Americade 2010 - Now For Something a Little Different!
So, there we were...at Americade 2010...up in the beautiful
Adirondack Mountain region of New York State... And, like so
many other Americades, which start on the first Monday of June, the
weather was, as usual, unpredictable. We arrived on Wednesday
of Americade week and it was dreary, rainy, and cool.
This year, we didn't sign up for any of the scheduled tours, though, so we were pretty flexible when it came to what to do, where to go, and whether to brave the weather! We clocked out a route from Lake George for a Thursday trip with some friends of ours. Of course, Thursday morning arrived and guess what? Yep...it was raining again. So we canceled our plans for the day trip and tried to figure out what else we could do in the cool, wet weather. Of course, going to a motorcycle rally, we wanted to get on our bikes and ride, not wander around the village of Lake George. So, when the clouds cleared a bit, we decided to give it a go and we hopped on our bikes and headed north. We rode up the western side of Lake George, on Route 9N, a very curvy, twisty and scenic road that snakes its way north. Lake George comes to an end and Lake Champlain begins and we continued north until we got to Fort Ticonderoga, where there is a ferry (really just a little barge) that carries people, cars, and bikes across Lake Champlain between New York and Vermont. Once in Vermont, we took a few more roads and before we knew it, we were at our destination: the Woodchuck Cidery in Woodbury, Vermont.
Well, my friends, this is not your regular ol' cider mill. These people make HARD cider! Normally, the cidery is not open to visitors for tours but they made an exception for us, and in we went.
We were given a brief overview of the cidery and, although we weren't given any samples of the ciders they produce, they did send us away with tee shirts and cider glasses (on one side of the glass you get the proper measurement of Woodchuck draft cider and lager for a "snakebite" or turn the glass to the other side to get the measurements of Woodchuck draft cider and stout for the perfect "black velvet". Sounds yummy!)
Our next stop was the Otter Creek brewery, a stone's throw from Woodchuck. We walked in and were greeted by some really friendly people who offered us samples of the ales that they brew!
We were given a few sips of a bunch of varieties and then off we went for a tour of their facility. It was fascinating to learn a little about how they brew their ales. We stood over some mightily large vessels that were used in the storage and fermentation processes. Then, we watched as the different ales were bottled and packaged.
Of course, we had to find out who, in our area, sells their products since there were several that were delicious enough to want to buy!
With our curiosity (and a teeny bit of our thirst) satisfied, we headed out to our bikes to continue our day trip. And, of course, with such unpredictable weather, wouldn't you know it? It was POURING! Thank goodness for rain suits, waterproof boots, full face helmets, good tires and dependable bikes!! We had a couple of other places on our list to visit but, due to the torrential downpour, we decided to just go grab some lunch and head back to Lake George.
One of the people at Otter Creek recommended a restaurant in downtown Middlebury, called "Two Brothers."
It was a GREAT place for lunch and it gave us enough time to dry out before heading out into the rain again. After lunch, although the rain had let up a bit, we decided to just head back to Lake George Village. I kept looking in front of us and behind us to keep track of potential rain clouds. On the ferry back to New York, I turned around and saw some clouds that looked like they were following us!
Of course, at that point, what difference did it make? I mean, we were dry INSIDE our riding gear….the outside of us was completely drenched.
So, if you ever venture up to Americade, keep in mind that you are not limited to just the standard tours listed in the Americade brochure. If you do a little research before your trip, you will find that there are lots of places that you can visit in the region. And, DO keep in mind that, the first full week of June, when Americade is held, is a very unpredictable time, weatherise. You should be prepared for cold, heat, sun, rain, and even (yikes!) the possibility of snow!!
This year, we didn't sign up for any of the scheduled tours, though, so we were pretty flexible when it came to what to do, where to go, and whether to brave the weather! We clocked out a route from Lake George for a Thursday trip with some friends of ours. Of course, Thursday morning arrived and guess what? Yep...it was raining again. So we canceled our plans for the day trip and tried to figure out what else we could do in the cool, wet weather. Of course, going to a motorcycle rally, we wanted to get on our bikes and ride, not wander around the village of Lake George. So, when the clouds cleared a bit, we decided to give it a go and we hopped on our bikes and headed north. We rode up the western side of Lake George, on Route 9N, a very curvy, twisty and scenic road that snakes its way north. Lake George comes to an end and Lake Champlain begins and we continued north until we got to Fort Ticonderoga, where there is a ferry (really just a little barge) that carries people, cars, and bikes across Lake Champlain between New York and Vermont. Once in Vermont, we took a few more roads and before we knew it, we were at our destination: the Woodchuck Cidery in Woodbury, Vermont.
Well, my friends, this is not your regular ol' cider mill. These people make HARD cider! Normally, the cidery is not open to visitors for tours but they made an exception for us, and in we went.
We were given a brief overview of the cidery and, although we weren't given any samples of the ciders they produce, they did send us away with tee shirts and cider glasses (on one side of the glass you get the proper measurement of Woodchuck draft cider and lager for a "snakebite" or turn the glass to the other side to get the measurements of Woodchuck draft cider and stout for the perfect "black velvet". Sounds yummy!)
Our next stop was the Otter Creek brewery, a stone's throw from Woodchuck. We walked in and were greeted by some really friendly people who offered us samples of the ales that they brew!
We were given a few sips of a bunch of varieties and then off we went for a tour of their facility. It was fascinating to learn a little about how they brew their ales. We stood over some mightily large vessels that were used in the storage and fermentation processes. Then, we watched as the different ales were bottled and packaged.
Of course, we had to find out who, in our area, sells their products since there were several that were delicious enough to want to buy!
With our curiosity (and a teeny bit of our thirst) satisfied, we headed out to our bikes to continue our day trip. And, of course, with such unpredictable weather, wouldn't you know it? It was POURING! Thank goodness for rain suits, waterproof boots, full face helmets, good tires and dependable bikes!! We had a couple of other places on our list to visit but, due to the torrential downpour, we decided to just go grab some lunch and head back to Lake George.
One of the people at Otter Creek recommended a restaurant in downtown Middlebury, called "Two Brothers."
It was a GREAT place for lunch and it gave us enough time to dry out before heading out into the rain again. After lunch, although the rain had let up a bit, we decided to just head back to Lake George Village. I kept looking in front of us and behind us to keep track of potential rain clouds. On the ferry back to New York, I turned around and saw some clouds that looked like they were following us!
Of course, at that point, what difference did it make? I mean, we were dry INSIDE our riding gear….the outside of us was completely drenched.
So, if you ever venture up to Americade, keep in mind that you are not limited to just the standard tours listed in the Americade brochure. If you do a little research before your trip, you will find that there are lots of places that you can visit in the region. And, DO keep in mind that, the first full week of June, when Americade is held, is a very unpredictable time, weatherise. You should be prepared for cold, heat, sun, rain, and even (yikes!) the possibility of snow!!
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