The Adirondacks are Hopping Already!

The 'already' part of today's post title refers to the feeling I have that the Adirondacks are busier than normal this time of year. Don't quote me on that and maybe it is just Lake Placid since we have a number of events coming up and there seems to be athletes training everywhere I look. This is a huge weekend for all levels of competitors. According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise,

"Bike racers and runners will converge on three Olympic Region towns this weekend in two big events leading into the area's busy summer sports season. Bike racing takes place both Saturday and Sunday, as Team Placid Planet hosts its second road race centered in Wilmington, and then returns the high-energy criterium competition to the village of Saranac Lake. Meanwhile, the Lake Placid Marathon and Relays will be held for the fifth straight year as a record field of runners race Sunday."

Phew. There has been a great deal of hubbub lately about our events and who should pay for what and tsk-tsking the rude and crudeness of cyclists/athletes/the horseys. As usual, I easily see both sides of this issue. I like riding my road bike and I am known to enjoy chatting with my riding partners, so I bet I ride double when I shouldn't. No, I know I ride double when I shouldn't. I am also a sometimes impatient driver who underestimates how long it takes to drive somewhere, fuming behind a pack of four-abreast cyclists. I am also a cyclist who has been harassed by drivers while riding, screamed at and threatened by drivers, and nearly killed by frighteningly unaware, incompetent motorists. The economic discussions certainly need to happen, but no one can put a price on the great energy created locally by hosting athletic events. I don't think I am the only thinking, "can't we all just get along?"
Today's featured photo is two side-by-each paddlers on Mirror Lake in the Village of Lake Placid, obviously enjoying the fact that they are allowed to chat while they are exercising.