DAKS Ride...

[DucDave]

Rob, Guy, Tom, Tim and I left at 6:30 Friday for a 3 day, 2 night trip to the Daks (Adirondaks). The plan was to have breakfast at the new IHOP in Bedford but they don't open until 7:00 so we ate at Chez Vachon on the west side of Manch. Poutine and the rest of the trimmings!



The rest of the day was spectacular. Little traffic, great roads, including T****Road and it's kin, E*****Pond! Rob led these two legs and the rest of the way to Lake Placid. Somehow he found miles and miles of freshly paved twisties that just rolled out ahead of us like a casually tossed ribbon.

We arrived early enough at Lake Placid to take in the Olympic Ski Jumping venue. Watched a few youngsters practicing aerials into the pool and went to the top of the 90 meter jump!















We stayed both nights at the Crowne Plaza which is a great facility. Hot tub, pool, and great views. We'd walk down the hill to dinner. Sushi Friday night and Cow on Saturday.






On Saturday we headed out through the park to Alexandria Bay in Thousand Islands! We ran into rain about an hour out but everyone had gear and so we suited up and proceeded. By the time we were done with lunch it was breaking up so we headed to the Canadian border and the Thousand Island Sky Tower. Rob and I had forgotten our Passports but we were able to cross both ways with little hassle...which surprised me! The ceiling was high enough that the view was nice. The omninous clouds added a bit of drama to the scene! And the elevator operator provided some pleasant eyecandy! (She declined a photo op...)









The ride back was mostly dry and more great roads!

After breakfast on Sunday, and a successful treasure hunt for a missing GPS, Rob led us back through an entirely different set of twisties. Traffic was a little more troublesome but we usually made short work of slow pokes. We made a last group stop at Hog Back and from there we headed home! I was in the garage at 5:10 logging 955 awesome miles!






Thanks to my fellow riders for being tolerent, flexible and for riding really well!

[Marc R]

Nice write up. Inspiring. Leaves me wanting to improve my riding:work ratio.

...And the elevator operator provided some pleasant eyecandy! (She declined a photo op...)

Well, how many times did you ride the elevator?

[gumby]

Great pics... some spectacular views!

Thanks for sharing!

[DucDave]

Nice write up. Inspiring. Leaves me wanting to improve my riding:work ratio.


Well, how many times did you ride the elevator?

I got nothing....!

[Mike Qube]

Is the gravy on the poutine at Chez Vachon still really salty?

[Marc R]

When you order poutine, insist they serve the imported stuff. Stay away from the imitators

[trider143]

A couple more pics...

A view of the surrounding mountains and valley from the 90m ski jump tower:



If you think this is a tall ski jump tower, think about where the pic is taken from



All in all, a great riding weekend. Thanks to Dave for organizing and to the group for the spirited riding. Oh, and thanks to Cheese for going the extra distance to take some of the pics for me

PS: Dave, you mentioned the elevator girl but not Margot!

[gumby]

More great pics.

The photo from the ski tower, looking directly down the ramp is unbelievable.
I couldn't imagine strapping on some skis and going down that!

[trider143]

A short video of a freestyle ski jump practice jump. http://www.flickr.com/photos/87603965@N03/8021089900/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/87603965@N03/8021089900/

[Stromper]

I am heading up in October

Any must do's ?

[e30addict]

Oh, hell no

[gcgiroux]

Stromper, ask DucDave or Cheese for the GPS route. VT-125, T**** Road, E***** P*** Road (do both out then back) are a must. Also ask Cheese for the Sunday return trip. GREAT roads, though we hit some traffic.

- - - Updated - - -

Tom, great video. Have any more? Let me know how to load them and I'll upload some I took.

[gcgiroux]

Dave, Tim, Tom, Cheese, thanks for the great ride. After 3 solid days of spirited riding, my confidence was a lot higher and my skills sharper. Great stories and saying ("I got nothing", and "Are you going down now?"). Looking forward to DAK 2013!

[trider143]

Dave, Tim, Tom, Cheese, thanks for the great ride. .... Great stories and saying ("I got nothing", and "Are you going down now?")...

Well, don't forget about Dave's quote similar to the following video (skip to 2:45 or so...)

[nhbubba]

Oh, hell no

Pretty much read my mind. Nuckin' futz!

Solid ride. This is on my short list for one of these days. My father vacations in the 'daks a lot these days. He goes up for canoe and boat building events. He has stayed at the Plaza once or maybe twice now. He says it is really great too. Says you can go broke dining out in the area though.

[Rada]

Very nice pictures and write up.

[Not Sure]

Nice write up and pics Dave, thanks. Glad to hear it was such a great trip!

Rob led these two legs and the rest of the way to Lake Placid. Somehow he found miles and miles of freshly paved twisties that just rolled out ahead of us like a casually tossed ribbon.

This doesn't surprise me cause he can ride like a freakin ballerina.

[DucDave]

Oh, hell no

How bout this then...(a little off topic!)

[nhbubba]

That girl is a squid!

[Cheese]

The rest of the day was spectacular. Little traffic, great roads, including T****Road and it's kin, E*****Pond! Rob led these two legs and the rest of the way to Lake Placid. Somehow he found miles and miles of freshly paved twisties that just rolled out ahead of us like a casually tossed ribbon.

I'm rather late to this party since I returned from the DAKs and jumped on a plane for work travel. Many thanks to Dave for setting this up, pushing me to attend in between a busy work schedule and of course for a fine job of leading and keeping us all together. For those that haven't been on a multi-day ride with Dave he is a great tour guide. He has daily plans but also polls the group for what they want to do making the trip enjoyable to the majority. Thanks to Tim, Tom and Guy for many hours of laughter after riding. Many good memories from another awesome trip to the DAKs.

Is the gravy on the poutine at Chez Vachon still really salty?

It's gravy over cheese curd and french fries. How can you tell it's the gravy that's salty?

I am heading up in October

Any must do's ?

I can PM you some hints or you can just zoom in on the map and pick your roads accordingly. Most roads that start with a "CR-" will be worth investigating. Beyond that it's the same strategy I use around here; Anything that follows a river or winds through the mountains is typically a good riding road. The difference in the DAKs is that the pavement is pristine and each corner is marked with a truck speed letting you know whether you should enter 10mph slower or faster than the one you just exited.

This doesn't surprise me cause he can ride like a freakin ballerina.

You should have been with us chasing my tutu Mike!

[Cheese]

Finally cleaning up my Ducati sport tourer after the DAKs trip. What the hell are all these rubber yellow speckles on the underside of my bike? Good rides boys!

[DucDave]

Finally cleaning up my Ducati sport tourer after the DAKs trip. What the hell are all these rubber yellow speckles on the underside of my bike? Good rides boys!

They buff right out!!! (I thought I was pretty freekin patient considering...well, considering it's me...!)

[gcgiroux]

I'd rate the DAK 2012 ride as better than a track day; having done both within weeks of each other. While NHIS was fun and it was great to try improve technique by taking the same turn multiple times, there is no beating the excitement of spirited riding unknown roads with great friends!!!