Day 7 - Saranac Lake to Plattsburgh, NY - 51 miles - 2,236 ft of elevation gain

This was one time when it was okay to sleep in church, as we spent the night at the Saranac Lake Baptist Church. The boys were in the loft above the gym, the men were in the Sanctuary, and I was in the toddlers’ room (because I’m the shortest?). I grabbed a box fan from the gym for my room, for the cooling and for the noise drowning, which actually worked out well because I didn’t hear the crack of lightning that hit near the church. I’m told the lights went out for a while too. We are so glad that we were inside and not on a bike or in a tent during that storm.

Our plan was to have breakfast at 7am and make our plan for the day. There were some in the group that wanted to ride their bikes to the top of Whiteface Mountain, but as we checked the weather at 7am, the forecast showed a nice storm passing through until 8:30am and cloud cover remaining for the morning. It was determined that going to the top of a mountain shrouded in clouds was not a good idea, nor was descending a mountain with wet roads. So we will leave Whiteface looming as a goal for a future date. I’ve been to Whiteface before, but it was winter and I had skis strapped to my feet, although the bike route takes you to a different side of the mountain.

After a hardy breakfast prepared by Pete, we chatted for a bit, and then prepared to leave once the rain stopped. The roads were wet and my shoes were damp, so I went with the waterproof socks. The route looked like it was going to be downhill to Plattsburgh, but there were 8 climbs on my computer. The roads of upstate NY have been kind to us, well paved, and relatively devoid of traffic. This trend continued today. We did have another flat today on the same bike I mentioned having the 5 other flats. The new tires we bought yesterday, came in handy, as we put one on at the lunch stop. Let’s hope that puts an end to the flats for that bike!

We were rolling along nicely on a back road, a little spread out as a group and I was riding slightly by myself. Well, a chipmunk decided to dart cross the road in front of me, but then he turned around (perhaps he forgot his keys). Any way, his turn around was timed just as my tire was rolling in his direction. I screamed! I mean what else do you do when you clocking along at 17/18 mph and a small creature almost takes you out by either going through your tire or under it. Maybe it’s a girl thing, because the guys within hearing distance did not react to my scream. I guess they either heard me laughing or the fact that I was still upright told them I was okay. It was certainly a way to check my heart rate!

It was a short day, which meant we arrived at the hotel before the customary check-in, but they were gracious and gave us two rooms early. Everyone was ready for the pool, one that was actually open this time. We enjoyed the water for a while, which does wonders for the muscles. Then it was another laundry day before heading into Plattsburgh for a burger dinner (all of the cyclists ordered burgers). At dinner, I requested outdoor seating, and we got to play cornhole before the food arrived, which was a nice diversion. Then we returned to the hotel for devotions, before everyone departed for bed. We have a 71 mile day with 2 ferry rides and some climbing at the end of the day (climbing will be par for the course in the coming days). For additional pictures visit Lifecycles on Facebook.