Saratoga Springs - Sept 14-16

Generally, upstate New York towns are a mixed bag - some can truly be described as a town that time forgot.  Saratoga Springs is an exception - nice downtown, lots to do (well, except during corona times), spacious parks and well kept homes.  The Downtowner Inn from the outside looks like a 1950s motel, but go on in - a large atrium with funky seating, and modern rooms made for a good place to stay.  Because Tuesday was a "teaching day" for me, we did a walk in the morning around Congress park and the mansions leading up Skidmore college.  After a mediocre lunch at a local sandwich shop, drove east towards Saratoga National Historic park where there were some big battles back in the 1770s.  Biked through the park, then up along the Hudson (back into Purple territory, featuring a Trump-flagged boat) towards Schuylerville where we met a sketchy couple looking for their runaway kid.  Like I said - town that time forgot.  Cruised back to the car, so Jon could make his 4pm class.  Another cycling outing afterwards through a very cool Saratoga Spa State Park - nice spa bathhouses, SPAC, a golf course; a really nice, huge, urban park.  40 miles, ending in weird light from smoke of CA fires.  

Wednesday, we hit the road early and headed up to Glens Falls where the Hudson turns off to the west into the Adirondacks.  Did a rail trail ride along the river/feeder canal then along the Warren County Bikeway up over French mountain and cruised into Lake George, Mark & I remembering that our parents probably vacationed with us at the wax museums and kitschy attractions in the area.  Felt a little more "adirondack" than the hudson valley rides we've been doing.  Then back to Glens Falls for lunch and drove north to Ticonderoga, where we did the Fort to Fort ride up to Fort Crown Point, and the (only?) bridge over lake Champlain into Vermont (biked half-way, of course)  Nice ride for the most part, even by the International Paper factory, with a nice tailwind.  Which of course did not abate on the way back to Fort Ticonderoga which we biked through backwards (for free - didn't want to pay $20 to go in main gate!).  Had the whole fort to ourselves; much of this trip has felt like nobody is around, but particularly strange to be in an essentially abandoned national historic site.  Then back in the car and over the bridge again to Middlebury, VT where the college has been under a lockdown for 4 weeks, and the town in a construction lockdown for 2nd of 4 summers while they rebuild a railroad.  61 miles, with an equal amount of "Wait for a buddy to bike up the hills" vs "Wait for a buddy to be ready to ride" time.