Day 4 (September 28, 2004) - Gouverneur to Cranberry Lake
We were up at 6:30 and walked to McDonald's for breakfast. When checking out of the inn and meeting the innkeepers for the first time, we discovered that breakfast (and no doubt a lovely one!) was included in our rate, but the new employee who checked us in had neglected to tell us. Bummer! We hit the road at 8:35 am. The day started with gentle terrain, very wide shoulders, lovely riding, despite an almost imperceptable climb. Today we entered the Adirondacks!
I'd never been to this part of New York so was excited to see it, and Barry told me that the climbs, while long, were more gradual than what we'd experienced the previous day. He was right, thank goodness. I didn't even have to walk up any of them!
The foliage was starting to get pretty, with red maples standing out among still-green trees. We saw some beautify scenery along the way, including this rushing river.
We had purposely planned this as a short day since we knew the climbing would be tiring and that by day four of the tour, our bodies would be protesting, and they were. The climb into Star Lake was a long and difficult one, but once we made it to that elevation, the last stretch from Star Lake to our destination, Cranberry Lake, proved to be fairly easy. We arrived in this very small town right on the picturesque lake of the same name at 1:15 pm.
Of the two motels in town, the one I liked appeared to be closed, so we checked in at the one Barry preferred, the Stone Manor. I'm not sure where it got its name, as there was no stone anywhere on the premises! This was a very basic motel, not quite up to the standards we are used to (!!), but the room had plenty of space for the bikes, and we were the only people staying there, so it was plenty quiet. We were assigned room #7, my lucky number. Here I am after checking in.
We ate lunch at the diner associated with the motel, and it was great - good, simple food. Had delicious soup and sandwiches, and Barry had pie and ice cream! (I was too full.) After showers, we took a walk and photos of the lake. We also stopped in at an Adirondacks gift shop and bought another refrigerator magnet.
We ate dinner and drank a beer at the Cranberry Lake Lodge restaurant overlooking the lake and the sunset. This was the motel I liked, which turns out not to have been closed after all, just deserted at 1 pm! We had a good dinner with way too much food, since we were still a bit full from lunch, so we had to leave some pizza and quesadillas behind and skip dessert. It was supposed to get cold overnight, so we could face a chilly morning ahead. Here is a photo we took of the lake in the evening as we left for our motel after dinner. The full moon shining over the lake was beautiful!
Day 4 Stats
Distance: 46 miles On-bike time: 3 hr, 51 min Avg. speed: 11.9 (E), 12.0 (B) Weather: mid-50s to mid-60s, hazy sunshine and overcast, 5-10 mph winds