by sevy » Fri May 15, 2009 9:57 pm
Welcome to NY! I went to college in Potsdam, and have traveled most of the northern roads, so I can give you some ideas. I currently live in Queensbury NY, and my buddy and I will be traveling to the bash from Glens Falls on Friday immediately after work, which will be about 3:00 PM. I don't know your schedule, but if you want to meet up with us at 3:00 and ride over with us, you are more than welcome, although neither of us speaks French (just kidding, you know hey). In terms of best routes, you have lots of choices. Coming across at Ogdensburg, Route 68 through Canton to Colton, then 56 to 3 to 30 at Tupper Lake, then south on 30/28 through Long Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, Indian Lake, North Creek, onto 9 then through Warrensburg to Lake George is a beautiful ride, and you will still make great time, as the roads are very good. If you prefer to come down the 81 route, you can get off at Watertown, pick up Rt. 12 through Lowville, and then go east on either 28, which will bring you eventually to Blue Mountain Lake, and then south following the first set of directions, or better yet, east on 8, which is one of my favorite rides. Be advised that this road is not in as good a condition as the route through Ogdensburg, but it is still a very scenic ride. You will evntually hit 28 at Wevertown, and then can follow the earlier directions south. Route 8 does continue east, and this is some of the best riding, especially from Brant Lake to the west side of Lake George, where you go south on 9N, eventually meeting 9 in the village of Lake George. As I said, there are literally dozens of options, but these are good roads without alot of traffic, especially this early in the summer, and with all of the colleges in the Potsdam/Canton area out for summer break. The one caution is to fill up your tank when you can, as fuel stations are not always plentiful in some of the smaller towns. FYI, Stewarts is a big chain of convenience stores in upstate NY, and are often the only gas in town, so their gas tends to be fresh, as they are turning it over quickly. If you want to make an overnight out of this, there are several good NYS DEC campsites along these routes, and any of these would be a good place to spend a night in your tent. Look up the DEC website to find these. If you need more info, or want to join us for the ride over Friday, just holler! Safe ride!