Pedicab Man

Day 7 - Loop Day in Isle la Motte - 31.8 miles. We rode from and back to the Ruthcliffe Lodge, with its beautiful views of Lake Champlain. Our Tour Director made sure we got in a few miles of dirt road next to the lake. Then we stopped at the shrine for Saint Anne 'Our Lady of Lourdes' and a mile or so later had a snack (freshly made chocolate candy) at one of the many roadside gift shops you see in this part of the country. Since this is mainly a summer tourist area they do a good job of maximizing profits while the flowers are in bloom. About 10 miles out we went through Alburg headed for Swanton...THE BACK WAY. A couple of miles later, on a country road, we hit the Canadian Border and did a photo op in the no-man's land between the two countries. On our way back to the US we were followed by US Border Patrol for about 1/2 mile; we only hope this was done out of boredom by our national security and they aren't stupid enough to think that 4 old folks on the mighty bicycle were a threat to National Security. Then a little while later Patty and Ron - Ron has been promoted to Assistant Navigator - huddled up along the side of the road, point their hands in six or seven directions, and finally we hung a left. Derna and I followed along without mentioning the bridge-out sign - we know our place. By and by we ran into another Border Patrol, who in a very nice way let us know that our crack navigation team was lost - they claim the Lake Champlain Bike Map is wrong - that's their story and they are sticking to it. We never made it to Swanton. After a nice lunch at Kay's Cafe in Alburg we cruised back to the B&B. On the return trip, Ron noticed Patty's bike was grinding due to the chain being too long. Immediately, on the spot, Jim promoted him to Assistant Mechanic to go all with his navigation duties. He only accepted the job after we promised to double his pay. Here is his new pay schedule; 2X0=0. Back at the B&B we took links out of Patty's chain and adjusted the seat. I can say that Ron earned his pay. We had a nice dinner and drinks by the lake and called it an early night.

Day 8 - Isle La Motte to Plattsburgh - 44.4 miles.Turns out today was easier than yesterday's loop ride! After breakfast by the lake, we headed out early and pedaled back up the island to Alburg, then across wetlands to the bridge to New York. Patty and Ron did a little hand waving out of Rouses Point NY, which ended up as a left turn on Lake Shore Road to Chazy Landing. There are some fine homes on the lake in this area; it seems more up-scale than what we passed in Vermont. We had a snack lunch in Monty Bay at a campground/store/marina. The weather couldn't have been nicer, we had light winds and 75F today. Since meeting Bike Vermont Tours a few days ago, we been pretending to be our own tour company with Patty being the Tour Director, Jim as Head Mechanic and Ron as Deputy Tour Director and GPS whizz. Derna is the only customer - which means she pretends to be impressed when Ron and I work on bikes and Patty does route rap. So far she has done a good job controlling her smirks, snide comments and hasn't broken down laughing. It's probably unrealistic for us to expect a big tip, though. We're at the Comfort Inn, right by Route 89, surrounded by every chain restaurant and motel in the NY area. A big change from the quiet B&B at the end of the road on Isle La Motte but we are looking forward to a Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi meal tonight.