Karen Fig

traveled in 9 countries Read more Chicago, United States

Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 14, 2022, 3:00 PM
- ⛅ 66 °F
- Altitude: 1,778 ft
- United States Lake Eaton 43.984962, -74.45584743°59’6” N 74°27’21” W
Day 15
Fall is here
September 14, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
The best season
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Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 13, 2022, 8:00 PM
- 🌧 57 °F
- Altitude: 1,795 ft
- United States Lake Eaton 43.985368, -74.45772943°59’7” N 74°27’28” W
Day 14
First day off
September 13, 2022 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 57 °F
First REAL day off, I mean, like we rode zero miles on our bikes, didn't even look at the things

...It rained most of the day. Typical

We made the best of it and went for a hike with the cheap emergency umbrellas we bought for our first day "off" in Ithaca. Man these things have come in handy! We also played a lot of dice in the tent and treated ourselves to some tasty sodas for dinner (carried uphill in glass bottles - not an insignifcant task!).

All in all, not a bad day, and my body needed it - we rode for 14 consecutive days!Read more
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Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 12, 2022, 3:00 PM
- ⛅ 70 °F
- Altitude: 1,841 ft
- United States Rocky Mountain 43.775928, -74.79634143°46’33” N 74°47’47” W
Day 13
10 miles
September 12, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
Me: I don't gravel bike, especially on hills
New York: The hell you don't!

At least it was good practice, and we didn't run into any bears
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Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 11, 2022, 8:00 PM
- ☁️ 61 °F
- Altitude: 1,896 ft
- United States McCauley Mountain 43.683348, -74.97677243°41’0” N 74°58’36” W
2
Day 12
Adirondacks ho!
September 11, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
Folks, we have liftoff! We have climbed THOUSANDS of feet (literally) and are in the MOUNTAINS. Look at those trees! Smell that delicious alpiney oxygen! Is it better than regular oxygen? Yes!

We scheduled a "day off" after our first big climbing day during which we were simply going to move from one campground to another, but one thing led to another and we ended up biking 8 miles through some steep hills. AGAIN. Our second day off in a row which turned out to be fake news. We did eventually find some time to look at a pretty lake in some Adirondack chairs, which aren't like, the most comfortable, but are everywhere around here (weird). We also already saw one bear in our first campground, which was a little disconcerting. The conversation with the ranger at our second campground wasn't heartening:

Ranger: this is BEAR country. We DEFINITELY have bears. Put your food in your CAR. LOCK your car.

Us: um, we don't have a car.

Ranger: oh, well, I wouldn't worry about it then.

Us: We saw one last night at the campground 5 miles away.

Ranger: oh...yeah...I mean, they don't come HERE too much...

🤔Read more
Nice trucker setup! Your sounds amazing💜 [Antonella]
9/18/22Reply
Your trip* [Antonella]
9/18/22Reply
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Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 10, 2022, 2:00 PM
- ☀️ 81 °F
- Altitude: 456 ft
- United States Rome City Hall 43.212859, -75.4557343°12’46” N 75°27’21” W
Day 11
Only the essentials (pt. 2)
September 10, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
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Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 10, 2022, 11:00 AM
- ☀️ 72 °F
- Altitude: 1,234 ft
- United States Wingate Swamp 43.479574, -75.30204743°28’46” N 75°18’7” W
Day 11
Cobblestone Castle
September 10, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F
On our way up a mountain we came across "Cobblestone Castle," a delightful and imaginative playground/art installation/repurposed junk world among the trees. The artist, Mike, was there, a really nice guy, doing his best to just create. I thought it was pretty cool. If you ever head into the Adirondacks, stop by!

I had seen a road killed raccoon with a fairly intact sun bleached skeleton down the road and lamented having to leave it behind. I thought Mike might be able to make some use of it - someone should! He thanked me for the tip :-)Read more
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Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 9, 2022, 5:00 PM
- ☀️ 81 °F
- Altitude: 456 ft
- United States Firefighter's Memorial Park 43.048134, -76.14742443°2’53” N 76°8’51” W
Day 10
Have a beautiful now
September 9, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
Somehow on most of my bike trips I end up staying at some sort of community house at least once and it is always a delight. An acquaintance from long ago (and fellow bike tourer) hosted us at his beautiful artist/activist shared house in Syracuse and it was so wonderful. To sleep in a bed, to use a kitchen, to have a conversation over coffee on a lovely porch and admire the murals. We walked a block to the local Korean joint and impressed the owner with how much food we ordered (and finished).

Today we're back on the canal. It's undeniably great for turtle and heron watching, and seeing a lock in action was pretty cool, but I'm ready for the mountains aheadRead more
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Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 8, 2022, 10:27 AM
- ⛅ 68 °F
- Altitude: 400 ft
- United States Clark Hill 43.010029, -76.70372143°0’36” N 76°42’13” W
Day 9
What kind of bird is this?
September 8, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
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Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 7, 2022, 2:00 PM
- ☁️ 68 °F
- Altitude: 666 ft
- United States Richardson Square 42.932032, -76.56720342°55’55” N 76°34’2” W
Day 8
Harriet Tubman
September 7, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery and purchased a home in Auburn, NY, which she shared with her parents, husband, and cared for others needing safety. She eventually purchased land attached to the property and opened a home for the aged, which she ran and funded herself. Despite serving as a spy, nurse, and commander during the American Civil War, she only ever received a partial military pension over two decades after her service.

Her home is currently being restored and maintained by one of the families that lived there after she passed. Despite being a "partner" of the National Park Service, the site receives no federal funding. The programming there is excellent and important. I left inspired and amazed at her commitment to justice and freedom. Lincoln gets way too much credit for what a community of abolitionists worked for years to accomplish.Read more
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Traveler Upstate New York
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- Sep 7, 2022, 12:10 PM
- ☁️ 66 °F
- Altitude: 988 ft
- United States Bush Landing Strip 42.611585, -76.49702242°36’42” N 76°29’49” W
Day 8
Second breakfast
September 7, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
First was a blueberry hotel waffle. I love the hobbit life
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