LOCALadk Magazine

Summer 2019 LOCALadk Magazine 55 LOCALadk The Lure of TATR The scener y is breathtaking and the route takes you through remote sections of the Adirondacks that you can't easily access other wise. In September 2017, peak colors col- lided with the timing of TATR. Rivers, waterfalls, and lakes were all framed in more vibrant trees than I had seen in years. There was a spectacular display of nature throughout the course. While the Adirondack landscape is stunning, the true draw for me is the challenge of TATR. A love both of adventure and self-sufficiency is required to be successful—whether that means finishing the race or simply enjoying as much of it as you're able to. The race pushes me physically ever y single day; I have to dig deep mentally as well. Daily tasks, such as preparing food, finding a camping spot, navigation, dealing with obsta- cles deep in the woods, filtering water, and arduous climbs, all provide one thing after another to focus on. When it comes to climbing, it wasn't until I finished that first year that the elevation stats became clear for me: 51,000 feet of climbing on the route —that's a little more than the elevation of Mt. Everest and Mt. Kilimanjaro combined. The People The idea of meeting and chatting with people along the way also helps bring me back to TATR each year. While "trail magic" is allowed, TATR rules are in line with the majority of ultraendurance bikepacking races: solo, unsupported travel. I have stories of kind folks in Speculator, Indian Lake, Inlet, Star Lake, Wanakena, Paul Smiths, Essex, Westport, North Creek, and many back roads in between. A woman offered up her yard as a place for me to pitch my tent late one night; Joe and Marian Romano at the Stillwater Hotel made sure I had dinner, even though I rolled in long after the restaurant had closed; countless others filled water bottles for me and plied me with questions about my race. Store clerks along the way charged my phone as I charged other electronics. There was the couple that followed my on- line tracker and greeted me as I exited the woods in the rain. They put me up for the night, fed me, and helped with a flat tire. Wanakena— one of the prettiest little places anywhere in the Adirondacks, steeped in logging and ranger histor y—is home to kind, welcoming people. Nolan Fedorow, who owns the store Otto's Abode, keeps a chalkboard on the porch an- nouncing TATR mile 241 to racers. The Cedar Lodge Bar & Grill is on a secondar y road some- place south of Hopkinton, far from any other amenities. The people —the cook, the owners, and the customers—make it ver y special. I stayed far longer than I should have just to enjoy the excellent company and allay their concerns for my well-being while biking alone. In another instance, there was a man who came to check on me in his pickup just before I re-entered the woods headed for Bear Pond. He had heard from a racer the previous day that I'd be coming through, and wanted to make sure I was okay. A wonderful woman in Paul Smiths invited me to join her dinner party when I stopped to ask for water late one night. Someone from Lake Placid followed my online tracker and drove out one evening to bring me hamburgers and coffee. The staff at Mecham Lake Park opened their garage to me, supplied endless hot coffee, and dried my rain gear as I waited out a torrential storm. I remember thinking This is far more than a random act of kindness from a stranger; it's part of the fabric of the Adirondacks. I have so many sweet Adirondack stories from the three races I've done that they blend together from one year to another.

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