected to stretch my legs, as it was only about a third of a mile or so, and a good way to unwind and circulate the blood after the long cold ride of the morning.

After arriving at the main dining tents area, I said hello to Dave and his wife, and introduced myself to Ron, our host, though I believe we’d crossed paths at a Mason-Dixon rally or two. However, the meal line was pretty long, and I wanted to get a place before it grew even more.

The line ended up being around an hour long, slowly queueing hungry visitors towards the small sugaring shack. Along the way, the college was selling their syrup and maple candies, as well as spinning up free maple-flavored cotton candy for attendees. I made a note to go back for both after getting my food!

 

 

Once inside the shack, we were treated to close-up inspections of the brightly polished steel equipment used for harvesting sap and producing maple syrup. This mini-festival day seems to be a celebration of the school’s efforts for maple syrup production over the winter and early spring. Apparently it had been a banner year for syrup.

Finally reaching the small room where the buffet trays were laid out, I piled some eggs, pancakes, and the last of the current bacon batch onto my plate and doused it all with fresh syrup. I returned to the dining tent area and sat with C-dog and his lovely wife Nancy, grabbing some coffee they had available in big urns nearby. I thoroughly enjoyed my well-earned breakfast while getting to hear some good stories about this RTE’s history, as well as about various  characters and the sordid past of the northeast LD rally scene. 😃

Apparently, the weather is usually much much worse around here for the sugaring festival, so C-Dog hadn’t even ridden his bike this time, electing to do the four-wheel tourist thing with his bride. You KNOW it must have been pretty bad if that guy’s not on two wheels! He and a few others have been coming here for several years.

Beside Ron and my eating companions, there was Bob, whom I’d parked next to, and Randy who’d ridden a scooter to get here. Jim Abbott was also due to arrive, but running a bit later than expected.

I purchased an event t-shirt from Ron and chatted with him for a while about the history behind this RTE he’s been holding in tandem with the college’s festival for several years now. Though living in Virginia now, Ron is an alum of Paul Smiths and as most of the day’s fundraising proceeds are collected to support the school, he decided to hold this RTE each year with the donation money being given in memory of a PS grad and motorcyclist named Christoffer Carstanjen who had died on Flight 175 hitting the World Trade Center. Chris had been traveling on his way to ride the PCH in California that day. A nice way to keep a fellow rider’s memory and name alive, while feeding a few more riders.

At one point I went for some more coffee and got pulled into a conversation with an older alum who was staffing the event. She wanted to give me a complete history of how horses were (and still are) used to haul logs from working wood lots. Apparently the practice causes a lot less damage to the plots of land and is more sustainable. Weird convo, but interesting!

Jim finally did arrive and managed to snag a bit of food before the meal line shut down. I purchased a nice bottle of Robust grade syrup (I like the strong stuff) along with a free bag of the cotton candy to bring home to Charlotte. We got a couple photos of our little group under the tent before things finally ended and we all drifted off on our separate ways.

Jim and I decided to ride together towards home this afternoon, since I’d be swinging his way through New Hampshire. I also mentioned a stop for pie along the way, so not too sure what his real motive was in joining me. 🤔 We returned to our STs and, packed away our goodies, and saddled up. It was just past  noon as we maneuvered our way back out the gravel of White Pine Road, briefly held up by one of the horse wagons clip-clopping with a load of people back to campus, where there must be more parking.

We took 86 down into Saranac Lake and stopped to fuel up. With aux tanks mounted, we’d have no trouble reaching home on one fill. Continuing to the east through Lake Placid, the scenery on this now quite warm day was as stunning as ever and the roads smooth and quick. I wanted to stop a couple times for photos, but knew the hard-charger on my tail wouldn’t want to sit still for any flower-sniffing. 🌼🗻

Taking NY 73 southeast, we finally emerged at I-87, but passed right on by that big slab. It was time to get busy loving the curves on the incomparable Tracy Road, eight miles of uninterrupted riding bliss. There was still a bit of sand in the corners, one of which gave me a particular jolt when my rear tire did a little jig, so I took things a bit easier after that! Reaching the intersection in Moriah, we stopped for a quick high five and photo op at the street sign. How I’ve missed the ‘dacks!

We followed White Church and Vineyard Roads south and skirted around Ticonderoga, enjoying fairly empty roads, but making good use of passing zones when needed. On NY 22, we made the run down between Lake George and Lake Champlain, finally crossing the state line into Vermont at Granville.  Following the sweepers of VT 30 down to US 7, we traversed the Green Mountains ridge via VT 11 through Peru. We continued on 11 east to the little town of Chester, pulling in to the Southern Pie Cafe for some afternoon refreshment and a welcome break from almost 3 straight hours in the saddle.

I managed to snag the last slice they had of the sour cream apple pie I’d read about in their reviews. Jim settled for a piece of coconut chess pie. The slices were small, but delicious and went down good with a hot latte. We sat in a big picture window alcove in the front of the historic shop space and watched the light traffic and goings on of the small Vermont village.

We crossed the Connecticut River at Bellows Falls and enjoyed some nice riding through Walpole on Valley Road to 12A. We parted ways near Keene, as Jim had to continue further east to get home, while I still had about a couple hours left to get south. I followed familiar routes 32 and 68 to MA 2, the 117 crossover through Bolton, and then 495 all the way home. It had been one of those perfect long riding days, with amazing scenery, great food, and fun company. No better way to wrap it up than with a really tasty limited batch IPA, upon arriving home.