Tour Rating: This tour is for strong C* riders and above. Some days are easier than others. There are 6 cycling days with an average distance of 50 miles and 2500’ of climbing. See details below. There are about 13 hours of daylight each day – plenty of time to cycle and enjoy the scenery. This is a very rural tour – the total population of the cities/towns in which we stay is less than 100,000 people.

Weather: The weather in northern Vermont and New York is typically mild in beginning of September. Heat, cold or rain is unpredictable!

Day 0. Saturday, September 7. We will meet at our hotel in Burlington on Saturday evening and get together for a Happy Hour where we start to get to know each other.

Day 1.  Sunday, September 8.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44592258
37 Miles/1300’ Climbing.  Burlington to North Hero.  
Our first and easiest cycling day will bring us through Burlington to Vermont’s Islands in the middle of Lake Champlain.  We’ll cycle on the Island Line Trail and cross a part of Lake Champlain on a ferry for only bicycles and pedestrians.  We’ll be staying at the North Hero Inn.

Day 2.  Monday, September 9.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44592298
53 miles/1300’ Climbing.  North Hero to Plattsburgh.  
We’ll cycle north to within a mile of the Canadian Border and then south to Plattsburgh, NY.

Day 3.  Tuesday, September 10.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44592339
50 miles/2500’ Climbing.  Plattsburgh to Malone.
Cycling in the middle of ‘nowhere’ to our exciting destination - Malone, NY!  This is a very rural route hopefully with a bathroom at the Dollar General at mile 24!

Day 4.  Wednesday, September 11.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44604885
55 miles/3200’ Climbing.  Malone to Lake Placid.
We’ll be cycling south from Malone into the Adirondacks.  We’ll pass through Paul Smith’s and Saranac Lake on our way to Lake Placid – site of the 1980 Olympics and Miracle on Ice!

Day 5.  Thursday, September 12.  Optional Cycling Day.  Cycle Whiteface Mountain (https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44798839) or just hang out in Lake Placid!

Day 6.  Friday, September 13.  57 miles /3700’ Climbing.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44641225.  Lake Placid to Ticonderoga.
Cycle south through the Adirondacks to Ticonderoga, NY. 

Day 7.  Saturday, September 14.  53 miles/3000’ climbing.  https://ridewithgps.com/routes/44641295.  Ticonderoga to Burlington.
We’ll take the ferry to Vermont and cycle back to Burlington.

Day 8. Sunday, September 15. Our last goodbyes. Tour ends after breakfast!

Lodging. Price includes lodging for 8 nights (based on double occupancy) in standard national and local hotels that are rated well and are close to restaurants (except for North Hero - where they have their own restaurant). Most hotels include breakfast.

SAG and Transportation Support. We will be renting a small U-Haul Truck to transport our luggage and supplies. We will also have a SAG car with limited supplies and a bike rack to help us while cycling when needed.

Drivers Needed. We will need drivers of the U-Haul and car – preferably non-cycling partners. The drivers will not pay for the tour! If we don’t get drivers then tour participants will share the driving.

Price of the Tour: $1,200 per person – double occupancy.

• The full cost of the tour will be due on March 1, 2024.
• This estimate includes 8 nights of lodging (double occupancy), 2 support vehicles, Happy Hours that include a sandwich station for the following day.
• Happy Hours are planned for every evening – stocked with wine, beer, non-alcoholic refreshments, cheese, crackers, etc.
• A sandwich station will be stocked with bread, peanut butter, jelly, cheese, and cycling snacks so you don’t have to pre-plan a lunch stop.
• Dietary restrictions/food allergies can be accommodated by contacting me ahead of time.
• All routes will have GPS routes to load to your navigation device.
• After the tour, we will return any money that remains after expenses have been paid.

Singles Wanting Roommates. If you are a single and want a roommate, the ride leader will try to help find a roommate for you. However, you will not be placed on the ride unless a roommate is identified or you are willing to pay the single supplement (see Solo Supplement below).

Solo Supplement: If there are single rooms available after sign-ups start - the solo supplement will be $1000.

The tour doesn’t include:

• Transportation to/from Burlington.
• Ferry costs – this eliminates group complexities and allows people flexibility to vary their daily plans. Trip does include SAGs’ ferry costs!
• Formal group dinners – aren’t planned but we might organize pizza or BBQs.

Getting to the Start: Most people will drive to Burlington. People that aren’t in the Northeast can fly to Burlington or other cities nearby like Montreal or Albany. Those flying with bike boxes can store them in cars parked at the hotel. The Burlington hotel is letting us keep our cars in their parking lot.

What Happens If There’s a Need to Cancel: Refunds of tour payments will depend upon whether a replacement rider signs up, and on costs that can be recovered. The amount refunded will be based on the principle that the tour’s remaining participants will not incur any additional costs as a result of cancellations. If the canceling participant is replaced, a refund will be made at that time. If the canceling participant can't be replaced, any refund will be determined after the ride and final expense report are completed. If a participant that is sharing a room cancels and another roommate cannot be found, in addition to other costs that cannot be recouped the cancelling roommate may also be liable for the supplement for a private room of the roommate remaining on the tour. Participants are encouraged to purchase trip cancellation insurance.

COVID Precautions: As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, so will our tour precautions. Depending on the COVID-19 situation from where tour participants live, along with our destination, we might have some combination of:

• Vaccination requirements – recommending that all participants to be ‘Up to Date’ as per the CDC at that time.
• Rapid antigen testing before and, possibly, during the tour.
• Decisions will be made based on the current science and communicated with enough time for participants to ‘change their minds’ about participating.