Northward Bound

Another winter has come and gone (this one quite good) and I cooked up another mini-tour. Like the CTXL, this one was inspired by (well actually borrowed very heavily from) a couple pretty awesome routes: the Eastern Divide and The Adirondack Trail Ride. I also wanted to involve a train. I’ve always been a train fan and Vermont is lucky enough to have some pretty good routes to choose from. Plus, I’ve never taken a bike on a train, so wanted to experience that. So after watching the weather and some last minute logistical shifts, I hopped the Ethan Allen in Vergennes!

Originally, I had planned to ride to Burlington from home and get on the train there. But Maddie needed to take the train to see her folks, and since I was already going on the train, we decided to drive to the station and I’d begin my route from there. It cut out a few miles on both ends, but they were familiar miles and this was all about new riding. Getting on the train was quite easy. I took most of the bags off of the bike and after a little wrestling with the bike rack (and realizing I didn’t need to use every strap and clamp on it), the bike was settled and my bags were stowed on the floor below. Maddie and I enjoyed a smooth ride for most of it, until I’d realized I’d forgotten a critical piece of gear: my helmet! Somehow that was left in the garage, but I did a little searching and luckily there was a bike shop in Glens Falls, about 7 miles into my ride. 

The train pulled into the Fort Edward station, a beautiful little station built in 1900 that until very recently house a bike shop, which would have been perfect for the helmet problem. But it does abut a lovely bike path that follows the course of the old Champlain Feeder Canal. Some of the water was pretty stagnant, but once I turned north, there was a series of old locks that were pretty active and fun to ride along. After a few zigs and zag through neighborhoods, across roads and behind industrial buildings both new and old, I made it to Grey Ghost Bicycles. They were very kind, hooking me up with a helmet and after a little chat about my route and giving them some advice on how best to get to the start of the VTXL (I suggested a one-way U-Haul rental) I was on my way.

I worked my way west through downtown Glens Falls, passing around the huge Finch Paper factory and continuing past the eponymous falls along the feeder canal. There was a maintenance crew hauling logs out of the canal, so this must be more actively used and there are certainly a lot of canal miles to be maintained (524 miles in all). After going through a nice park, I passed some established and growing suburbs, and was about to begin a steady climb, when I was distracted by a roadside bakery shed. These I just can’t pass up, so I stopped and got a couple of oatmeal creme cookies as a reward for later. The steady climb went on for a while, but it eventually led to quiet, dirt roads. It was the first time I really felt like I was doing a proper Adirondack ride. On the way down, I had some nice paved roads into Lake Luzerne. Back down on the level of the Hudson, I routed onto a slight detour to the mouth of the Sacandaga River to see (surprise, surprise) a cool bridge. This one is a lenticular truss bridge and has a really cool look to it: earning it the nickname of Hadley Bow Bridge. Almost right above it is an old railway bridge that actually hosts railbiking. It looks pretty fun! I made a quick food stop at the Luzerne Market and continued north, following the east bank of the Hudson. This section was flat and quiet and I happily discovered some camping that’s available north of where I turned off. I’ll certainly consider coming back here in the future. From here, the route climbed along some quieter roads with nice streams flowing beside (my favorite road type) and I went above the sadly shuttered Hickory ski area and dropped into Warrensburg. In town, I passed a crew of kids on bikes and one shouted “Is that all water?!?” Confused at first, I realized he meant my bags, so I shouted back “It’s camping gear!” I think they kind of got it, and were maybe impressed? After another climb and some more Hudson river skirting, I finally wound my way along Mill Creek to the Llama House ADK, my accommodations for the evening.

My host, Dave, had actually driven by me a couple miles from his place on his way home from mountain biking. He knew I was coming in by bike, so he guessed it was me and pulled over to see if I needed anything. I told him I was all set and that I was looking forward to settling in. Dave’s house is basically a hostel, with a couple private rooms, a bunk room and a comfy kitchen, living room and beyond. He’s a raft guide and does this to earn some extra dough and connect with folks. I was the only one there, so we chatted a ton, he fed me a hot dog and some corn and I petted his amazingly well behaved and cute dog Wilson. I eventually settled in, happy to have a roof over my head, since the rain really kicked in after sunset. The next morning, he had to go work on the river, but I was able to take my time, getting more quality time with Wilson, but eventually I headed out. My first target was tiny Riparius with a little station called Riverside, which is actually the HQ of the railbiking company I mentioned earlier and had active passenger service until 1962. From there, I found my way onto River Road which paralleled both the Hudson and the tracks, and it had some nice Class 4-ish qualities to it. There were also a TON of red eft newts along the way. Eventually I popped into the town of North Creek in the shadow of Gore Mountain. It certainly felt like a ski town, but Dave had recommended the breakfast burrito from a place Izzy’s. With a local recommendation and the prospect of a second breakfast, I couldn’t pass up the stop and it was certainly worth it. I continued onto some quiet, but admittedly uninteresting paved roads as I made my way over to Schroon Lake. One place of note which I didn’t realize until afterwards was I passed right by the home of Hornbeck Boats. These are some of the most insanely light (as little as 15 lbs), most aesthetically pleasing boats you’ll ever see. I’m especially covetous of their solo boats: truly remarkable.

It was lunchtime by the time I made it to Schroon, so after a little assessment of the restaurant options via google and window snooping, I settled on Flannigan’s Pub. I had certainly worked up an appetite, but I was also factoring in watching the second half of the UEFA Champion’s League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. I bellied up to the bar and luckily no one was too attached to the college baseball they were showing, so I was able to enjoy the game. It wasn’t as beautiful and frenetic as the first leg of PSG’s semi against Bayern, but it was entertaining. The three bikers (the vroom vroom kind) who sat down next to me and chatted up me and the bartender were pretty entertaining as well. Sadly, the game went to extra time (and eventually penalty kicks)  and I was only half way done with the route, so I had to push on and miss it. But I’m just glad Arsenal didn’t win! 

I pedaled north on Route 9, battling some headwinds, but happy for the decent shoulder. I passed a busy brewery as well as Frontier Town, a state campground and day use area which used to be a theme park, but shuttered in 1998 and now just exists in liminal space glory, and is slowly decaying. Eventually, I turned to climb up Johnson Pond Road which was much quieter and eventually petered out into a dirt track. There were lovely ponds and a few settlements scattered throughout this most remote section of the route. Eventually, I could tell I was getting closer to the lake: more farms and more vistas. I cruised down Edgemont Road, all the way to my lakeside accommodations at the Bridgeview Harbour Marina in beautiful (but admittedly struggling) Port Henry, NY. The place used to be a hotbed of iron ore mining and processing, but I’d mainly thought of it as a town to get through to go to the rest of the Adirondacks. So I was happy to be able to walk around and see it at a slower pace. There are certainly empty storefronts and grass-filled parking lots, but there are also stunning buildings and smiling people. I almost opted for one of the few restaurants in town: The Golden Palace, but figured I’d lighten my load and eat what I’d brought. In fact, I spent a good 5 minutes watching a hummingbird feed on a honeysuckle bush, not 5 feet away from me while I waited for my dinner to dehydrate and the moon to rise over the Crown Point Bridge. A truly lovely scene.

After a very nice night’s rest, I packed up over a basic oatmeal and coffee breakfast, to head up the hill to Stewart’s for a second breakfast. Stewart’s Shops are a chain of convenience stores that until recently were somewhat specific to the Upstate New York region. I had to fuel up for the 9-mile climb that was kicking the day off. The roads on the coastal route have nice lake views but TERRIBLE shoulders, so I went up into the hills to avoid them. Plus I got a some Minimum Maintenance Roads (the NY equivalent of Class 4) and learned that Dodgers World Series MVP pitcher Johnny Podres was born in town, thanks to a mural. I had a 7 mile decent after that climb which was super fun, but I got way chilled. It was still spring after all. After a zip through Westport, I cruised north passing my final destination on the other side of the lake. The route had some nice roads and I eventually stopped at River and Rails Market and Deli, a tiny little storefront that had sparse shelves, but a pretty solid deli and baked good selection. I sat inside for a quick snack and drink, but hustled on to try to make it to the ferry. Before making it there though, I passed a green burial site and pretty sick-looking day care center/farm, but eventually rolled into town and up to the ferry dock. Getting aboard was quite easy and I enjoyed being able to “cheat” and get some miles under me that didn’t require pedaling. I had a few short, but lovely conversations with people some of whom were curious about my ride and I really enjoyed the scenery. Once into Vermont, I was quite familiar with most of the roads and it was mainly dirt, going south. It was good to be back in my home state and I admittedly was happy I only had to go to the train station, not all the way back to my house. After passing some beautiful barns, including an octagonal one I’d somehow never seen, I made it back to the train station and the car. I packed up and headed to the Old Brick Store in Charlotte for a delicious late lunch.

The nice thing about this route, is you can start in Vergennes, Burlington, even Middlebury and change it to suit your needs and start-point. Overall it was a nice ride and though I did borrow heavily for it, it was still one I’d thought about a lot this winter and was happy to get out. See the full route and the daily rides via the links below. On to more adventures!

Day 1: https://www.strava.com/activities/18707846094

Day 2: https://www.strava.com/activities/18720870499

Day 3: https://www.strava.com/activities/18732552966

Full route (thanks to Vermont Bikepackers for hosting it!): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/55304069?privacy_code=ahvp98CQ1kvqFeLXdkN6qDntTpEIcSBQ