October 1, 2025 - Queensbury, NY, to Ticonderoga, NY
End: Ticonderoga, NY
Miles: 50.7
Feet climbing per mile: 57
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/338523555
During the night I had cramps in both legs. With the cooler weather I tend to not drink enough water.
I thoroughly enjoyed starting the day by swimming in the hotel pool. The water was comfortably cool and not overloaded with chlorine.
After my swim I took advantage of the hotel's free breakfast and had a make-it-yourself waffle.
As I was about to depart the day's ride I discovered that the pressure in both of my tires had dropped to about 40 psi, down from 90 and 95 psi to which I inflated them Monday night. With my small pump I was unable to increase the pressure, and wondered whether there was a problem with the pump. I learned that the Walmart across from the hotel sold bikes, so I went there and used one of their floor pumps to increase the pressure to 90 psi, but the pressure quickly dropped. I had two spare tubes with me, but if I installed them I would no longer have any spare tubes. So I rode to Rick's Bike Shop about 3 miles from the Walmart. Keith installed two new tubes and noticed that my rear tire was missing a small patch of tread, so I had him install the spare tire I was carrying. Keith attempted to find the leaks in the faulty tubes but was unable to do so. I kept the tubes so that I could look for the leaks after I returned home.
Gregg Burdo, whom I met the previous day, had advised me to not take route 22 south from Ticonderoga on my return to Queensbury because of the big trucks. Nathan, Keith, and Randy at Rick's Bike Shop all thought that 22 would be safe to ride. Gregg Burdo had also told me there was a bike trail from Queensbury that would take me to Lake George. I revised my route to include that bike trail. It was beautiful!
At mile 12.2 I entered Beach Road at the south end of Lake George. I had a beautiful view of the lake but neglected to take a picture. Shortly after leaving Beach Road I was on Lake Shore Drive, which had substantial traffic and usually only a narrow shoulder. Furthermore because of all the resorts along the lake I never had a clear view of the lake. At mile 15.1 I stopped at Ray's Helova Deli and enjoyed a bowl of tomato basil soup.
At mile 23.7 I had a partial view of Lake George.
At mile 35.8 I had a clear view of Lake George. From about this point on the traffic was lighter and the shoulder was wider.
At mile 39.0 I stopped at the Silver Bay General Store to enjoy a beverage.
When I opened the door to the bathroom I was greeted by a singing fish.
At mile 44 I saw three deer which hid as soon as they saw me. If you look carefully you might be able to see one of them in the picture below.
The valley through which I rode as I approached Ticonderoga was gorgeous.
For dinner I had planned to walk a little more than a mile from my hotel to the Wind-Chill Factory. I'm glad the Wind-Chill Factory was on my route to my hotel because when I stopped there I discovered it had no indoor seating, which meant a change of my dinner plans.
There had been a headwind throughout the entire day, just as there had been the previous day, due to the two tropical storms in the Atlantic. I hoped the wind would continue out of the north for the next two days for my rides south.
Just before arriving at my motel I was greeted by the Liberty Monument.
I arrived at the Circle Court Motel at 5:40. After a shower, shave, and change of clothes I walked to the House of Pizza Restaurant where I had zucchini sticks followed by lasagna. The House of Pizza was the best Ticonderoga had to offer than night, basically a pizza joint oriented to take-out but with a lot of tables. On my walk to and from dinner I saw many businesses that had permanently closed. Ticonderoga looked like a dead or dying town.
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September 30, 2025 - Albany, NY, to Queensbury, NY
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