Henry Hudson 400th Anniversary River Tour (HH4x3) – 308 miles

About six weeks ago my good buddy Rachael started talking about celebrating the 400 year anniversary of Henry Hudson’s historic river discovery by embarking on a bicycle tour down the Hudson river valley. Because I cannot ever pass up a touring opportunity, I invited myself and Artemis (my Dahon Tournado) along for the ride. It was a great trip. Images and themes: the River (duh), country roads, autumn colors, chilly weather, and fire (both fireplace and campfire variety).

I arrived in Manhattan on Thursday with my Dahon packed and intact. This was my first time travelling with the Dahon packed up in its big suitcase, so I was a bit worried about how the airline might handle it. I had absolutely no problems with the bike on arrival, and as a bonus JetBlue didn’t even charge me the $50 bike handling fee. Although the case is a bit large and heavy (total weight = 44 lbs packed) I don’t think they realized that it was a bicycle. So... on Friday, Rachael and I packed up the car with our 3-bicycle stack and gear. We’re getting ridiculously good at this packing job; I actually think we could fit a fourth bike in this stack if we had to. Friday evening we headed up north to our first stop in Lake George. Along the way we were treated to a great fireworks show along the river in Albany. I’m not sure what the occasion was, but it was a cool treat.

Day 1: Lake George – Bolton Landing and Pilot Knob Loop (62 miles)
On Saturday we took advantage of the sunny weather to piece together two distinct loops in the Lake George area:

* Bolton Landing (30 miles, 2400 ft), on the west side of the lake
* Pilot Knob Loop (32 miles), on the east side


The Bolton Landing ride featured a nice stretch along the Lake George waterfront, then a bit of a climb up to Riverbank, followed by a nice meandering ride along Schroon River Road, which we had travelled on during our previous trip to the Adirondacks two summers ago. The second loop followed the south end of the lake, where the steamboats depart, and then followed the eastern edge of the lake. Along this side there were some marshlands that were in peak autumn color, and one of the highlights was a nice stretch along a beautiful rail trail between Glens Falls and Lake George.


Our accommodations in Lake George were great: a comfortable and cozy cottage at Cramer’s Point, complete with fireplace! With the innkeeper's help we built a nice roaring fire on Saturday night. Perfect for a chilly autumn evening in the Adirondacks.

Next: Lake Taghkanic, Hills and farms of Columbia county