Lake Placid Weekend...non race stuff.

Now that I've gotten the race details out of the way, just a quick blurb and some pics about the rest of our trip this past weekend to Lake Placid. It was my first visit to the Adirondacks in almost 15 years...the last time was a snowboard trip to Whiteface mountain back when I was in University (holy crap! has it been THAT long?!?!?).  Before leaving, there were two things people made a point of noting, 1) the shoulders on the roads are really wide, and 2) drivers are more respectful of cyclists compared to Ottawa/Gatineau.

Huh? What's that in the distance? A mountain? None of those around Ottawa.

The pics I've included give you a good idea of what the shoulders are like, and yes, the drivers are very courteous. 

In a couple of weeks or so, there's an Ironman triathlon taking place in Lake Placid (I can't swim for the life of me, so you'll never catch me doing a tri), and there were some training camps taking place while we were there. As a result, the roads were SWARMING with tri geeks on tricked out bikes.

You get a good idea of the shoulder width from this pic. These were just a couple of literally HUNDREDS of people out training for the Ironman.

Cool shot by Sonia.

Last Sunday was also my first father's day. And I couldn't think of a better way to spend it than to go for a bike ride with the fam in the Adirondacks.

About to set off with Lil' D in the trailer.

Another view of the massive shoulders. This one in particular was as wide as the driving lane for cars.

Outside a bike friendly bakery.

What cracked me up about this was the sign in the window that read "Closed for the day". I think it's been closed for just a *bit* more than a day.

When I first read this sign, I thought "Awesome, a Beer-Dunkin Booth!" But then I realized it probably reads Beer, Dunkin Booth. Either way, they had to make a point of saying that the Independence Day celebration will definitely include BEER!

Lil' D havin' fun in Mirror Lake.

After last weekend, I highly recommend a trip down to the Adirondacks. Great roads for biking, XC and downhill mountain biking at Whiteface mountain, tons of hiking trails, and just being outside the hustle and bustle of the city.