Well, tomorrow it begins. The Green Mountains. Today we did the planning of our route through the mountains. Yikes. To top it off, record breaking heat is gripping Vermont. We decided that the smart plan would be to take an easy day today, and set ourselves up for an early morning mountain climb tomorrow rather than a late day climb today.

We left our cushy air-conditioned hotel room and hit the road. The temperature outside was already in the 80's. That's okay, we planned only a 25 mile day. After pausing at the entrance to Fort Ticonderoga, we decided to take the tour. The weather was already approaching 90, so it wasn't like we were going to miss the cool morning riding.

Pictures later, sorry.

Today we are taking half of a rest day. We need to do some Laundry and our legs need some time to recharge.

So, we left our awesome campsite at Blue Ridge, but not until after taking a quick hike to see the waterfalls. Before leaving, Rob, Sheri, and Leah dropped off some fruit for us to have with our breakfast. Apples, Bananas, and Kiwi. The Apples were huge!

We continued going downhill quite a bit today for the first stretch. The traffic was pretty heavy because it is Sunday and people are heading home for the week, hauling their campers and boats. Even still, most of the roads were very safe due to the nice shoulders. Only on Highway 74 did we lose our shoulders and have to ride defensively. It went pretty well.

There was not a lot of services along our route today. We need to start carrying more food/water. We did not have a shortage of "up" however. Jeesh. I guess we are in the thick of the Adirondacks now. We did 3000 ft of climbing today.

We woke up at the Brown Barn to the sound of some very early morning birds in a very dense fog. Everything was pretty soaked. We made breakfast in the barn with Eric. We had picked up some eggs and boiled them the night before.

Our group did about 51 miles today and are camping in Blue Ridge, NY tonight. Roger said they climbed about 2500 feet yesterday and about 3000 feet today. He sounded quite exhausted. Their goal tomorrow is approx. 25 miles to Ticonderoga, NY and calling it there for the day. They plan on getting a hotel. I am sure they will be doing some laundry and generally taking a bit of a rest day. They really need to rest their bodies at this point. This puts them at the New York/Vermont border. They have Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to go. Rest well guys, you're getting there. See you all soon.

Our bicyclists are at Golden Beach Campground at Raquette Lake, NY, in the Adirondack Mountains. They peddled 51 miles today. The hills are wearing on them so a good nights sleep is in order. Cell reception was horrid but that's alright; it makes Roger and Katie walk around more to find a bar or two. They need the exercise. ;-)

They will post a full blog when they can. They are hoping to be at Ticonderoga, NY in 2 days if they can do about 50 miles tomorrow, then 20 the next day. They need a rest day and are hoping to make it on day 23 if is a short day. Their last rest day was day 15. Your guys are doing a great job. Please rest yourselves a bit so you can make it the distance. I miss you all and can't wait to see you all on the flip side.

We left our Super 8 Motel after a SuperStart Breakfast. I thought it was good, the girls were not impressed. After a few hotels in a row, I am itching to camp. The hotels seem more cushy when deciding, but the camping experiences are what makes the better long term memories. The hotels all blend together in the mind.

I picked out a campground at just over 50 miles and confirmed it was on route and had showers. Perfect. We have not missed a nightly shower yet this trip. Amazing! The east half of Northern Tier is entirely different than the western half. We often have several options, rather than just one, for overnight stays.

Day 13 now has more information and pictures.

It is worth a look. I think it has our best pictures of the trip.

Thanks Dave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today's story is all about trying to stay cool while biking in the mid 80's and high humidity. Here are a few ways we attempted to get by...

Chris gives up and just stands in the cooler.

Roger eats a gigantic strawberry ice cream sundae.

I added some pics and info to yesterday, day 18. Go check it out.

Going to take a shower now. I need it. Badly. The flies stopped bothering me so I knew it got bad.