Day 4 - 27 April (Middlebury, VT to Lake George, NY)

We wake up to a gloomy morning with heavy overcast skys and very light snow showers outside our room's window. I was mentally preparing to brace for another day of wet & chilly riding. I check the weather and its 39 deg F (4 deg C) outside. That's a good start… Anyways, our host at the Tourterelle Restaurant & Inn has set up a nice continental breakfast as we were the only guests. Our breakfast also had the local veggie specialty of Vermont 'Fiddle headed fern'. Tasty stuff.

Kitted out and after loading the luggage, although we were supposed to take Rt 7 North, we headed the other way back into town for some essential purchases. Today, we are also scheduled to have a new experience on our global rides, to ride our bike straight onto an auto ferry, that will take us across Lake Champlain and at the other end we ride off the ferry. Anyway, this morning from downtown Middlebury our GPS decides to give us a sight-seeing trip and takes us thru some nice & deserted country roads for reasons only best known to Mr. Garmin before putting us on the Rt 7.

It's a relaxed ride on US Route 7 passing small communities in Vergennes, Barnumtown before reaching Charlotte, where we branch left on state route F5 towards the auto ferry terminal in Charlotte. However, upon arrival we had two put-offs…First, the terminal itself was a disappointment as we were expecting a small building with a restaurant, restrooms, relaxing area etc, but if I can put it in simple terms, the place just had a small kiosk where we buy the tickets and that is it, Full Stop. Second, being an hourly service, we just missed the previous one by 10 minutes- Great!

Being a freezing cold day, with temps around 36 F (2 deg C) and the chilly winds blowing from the open lake, it definitely felt a lot colder!!! As we were the only bikers, (you may say for obvious reasons!), we were asked to stand in the front. Gradually cars started coming and they all lined up in 3 separate rows. Standing there in piercing cold waiting for the ferry to arrive, Mrs & Mr Adventure have covered every part of our body in whatever protective gear. We did not even remove our helmets, while people in their cozy cars & trucks with heaters on were staring at us…After an agonizing wait of about 30-40 mins, we spot the ferry inching its way towards us. It was soon docked and the incoming cars drove away. Now it was our turn. While Mrs Adventure waited, I rode the bike onto the ferry and took my place at the front. I was told to put the bike on its side stand and stand holding it. No tie-downs. Farzana followed me on foot and once all cars got on, the ferry quickly departed and we say goodbye to the state of Vermont.

The ferry crossing video on Lake Champlain

Being an extremely windy day the lake was rough and the ferry was dancing a bit. I held on tight to the bike as I did not want an onboard spill and make a fool of myself. Out on the lake, with the wind it only got colder, while we silently stood admiring the car drivers in their cozy cages. I think I heard Mrs Adventure murmuring on the intercom 'I wished I was in one of the cars'. Thirty minutes later the ferry arrives at Essex in New York state.

We ride off the ferry and get on Rt 9N and pass Elizabethtown where we stop for a simple lunch at Stewarts which is a chain popular in this part of NY state selling groceries and hot food. We were to head towards Lake Placid however the dark clouds in that direction were not too confidence inspiring hence we head on the scenic highway 73 and doing a relaxed ride in the Adirondacks before joining the I-87 south passing Schroon lake, Warrensburg and then turning left heading towards Diamond Point and now we are almost closing in on the wonderful town of Lake George.

34.7 F is a freaking 1.5 dec C and add the chilly winds…that bites!!

Putting the Heated Grips to its full use!

Lake George and its surroundings are best known to North American bikers as the serene place that plays host annually in early June to one of the largest touring rally in the world- The Americade (2012 marking its 30th Anniversary). As we pass the lake on the left, its time to search for a place to stay for the night but most of the resorts along the shore display the 'no vacancy' board as it's the weekend. Mrs Adventure soon searches the internet on her phone for places and we contact the Wyndham who being off season give us a very special rate that's almost one third their regular rack rate! Mr GPS promptly takes us there and as we are getting into the parking lot, we notice it's a beautiful property & there are a good number of Canadian registered cars parked here.

We finish the check in formalities and literally rush into the room to enjoy the heater….its been a very cold day and we have come across just 1-2 bikes on the road all day. Ordered some Lasagna & salad for dinner, work on the internet for some time and call it a day.

Distance Travelled 152 miles