Ok....this ride isn't all that exciting, and I'm certainly no photographer, but I'll give it a whirl... On days when I'm short on time, I usually do this 19+/- mile out and back from my house. The majority of it is the Warren County Bike Path which is a 9 mile route that starts near my house and ends at the southern shore of Lake George. A map can be found here: http://www.warrencountydpw.com/Parks-Rec/Bikeway1.pdf
Anyway....here we go.
My house and point of departure
And we're off down my street...
It's about 3/4 of a mile of streets to ride before reaching the bike path. Here's one of the more interesting homes along the way. It was built during Prohibition, and supposedly there are "secret rooms" in the basement where gambling and alcohol consumption were kept on the sly... Cool home, bad color.
Another 1/8 mile or so we reach the path...
For the most part the route is flat to rolling, there are some decent climbs though. Here's the first little "roller" up to a bridge...
View from the top....
You do have sections of the ride that cross or go along road for a bit. The longest section on the road is along here...
And there is the road's namesake...
For any golfers out there, that is O'Donnell-Ross Golf Course. Apparently Mr. O'Donnell-Ross was a Scotsman who built over 400 courses by hand before the days of machinery. His "claim to fame" was that he used the land natural terrain features to create illusions in the course. For this reason his greens are particularly tricky I'm told...
Shortly after the CC, you re-enter the path and hit one of the decent climbs I told you about. Probably a mile long. Not too steep, just gotta stay seated and grind it out.
Headed up...
And up...
And up...
But, as we all know, what goes up, must come....
We're probably 5 miles along now. There is some nice scenery along the way, but I haven't much of a artistic eye. Here is a nice stream to peak your visual interest though...
Another mile or so past the stream and another short climb up and you pop out at the highest point in the trip. Here, you are also greeted by Mighty Mouse riding an elephant.
Ah, Magic Forest. This place was a big deal when we were kids. Now, with the Six-Flags, water parks, etc. just down the road, it doesn't draw them in like it used too... Kinda sad.
Uncle Sam and Santa Claus. does it get much more American than that?
So, from here it's all downhill to the Lake! Wheeeee!
You pass behind Water Slide World on your way down...
Shortly after WSW, I did a stupid thing. I was cruising along and came up on a doe standing in the middle of the bike path. Instead of slowing and taking a pic, I flailed my arms and yelled until it ran off into the woods. My one chance to take an interesting pic and I blew it. But here's a representation of what I saw...
After 2 miles or so of DH, you are rewarded by popping out at the southern shore of beautiful Lake George!
History buffs will probably already know that Lake George is the Home of Fort William Henry, where was a significant battle occurred between the English and the French during The French and Indian War. Or, you may know it (and the area in general) as the setting for the movie "The Last of the Mohicans".
Here's a really bad picture of the fort itself...
:
Form this point, it's turn around and head back the same way. The ride isn't all that hard by any means, but I like to use it to do sprint workouts or time-trial type rides as it's a measured distance where I can compete against the clock.
Oh, and finally, for the female monkey that requested a pic of me in spandex (but wished to remain anonymous), here's a really bad one...
-T
Anyway....here we go.
My house and point of departure
And we're off down my street...
It's about 3/4 of a mile of streets to ride before reaching the bike path. Here's one of the more interesting homes along the way. It was built during Prohibition, and supposedly there are "secret rooms" in the basement where gambling and alcohol consumption were kept on the sly... Cool home, bad color.
Another 1/8 mile or so we reach the path...
For the most part the route is flat to rolling, there are some decent climbs though. Here's the first little "roller" up to a bridge...
View from the top....
You do have sections of the ride that cross or go along road for a bit. The longest section on the road is along here...
And there is the road's namesake...
For any golfers out there, that is O'Donnell-Ross Golf Course. Apparently Mr. O'Donnell-Ross was a Scotsman who built over 400 courses by hand before the days of machinery. His "claim to fame" was that he used the land natural terrain features to create illusions in the course. For this reason his greens are particularly tricky I'm told...
Shortly after the CC, you re-enter the path and hit one of the decent climbs I told you about. Probably a mile long. Not too steep, just gotta stay seated and grind it out.
Headed up...
And up...
And up...
But, as we all know, what goes up, must come....
We're probably 5 miles along now. There is some nice scenery along the way, but I haven't much of a artistic eye. Here is a nice stream to peak your visual interest though...
Another mile or so past the stream and another short climb up and you pop out at the highest point in the trip. Here, you are also greeted by Mighty Mouse riding an elephant.
Ah, Magic Forest. This place was a big deal when we were kids. Now, with the Six-Flags, water parks, etc. just down the road, it doesn't draw them in like it used too... Kinda sad.
Uncle Sam and Santa Claus. does it get much more American than that?
So, from here it's all downhill to the Lake! Wheeeee!
You pass behind Water Slide World on your way down...
Shortly after WSW, I did a stupid thing. I was cruising along and came up on a doe standing in the middle of the bike path. Instead of slowing and taking a pic, I flailed my arms and yelled until it ran off into the woods. My one chance to take an interesting pic and I blew it. But here's a representation of what I saw...
After 2 miles or so of DH, you are rewarded by popping out at the southern shore of beautiful Lake George!
History buffs will probably already know that Lake George is the Home of Fort William Henry, where was a significant battle occurred between the English and the French during The French and Indian War. Or, you may know it (and the area in general) as the setting for the movie "The Last of the Mohicans".
Here's a really bad picture of the fort itself...
:
Form this point, it's turn around and head back the same way. The ride isn't all that hard by any means, but I like to use it to do sprint workouts or time-trial type rides as it's a measured distance where I can compete against the clock.
Oh, and finally, for the female monkey that requested a pic of me in spandex (but wished to remain anonymous), here's a really bad one...
-T
