Across America by Bicycle: Alice and Bobbi's Summer on Wheels

6. Over the Adirondacks and across New England: Eastern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine

6 Over the Adirondacks and across New England Eastern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine 230 New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine It was mid-September, the days were growing shorter, and even without seeing a calendar, we felt the end of our trip approaching. Along with everyone else, we found ourselves stopping behind school buses. We came upon football practices with coaches shouting , whistles blowing, and young boys running plays in the warm, late afternoon sun. It was back-to-school time in America. Day 75 Friday, September 12 Redfield to Old Forge 60 miles Reluctantly, we left our trim and cozy cabin outside Redfield and immediately encountered hills. On the way to Osceola and then West Leyden, we experienced one of the optical illusions common in mountains—the appearance of going downhill when we were actually going up. Our legs knew we were climbing even if our eyes didn’t comprehend. The illusion toyed with our psyches even though we had experienced it countless times before on other trips. Many of the hills that day were extremely steep, and both of us walked one monster. It was the first time I had walked a hill, but when I saw it rising up in front of me like the steepest incline of a major roller coaster, I quickly dismounted. I didn’t want to get partway up, stall, be locked into my pedals, and fall over. At a Radio Shack in Boonville, where we stopped so that Alice could buy a new cell phone battery, we gained a mascot. A tiny, stuffed brown and white puppy—Little Nipper, son of the original Nipper, the RCA dog—was a gift from Cheryl and Ben, the friendly clerks. They also treated us to some new plastic bags to replace ours that were worn. What was trash in our complicated, at-home lives became treasure—they were essential for keeping our gear dry. Nipper took the place of honor on the top of my load, admiring the early autumn Adirondack foliage from his perch. New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine 231 The terrain east of Boonville was not as rugged as it had been in the morning but was still challenging. We pedaled steadily, gaining some elevation on the busy state highway leading to Old Forge. It had a wide shoulder, but heavy traffic was speeding its way north along with us to the Adirondacks for the weekend. After a great deal of comparison shopping up and down Main Street in Old Forge, we finally chose a motel. Maybe our room didn’t have a whole kitchen, but the refrigerator was a bonus, and we felt it offset in some way the exorbitant cost of the room. Tourist season wasn’t quite over in Old Forge, and we had to pay top dollar. For dinner we downed huge portions of salad, pasta, and meatballs . We decided to take back our leftovers for breakfast or even a picnic lunch the next day. Walking back to our motel, doggy bags in hand, we stopped at the pharmacy for a few incidentals. The clerk gave us a long look and asked, “Are you walking far with that food?” It seemed a strange question, but when we showed our surprise, she said, “Bears around here go for people who carry food, so we don’t carry food outside much. My mother was taking a pan of lasagna over to the neighbors when a bear blocked her way. She had to put the lasagna down and back away. The bear got a great meal.” That story was hard to believe, but the clerk was serious, and we became a bit nervous. We walked briskly to our next stop, the grocery store, only to encounter an excited checkout clerk. “Did you hear about the bear?” she asked. We looked at each other and said in unison, “What bear?” “Just an hour ago, a kid on a bike crashed into a bear on Main Street!” she informed us. This had happened while we were eating dinner. Now we really were nervous. We practically ran back to our motel and safely stowed our food. Bear stories proliferated. We didn’t see one of the beasts, but if we had, it wouldn’t have been unusual. They were reported to frequent Adirondack villages even in the middle of the day. In one nearby 232...