TATR – The Adirondack Trail Ride 2018

The six-million acre Adirondack Park is a mix of public and private lands, and is a patchwork of state land designations that categorize each public parcel into distinct land use classifications.  Because of this, linking sections of rideable trail to complete the route was a challenge.  But in the end, it is an adventure that stays true to the Adirondack Park:  A journey from the southern foothills to the rugged interior, and on to the vast north and the picturesque Champlain Valley.  It is a loop through a beautiful and diverse eastern wilderness on trail, pavement, and dirt road. Riders pass through small towns, cycle past lakes dotted with quintessential “camps”, and take on quiet backroads and pass nary another person. Much of the route leaves populated areas and takes the rider to parts of the park seldom visited. TATR satisfies that need to get “out there”.

The Adirondacks are uniquely challenging – riders should not be fooled by the lack of elevation – the climbs may be short, but they are usually steep.  Potential long distances between resupply, the wild nature of the trails, remote dirt roads, and quickly changing weather should all factor into a rider’s planning.  Although the route does not go through the highest peaks, these mountains are rugged and will put any rider to the test.

(2017 Ride Recap): The 2017 edition of The Adirondack Trail Ride (TATR) went off on Friday, September 8th, at 8am. The third annual Grand Depart saw 13 riders at the start and one ITT 2 days later due to bike issues.  The weather was good at the start despite heavy rains the week before. Coupled with a wetter than average summer in the Northeast, this made for some challenging trail conditions and higher than normal flows for the river crossings. Despite the bit of rain and cold during the first night and into the second day of the race, the skies cleared and riders were treated to warm, sunny days and crisp, cool nights to pedal through.  Fall was in the air though with color in the trees and leaves on the ground. Riders pushed the limits and records were broken this year! The stats prove TATR is a tough event; 34 GD starts historically and 17 finishers.  Continuing this theme, there were 7 finishers this year, many of them returning riders who shaved days off their time. All in all it was a great edition and a wonderful group of riders… now that most are recovered we can all look forward to next year!