In the August edition of the Adirondack Gearzette, a monthly newsletter presented by BikeADK. Doug Haney of Bike Adirondacks offered a detailed recap of this year’s Weekender at Paul Smith’s College, a preview of a new singletrack network in Elizabethtown, and teased a few biking events slated for the fall season.
The forecast was for a few inches of snow overnight and bright skies in the morning, so the idea was to ski the remote and scenic Trout Pond Road in Chesterfield before the sand trucks hit it with abrasives. Sure enough, it was sunny in the morning but — no snow. Best laid plans of mice and men, and all that.
But I was firm on the destination, so out of the truck bed went the skis and in went the bicycle. Trout Pond bisects some backcountry that’s being preserved by Open Space Institute and Northeast Wilderness Trust and, I suspect, will be much more of a destination in another decade than it is now.
On October 1, 2021 The Town of Long Lake Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department will officially dedicate and open 2km of newly built Mountain Bike / Shared Use Trails at the Mt. Sabattis Recreation area in Long Lake.
The Mt. Sabattis Recreation Area is centrally located in the community of Long Lake and is home to an outdoor ice skating rink, tennis and basketball courts, a sledding hill, pavilion, the S80 Powerline Snowmobile Trail, skate board ramps, a spur linkage to the Northville-Placid trail, and an expansive view overlooking the Town of Long Lake.
In an effort to share the community’s outstanding natural resources with everyone, Wilmington has recently launched the Wonders of Wilmington (WOW) Challenge. This is no ordinary challenge: participants here are invited to complete the Hiking, Mountain Biking, or Family Fun challenges to receive their patch.
Summer 2021 major events will be hosted in Lake Placid / North Elba with restrictions that will keep the safety as a top priority. These events will include IRONMAN and the Summit Lacrosse tournament.
“The North Elba Town Board approved the 2021 IRONMAN Lake Placid triathlon and Summit Lacrosse events following in-depth written and oral presentations from Summit Lacrosse and IRONMAN representatives, which included assurances of a reduction of athletes by 20% and that eligible athletes, coaches, officials, vendors, staff, volunteers and spectators in designated event areas will be required to provide proof of vaccination,” said Jay Rand, Town of North Elba Supervisor. “We thank the organizers for exceptional efforts to conduct these events with the highest degree of safety, and we wish safe and successful events to both IRONMAN and Lacrosse organizations.”
The ADK Mountain Club will be hosting their 2020 Ididaride, the organization’s largest annual fundraiser created in support of education and advocacy programs.
This year, in order to ensure the safety of its participants the Ididaride has transitioned to a virtual event. Now, riders can go on a ride and log their experience by uploading their route and distance using the RideWithGPS app, or via email by 5 pm on Monday, Sept. 7.
The trail is part of a network of 92 miles of trails in the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest. The trail is also a designated route along the more than 550-mile Adirondack Trail Ride, a solo, self-supported bike-packing adventure through the Adirondack Mountains. » Continue Reading.
The nonprofit Adirondack Hamlet to Huts (AHH) has announced they are accepting registrations for their first ever trek from Old Forge to Inlet and back as well as a trip from Old Forge to Raquette Lake and back.
These are pilot trips which are guided test runs of future AHH routes that are expected to be self-guiding. » Continue Reading.
The fourth annual Bike the Barns, hosted by the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA), has been scheduled for Sunday, September 29th, and will begin and end at Tucker Farms, 64 Hobart Rd in Gabriels, NY.
Tucker Farms is a fifth generation family farm, which has been growing potatoes for over 100 years. » Continue Reading.
Cycle Adirondacks, in partnership with Adirondack Foundation and the Cloudsplitter Foundation, have donated over $5,000 to community generated projects in Speculator, Inlet and North Creek as part of its CycleADK Gives program.
The three communities served as overnight hosts for CycleADK’s 2018 Ultimate Cycling Vacation, which drew over 230 cyclists from across the United States and Canada to the Adirondacks from August 18-24 for a week-long bicycle tour. » Continue Reading.
As the Adirondack Park Agency once again ponders the fate of the Tri-Lakes rail corridor, the return of a temporary, for-profit rail-bike business is being considered for the stretch of track between Saranac Lake and Lake Clear.
The popularity of these machines gives a hint of the potential benefits that will accrue from a bike path on this state-owned right-of-way once the tracks are removed. This much-discussed Adirondack Rail Trail now awaits a final okay from the APA and perhaps (here we go again!) a final round of hearings on the state’s Unit Management Plan governing use of the rail corridor. » Continue Reading.
The 2018 Bike the Barns, a one-day recreational bicycle tour that showcases the local food and agriculture movement in northern New York, has been set for Sunday, September 30th.
The third annual farm-by-bike event, hosted by the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA), will begin and end at Asgaard Farm & Dairy in Au Sable Forks. » Continue Reading.
The 7th Annual Ride for the River has been set for Sunday, July 15. The family-friendly event is a fully supported road cycling tour featuring three distance options, all showcasing the Ausable River watershed.
Ride for the River was created by Ausable River Association (AsRA) in 2012 to celebrate the resilience of local communities following the devastating flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene.
In partnership with CycleADK, the 2018 ride will feature interactive route stops allowing cyclists to learn about the impacts of road salt, invasive species, and undersized culverts on Ausable streams and habitat. » Continue Reading.
Cycle Adirondacks has added to its 2018 tour schedule The Weekender at The Paul Smith’s College, a new family-friendly bicycling event scheduled for June 29-July 1.
The new event will be hosted at the lakeside campus of Paul Smith’s College and complements Cycle Adirondacks nearly sold out annual weeklong tour set for August 18-24. Registration for The Weekender includes marked and supported cycling routes for all abilities levels, all meals, route snacks and entertainment. » Continue Reading.
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Cardinal flowers, a penguin-walking Loon, and a fish-snatching Bald Eagle
I visited all my Loon lakes this last week, including some that I hadn’t been to all summer. I was happy to find some of those pairs had chicks. One was Woodhull Lake where there are five pairs of Loons, and a few of them are banded. A Loon called right off the dock while I was putting the boat into the water, but it didn’t have any chicks. Going up the lake, I got all the way to Brooktrout Point before I heard another Loon. I looked ahead, and I could see two Loons with a single chick. I didn’t even get close, and the male was penguin-walking to distract me from the chick and then both were up and penguin walking. I kept going toward the landing at the end of the lake and I bumped right into another pair with two bigger chicks, and they did nothing but swim away from me.
» Continue Reading.