We got an early start out of Auburn, IN on Tuesday and picked up US 6 a few miles north of town. I used to ride this road all the time from Cleveland to Chicago and back. There was a light rain in the morning, then gradual clearing in the afternoon. There was little traffic, and what there was moved along as fast as we wanted to go. I'd warned Linda that we'd be coming through, and she invited us to stop for lunch, which we did. I also got to see Kristen and Mariko, who is teething and not in the best of moods, but managed a few smiles, which I think I caught with my camera.
It was beginning to cloud up as we left Linda and Peter's house, but gradually cleared again and became a very nice afternoon. We rode the rest of the way through Ohio, across the narrow, northern part of PA, and into NY -- so that's four states for the day. We exited just before the NY Thruway onto state road 3, which goes directly east across NY.
The next morning we continued on 3 until it joined US 20, and stayed on that until afternoon, when we went northeast through Adirondack park on state road 8. US 20 was pleasant, but somewhat slow, with small towns every 10 or 15 miles. The towns showed signs of previous prosperity, with impressive stone churches, large brick houses, and stately public buildings, but many of the towns looked a bit run down. The ride through the park was good with lots of trees, little commercial activity, and sweeping curves and hills. We ran into a problem when we looked for a motel at the eastern end of the park - racing season at Saratoga was on, and the local motels were all booked. We rode south into Glens Falls, NY and found the Crestview Motel, which was a dump, but serviceable for our needs, although without Wi-Fi.
The next morning we were on the road before 7 AM and rode
for an hour to Rutland, VT, where we stopped for breakfast. On the road
again on state route 4 we passed through one darling little town after
another until we were thoroughly sick of them - the first couple were
cute, but after about a half dozen in the space of 20 miles I was ready
for an Interstate. We finally did get on the Interstate heading north,
and John dropped off after a few miles to head east to Portland, ME
where he was meeting his wife, Celia, who was flying in from San
Francisco. He's having tires put on his bike in Falmouth, ME today
(Friday) and they will drive/ride up to camp this afternoon.
Dan and I exited at route 2 to St. Johnsbury, and rode
across New Hampshire and into Maine (another four state day, although in
New England that's not much of an accomplishment). We stopped in
Bethel, ME to visit Adele, a classmate from Northwestern with whom I've
kept in touch over the years. She has a great old house and a large,
separate studio that houses the many looms for her weaving. Like me,
Adele was also Dan's student at NU, although she hadn't seen him since
1967 or so. Her sons and grandchildren live fairly close by, and
she winters in Lincoln, MA, where she has a condo. After lunch with
Adele, and catching up on the last few years since we'd last seen each
other, we left at about 5:30 - plenty of time to get to camp before
dark. Unfortunately, I had it in my head that Alden Camps was located on
route 11 (it's actually on route 137) and I very carefully wrote
directions down for route 11 from route 2. We stopped in Belgrade Lakes
for something to eat, and when we left it was getting dark and beginning
to rain. Not a problem, I thought, because camp is just up the road on
the left. It began raining harder, and we rode into Oakland having seen
no sign of camp. I thought that I must have blown right by it, so we
turned around and headed south again. By this time the rain had become a
downpour, it was full dark, and it was all I could do to follow the
center of the road, which being freshly paved didn't even have painted
lines. I finally called Nikki at camp, who put me straight on which road
camp is on. We rode back into Oakland, got on route 137, and found camp
with no more problems.
Nikki was waiting for us and she got us into the Beehive
cabin. This morning it was still raining when I took my bike to a
motorcycle shop in Oakland for an oil change and fresh tires. The tires I
ordered won't arrive until late this afternoon, so the bike won't be
ready until tomorrow, which is fine with me - the rain shows no sign of
abating anytime soon and we aren't leaving until Sunday. John is not
going to have a pleasant ride from Falmouth this afternoon.
Right now we are hanging around camp, reading, catching
up on business, and waiting for mealtime. Since I was here last the
dining room has been remodeled - the attic above it was taken out and
the ceiling was raised - it has transformed the look and feel of the
room. |
| Kristen and Mariko in Linda and Peter's patio. |
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