Adirondack Loop - Day 7

Warrensburg to Saratoga Springs. 42 miles.

I awoke on the final day of my ride with Saratoga Springs and my car some 40 miles away. Knowing I had a +10 hour car drive to get home, I resolved to get an early start. I was on the road and pedaling by 5:30 AM. The sun was behind the clouds and the temperatures had abated a bit since the day before. These combined to make for pleasant riding conditions.

Reviewing the ride profile I concluded that today's ride would be relatively flat. For 6 days I had been riding up and down, what made me think the final day would be any different I cannot explain. From a profile perspective, the final day's route proved to be no different than the previous 6. In fact I even had a couple really tough, relatively long climbs.

Eager to bring this ride to a close, I had a cold breakfast on the bike of MRE pop tarts and cinnamon scone. No coffee. No hot breakfast.

After 4 hours of riding, I unceremoniously pulled into the parking lot in Sarasota Springs to find my car safe and sound.

I wasted no time in unpacking the bike, loading it in the car, changing clothes, starting the engine and heading home.

As I drove in my comfortably air conditioned car, sipping a hot cup of coffee, I pondered what I had accomplished. It was a hard week, accentuated by long days, steep hills and hot temperatures. More than once I sat alone in the campsite trying to figure another way to get back to my car. If I could have come up with an answer, I would have quit that ride right then and there. Yet, no matter how hard I pondered a solution, the only viable option was to keep pedaling. Now that it is all said and done, I'm glad that was the only path offered me.