2023 Adirondack Trail Ride: Leave it All Out There

Words by Mike Feldman, photos by Mike and Jody Dixon

“Leave it all out there.”

That’s what The Adirondack Trail Ride (TATR) race director and founder Mikey Intrabartola shouted to me as we high fived while I was rolling out at the start of this year’s grand depart. This was my fifth grand depart after swearing off my last one in 2019. Even though I’ve ridden variations of TATR for years, here I was back in the barrel. The Queen of TATR, Jody Dixon (7 starts/6 official finishes) had dragged me back thanks to the St. Lawrence Triple Crown. And no, that does not make me king by marriage.

The neutral roll out passes by Northville Central School, and Shannon, a local rider and teacher, has lined the street with school kids cheering us on our way out. That’s a pretty awesome pep rally! It doesn’t take much to get riders fired up, and by the time we get to the official start, there’s no one in sight. Jody and I are in our customary last place, and we peck-peck and then she releases me to the wild.

Still on the pavement I catch up to my buddies Mike Roe and Jono. We harangue one another like middle schoolers who just started summer break. Jody will catch them on the infamous Murphy Lake Trail, mile 40, where first-timers get their first taste of TATR. For some, it’s not pleasant.

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Barkeater

The Adirondack region historically was a shared area among Indigenous peoples. The Haudenosaunee name is “ha-de-ron-dah” and it was called a “dish with one spoon,” a shared neutral territory. Early Europeans translated the word to “Adirondac” and understood it to be a slur to the people living within the region who were poor hunters and resorted to eating the bark of trees to survive. However, some historians have postulated that “bark-eater” could also be a reference to the plentiful beaver population. But I think it was a coy inside joke among the Haudenosaunee and their opinion of Europeans in general.

Today, the Adirondack Park is a six-million-acre state park in northern New York that is protected by the state’s Constitution. Created in 1892, it’s a 50/50 blend of private and public (forest preserve) lands, about the same size as the state of Vermont. The forest preserve is divided into categories: Wilderness (no bikes, the most restrictive); Wild Forest (bikes mostly okay, snowmobiles okay, ATVs mostly not); and Intensive Use like state campgrounds.

The Adirondack Trail Ride is a 587.5 mile bikepacking route created by Mikey Intrabartola with the first grand depart in 2015. Special note, his spouse Michele should also be recognized for her efforts, rescuing Mikey on more than a few wrong turns, dead ends, and oopses. The route starts and ends in the village of Northville and typically is ridden clockwise. Mikey keeps the route on trails using paved and gravel roads to bypass Wilderness areas. However, “trails” may not be defined by what many would consider bike trails. Get your old school techy on. Otherwise, there is only one very brief purpose-built singletrack trail.

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Zombies

With this summer’s record wet weather, Murphy Lake Trail is in the worst shape ever with many new washouts. It doesn’t let up for 20 miles. Coulombe Trail, Pine Orchard Trail, Girard Sugar Bush: “When marching through hell, keep marching.” Finally, RT8 and then mostly gravel into Speculator (mile 75), the first resupply. TATR has about a 50% completion rate, and 25% of those who scratch do so before Speculator.

My goal, as always, is to ride past Speculator. And it wasn’t happening, again. I run into Jeff G. at the Mountain Market, where we both wander the aisles looking like zombies in search of brains (pun intended). Finally, we find some food and head our separate ways.

Never Easy

Day two is always the worst. Get through that, and everyday gets easier. Sage advice from my mentor Jeff Mullen. Another swamped-out snowmobile trail to start the day, but it’s only seven miles. Then it’s decent gravel and another 15 miles on pavement to the next re-supply in Indian Lake. Nice wide shoulders.

I’m on a mission now. First, to keep on my 2019 personal fastest time (PFT) of 6 days and 9 hours. And second, make it to the Stillwater Lodge for Marion’s lasagna. Marion and her husband Joe have been here for over 40 years and are getting ready to retire. If you’re in the area, this is an iconic Adirondack landmark not to be missed.

Leaving Stillwater the next day, I’m struggling. I hit the Oswegatchie Education Center’s trail magic table for two bags of “breakfast” chips and keep going. So quick that Bill and staff see me on the trail cam, but I’m gone before they can get there. If only I could be that fast on my bike.

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It’s a mix of gravel and “trail” to the next resupply in Star Lake. It’s been slow going, so I’m not lollygagging in the store. A couple of pre-made sandwiches, and I’m riding the short stint on Highway 3, again nice wide shoulders before heading back in the woods on decent gravel. At the end of the road is the Moore Trail into Wanakena, an isolated little town. The Moore trail is basically a two-mile hike-a-bike. Mud holes, narrow brush-chocked trail, and wet slimy roots make walking a challenge.

As I’m getting near town, four young women are just climbing up the bank to the town road when they spot me. Startled, they are unfortunately slower than me, and they struggle. I think maybe I scared them a bit because I’m sure I was scowling and looked a sight, pushing a bike, then lifting, grunting, and struggling myself to get up the bank.

“Would you like some water?” one asks, snapping me back to reality. I politely decline and hop on the bike. I have to stop at Otto’s Abode, the local grocery, post office, and town gathering place. Nolan, the owner and one of the few year-round residents is a TATR fan and dot watcher. I bound into the store, give a shout out, grab some candy bars, and chat him up briefly. No spare time, as I’m behind my PFT, and it’s back into the woods on some much better trail.

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The Irony

Sometime late at night, Jeff G. passes me. But then I’m up wicked early and manage to get by him as the freewheel clicking wakes him up. He catches me again, and we leapfrog our way to Hopkinton and the resupply at Lamphere’s Store. I get there just after him and have the benefit of knowing what I want and having shaken off the zombieness. I watch Jeff shuffle through the aisles, looking a bit disconnected. I’m not planning on staying long, but he calls me over to his table. He’s gotten the daily special: hot turkey sandwich with a mountain of mashed potatoes and a lake of gravy. I’m envious but know better. There can be too much nutrition. He confides in me his intent to scratch. I try to convince him to hang in there, he’s just going to ride somewhere to get picked up, might as well stay on course and give it a day. Besides, we’re half way to the finish!

That night, I roll past Paul Smith’s College where you can once again, in post-pandemic times, get a meal in their cafeteria. Still struggling to keep up, I camp at Debar Meadow after clearing blowdown for everyone behind me, cutting a tunnel through a couple of hemlock and a maple tree. After a surprise new beaver dam flooding the trail into a pond, I pretty much collapse into my tent.

The next day, I hit Wilmington just in time for one of the last A&W Root Beer stands left in New York. This is my irony. I scarf down two cheeseburgers and a large root beer. It’s so good, but I suffer the rest of the day. All energy is redirected to the digestive track. Ugh. Three major climbs take their toll and, subsequently, I fall way behind my PFT.

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Redemption

Mikey’s TATR motto: “Relentless. Biting. Beautiful.” There are so many hellacious washouts to contend with and an abnormal number of blowdowns. Even where Mikey and I cleared the trail down to the Boreas River just a few weeks ago has a new, huge mass of blowdowns. Notorious Lester Flow and the Irishtown Snowmobile Trail and Cheney Pond Road are the worst I’ve ever experienced. A pond where we always have been able to ride, the shoreline is now well up into the woods. It would be a deep wade to stay the course. I elect to bushwhack through the dense forest on higher ground. Only a day to go. I can repair my clothes when I’m finished.

My last night, I score a trail angel cabin. Thanks so much, Jim and Dave! I’m back on schedule, which allows me to follow my own advice: ride East Stoney Creek Trail in the daylight. It’s the last “trail” section, and while hated by many, it’s one of my favorite trail sections.

Leaving the trail onto a gravel road with 10 miles to the finish, I feel a rush of endorphins. There’s a slow-moving car on the narrow road, and I flip on my light to let them know I’m present. They stop, and it turns out it’s friends of mine out looking for me. I stop and try to use my words, some semblance of coherence. Arriving back at Northville’s Waterfront Park, I’m greeted by family and friends. Definitely a benefit of being a local. Turns out I’m only two hours off my PFT, finishing in 6 days and 11 hours.

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Epilogue

It’s nice to be home dot watching. It takes me a day to catch up, and then I’m in town cheering at the finish and hearing the awesome stories. Congrats to Timo and Mike E. on a strong ride! Way to go! Cheers to everyone who came out and toed the line, and I hope to see your names again on Trackleaders TATR24!

*Michael Feldman is the first rider to complete the St. Lawrence Triple Crown Challenge. Current FKT: 16 days, 16 hours, and 16 minutes.

The Adirondack Trail Ride: 6 days, 11 hours, and 16 minutes
Log Driver’s Waltz: 4 days, 16 hours, and 50 minutes
Butter Tart (BT) 700: 5 days, 12 hours, and 10 minutes

Further Reading

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