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My Top 5 Bike Rides in America During Fall Foliage, Addison Valley, Vermont

Any avid road biker will tell you that Addison Valley, Vermont, is easily one of the top five biking destinations in North America. The backcountry roads have very little car traffic, great uphill climbs and downhill runs, and around every bend is another dairy farm, massive red barn, white church steeple, and glorious vistas of Green Mountains and Adirondack Mountains separated by the waters of Lake Champlain. Head there within the next two weeks and those views will be even more breathtaking when rural roads radiate with colors comparable to Monet’s finest Impressionist works. If you want a local to design your route based on mileage, go on a self-guided bike tour with Country Inns Along the Trail. Depending on your ability, they will design itineraries from 15 to 60 miles a day, with most bikers averaging 25 to 30 miles. You simply leave your car at the first inn and they will transport your luggage to the next night’s lodging, extending the trip as long as you like. Price starts at $155 a night per person, including lodging, dinner, breakfast, and transport of luggage. They also design hiking inn-to-inn routes. 
 

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Going for a Hike? Bring Your Mojo!

I’m already planning a mountain climb next month in New Hampshire before the black flies arrive. In my trusty daypack will be a tasty new snack bar created by Clif Bar called MOJO. My family has already sampled Cranberry Almond, Wild Blueberry Almond, and Coconut Almond Peanut. All were devoured almost instantaneously. I’m eager to try the dark chocolate selections, Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt and Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond. The bars are made with organic whole nuts, organic fruit, and chunks of organic dark chocolate. They’re also gluten-free, under 200 calories, and the ideal source of fiber. Especially when hiking to the summit of Mount Chocorua. 
 
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Top 5 Wine Regions for Bicyclists, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Sitting at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Capetown can certainly match Sydney and San Francisco as the most beautiful city in the world. Table Mountain, often draped in its tablecloth of clouds, forms a spectacular backdrop. A nice little warm up ride will bring you from the city to the exquisite beach of Camps Bay and the mountains rising behind Hout Bay. Serious bikers can then continue on to the Cape Peninsula and the Cape of Good Hope, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. Just be on the lookout for baboons that often cross the road. Once you’ve properly explored Capetown, drive one hour to the west and start your tour of Stellenbosch and its award-winning wineries. Bikes N’ Wines offers a 2-day guided bike ride through the region, where you learn about the rich heritage of the area and most importantly, taste the wares. The two day tour includes breakfast, a light braai lunch on one of the days and accommodation at on one of the wine estates. Cost of the 2-day jaunt is $1950 Rand or $127 US. By all means, continue your tour of the region on the famous Garden Route, a drive amidst forest, lagoons, and coastal towns, including the surfing mecca of Plettenberg Bay, another stunning locale to bike along the Western Cape or mountain bike the forests of Knysna. 

 
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A Relaxing Stay at Lake George’s Silver Bay YMCA

North of Bolton Landing, Lake George feels more lake a river, narrow and hemmed in by the peaks, offering vintage Adirondack beauty. You peer out at ridge after anonymous ridge and a carpet of trees, with few signs of civilization. When I tell people that I find Lake George more exquisite than Lake Tahoe, Lake Powell, or even that wondrous lake to the north, Champlain, they often look at me bewildered.  They equate the lake with the honky-tonk village on the southern tip, packed with T-shirt and fudge shops, video arcades, hokey haunted houses, a requisite water park, and my personal favorite, Goony Golf, a miniature golf course crowded with huge fairy tale characters. All they have to do is drive about ten miles north on Route 9N to Bolton Landing and the lake becomes far more serene. Growing up in Schenectady, New York, we would make the hour-drive to Bolton Landing on a regular basis to reach our sailboat docked just out of town. Now I return on an annual basis with my family to treat my kids to a good dose of natural adventure. 

 
I just returned from 4 glorious days with 18 members of my extended family at the Silver Bay YMCA, a 20-minute drive north of Bolton Landing. We hiked to Inspiration Point for exquisite vistas of the lake, kayaked across to the opposite shores, played tennis, went on a stroll with a naturalist to find wildflowers, made s’mores around the fire pit while looking at the fireflies, took advantage of those rocking chairs on the inn’s verandah, and swam to our heart’s content in the refreshing waters. It was good old-fashioned fun, a bucolic retreat where we could disconnect from our screens and reconnect with the family. Can’t wait to return to the lake next summer! 
 
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Single Malt Whisky Tasting At Cape Breton’s Glenora Distillery

It’s wonderful to be back in Cape Breton, especially on a hot cloudless sunny day. After crossing Canso Causeway and following Route 19 on Ceilidh Trail, we picnicked on the rocks of the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail, a hard-packed gravel trail which snakes along the western shores of Cape Breton from Port Hastings all the way north 92 kilometers to Inverness. In Glenville, we stopped at the Glenora Distillery to sample the single malt whisky (can’t call it Scotch since we’re not in Scotland). We stepped into the bar and listened to the live Celtic music from local fiddlers and singers while sampling a flight of five whisky choices. The Glen Breton 10 year-old whisky was smooth, but we loved the 19 year-old cask strength whisky finished in a barrel used for ice wine to add a hint of sweetness at the end. Then we took a tour around the distillery to see how they produced 150 barrels of whisky this past year. Built in 1990, Glenora is the first distillery in North America to attempt to make single malt scotch. The water stems from the shimmering McClellan’s Brook which runs through the bucolic property, while the malted barley comes from Saskatchewan and the fast-acting yeast from South Africa. The finished product is aged in oak barrels from the Buffalo Trace bourbon distillery in Kentucky.  The result is award-winning single malt whisky, worthy of a stop. 

 
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Baccarat Makes a Splashy Introduction In Manhattan

Blink and you might miss the entrance to Baccarat’s new flagship hotel in midtown Manhattan, across from the Museum of Modern Art. But then take the elevator up to the second floor and get ready to be bedazzled by all that glorious Baccarat crystal. The French company takes full advantage of its pedigree to create shimmering chandeliers in the petit and grand salon, their posh version of the lounge area. Feel free to have a highball here or walk into the bar, straight out of Paris with its arched roof and black-and-white checkered floors. In a little over a month, it’s already known as the perfect place to grab a French 75 in Baccarat crystal glassware around the long bar or outside on the small patio. The same glassware can be found in your room’s mini-bar, along with sweets from one of my favorite Parisian patisseries, Fauchon. Another nice touch in the room is the hand painted shower door, found in all 114 guest rooms. There’s an indoor pool for doing laps and the Spa de La Mer hidden below the hotel entrance. Chef Shea Gallante, who earned a Michelin star for his work at New York’s Cru, is at the helm of the hotel’s Parisian brasserie, Chevalier. 

 
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Dreaming of the Tbilisi/Baku/Samarkand Combo

I had the good fortune to sit next to Natalia Odinochkina, General Manager of Abercrombie & Kent’s Russian office, at dinner in Boston Tuesday night. She was a wealth of information. First of all, contrary to what you might think, the numbers of Americans traveling to Russia are way up. Not only are they visiting the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, but they’re taking the 4-hour bullet train to Moscow to see the Red Square. Many want to stay at the Metropol, due to the popularity of the best-selling novel, A Gentleman in Moscow. Then we got to talking about the nearby countries of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan, which she says is a must for any travel lover. Start in Tbilisi to hike in the 16,000-foot Caucasus Mountains and drink the exceptional local wine, then then take an hour flight or 7-hour drive to Baku to see the spectacular Zaha Hadid building and other architectural gems. From Baku, it’s about a 2 ½-hour flight to Tashkent and another 2-hour train ride to the ancient Silk Road gem of Samarkand, the entire city a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another 2-hour train ride and you’re in the exemplary Medieval city of Bukhara. Give me two weeks of your time and ActiveTravels will be happy to design the entire trip. 

 

2 Comments

  1. Addison valley is a really great place for fun and where tourists can enjoy many outdoor activities. I also spent such a nice time there before my new york washington tours but I would like to share here some most interesting activities which tourists can enjoy on this fabulous destination like mountains hiking, trekking, walking, camping and photography. I will love to go there again in my free time for having fun with my friends.

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