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Entries Tagged as 'clinton county'

Mountain Goat Climbs – Saranac Ramble

August 3rd, 2006 · 1 Comment · Adirondack Life

Distance 21.6
Elevation Gain 1374 ft
Start/Finish – Saranac Central School

This little ride initially was focused on Priest Rd which The Wrench believed to be of Mountain Goat caliber. Well, much like everything else in life, all is relative. The third member of our trio was a highly motivated cyclist who I’ll call The Schoolmaster. I’m not sure about The Wrench, but I believe The Schoolmaster might be someone who appreciates self-flagellation by bike.

The evening was warm and earlier threat of thunderstorms did not materialize. Riding with new people is always interesting. There’s the social aspect, but also the physical and mental aspect of casual-competitive group-riding. Sometimes I wish we could leave the chatting part for a different setting as I find it sometimes can be distracting and possibly dangerous. Fortunately we enjoy relatively trafficless roads around here. I could go on about this aspect of riding, but it might start sounding gay – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

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Mountain Goat Climbs – Mother Cabrini Shrine

July 15th, 2006 · No Comments · Adirondack Life

Mother CabriniDistance: 20 miles
Start/Finish: Macomb State Park Beach and Day Use Area

Our objective for the third Mountain Goat Climb Series was Big Hill Rd and Reservoir Rd up to the Mother Cabrini Shrine. Wow, did I ever mention how I love a good climb? My usual road loops normally bypass this area so I never get to fully enjoy these roads; I’m missing out on some extra fun.

Clinton County NY has some of the nicest road bicycling in the Northeast United States. I can say that with confidence. We have great roads, little traffic, lakeshore scenery, and Adirondack Mountain backdrops. The only complaint might be the short riding season and lack of any major elevation gains. Being located at the foothills of the Adirondacks, we have mostly rolling terrain, but some good hills can be found if you tool around enough. No “Hor Category” stuff, but creative route linking easily reproduces a nice local version of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

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Mountain Goat Climbs – Guide Board Road

July 1st, 2006 · No Comments · Adirondack Life

Distance: 19.2 miles
Start/Finish: Macomb State Park Beach and Day Use Area
Total Elevation Gain: 895 ft

Impending thunderstorms on Thursday never appeared and the clouds actually parted. The second ride of the Mountain Goat Series. It was a trio of the Wrench, the Bird, and myself which was cool. Starting at the Macomb State Park Beach parking area we headed west on the Norrisville Rd towards Peasleeville. Conditions were close to ideal and we quickly decided to continue on towards Guide Board Road. This piece of road is one of my favorites, pastoral with Adirondack mountains as a backdrop. The brisk pace was hardly noticeable with all the scenic eye-candy.

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