Day 2 - Adirondacks, Can-Ams, Mt. Whiteface, Lake Champlain, Vermont

So... Day 2... Well, where to start...

After getting up, grabbing some continental breakfast, and packing up the bikes, we hit the road at 9:30, headed to Advanced Auto to see if we could rectify the headlight situation. So a new bulb was purchased and installation commenced, although it was a somewhat painful process. But the light was in, working and we were in business, so away we went!

We set our sites on Lake Tupper in the Adirondacks. After getting stuck behind some slow moving traffic, Larkin found a fun detour on the GPS to get away from the crowds. A few miles in, he noticed that my headlight was out again. Ugh! Not wanting to waste anymore time fiddling with it, we kept on keeping on and I just switched the high beams on. We had lots of ground to cover and a hotel reservation in NH we needed to make.

Which would have been fine, had our lunch stop not taken an hour and a half. But that's a whole separate issue. Let's just say the deli was not exactly fast...

Rt 30 through the Adirondacks, on a Saturday, proved to be a VERY busy road, but we were able to pass traffic for the most part to keep things fun. BEAUTIFUL scenery and a pretty well paved road. But the further in we went, the more Can-Ams we saw. To the point where we were seeing more of them than their two-wheeled brethren. Larkin was going nuts (not a fan of the three-wheeled machines). But when we got to just below Mt. Whiteface, we figured out why we were seeing so many. They were having a rally! Ahh! So it's NOT that everyone in NY drives these things! :-)

We opted (after my insisting) to go up Mt. Whiteface even though we were a bit short on time from the lunch stop. It was an INCREDIBLY bumpy ride, and we both probably need new steering head bearings after that trek. But the road takes you almost to the top, and it's a short elevator ride after that for some gorgeous 360 views (on a clear day). We were in the clouds, which was cool too, until we realized these clouds might turn angry, so we skidaddled down after getting some VERY helpful driving directions from a staff member.

At this point, rain was imminent. After getting partway off the mountain, it started to spit so we pulled over so I could put my saddlebag covers on and don rain gear. And the headsets had to come off. I hate riding for so long without being able to talk to each other. Oh well, put in the music and rock out to take my mind off the wet.

We took a short and quick ferry ride across Lake Champlain instead of trekking around it (a tip from the friendly Mt. Whiteface staff member). After arriving in Vermont, the rain came, and just kept coming and getting harder. It was coming down fierce, but I was staying mostly dry. Larkin - not so much. He hadn't put the liner in his jacket. So we pulled off in Burlington, fueled up, and layered. And headed back out into even worse weather, but radar was showing we'd be out of it shortly. And we were. We had dry pavement for the last 80mi to our destination, which was needed as we were already pushing 7:00 and didn't know if we'd make it before sundown (remember headlight issue?).

But we did, and our hosts are wonderful. Offered to help with anything to get our suits dry for tomorrow. They both ride and totally understand what we were going though. Ahhhhh, nice to be bedded down for the evening. Tomorrow we attack Mt. Washington!! Which our friends from last night said is a very scary trek on a motorcycle. We shall see!! :-)