So, I hit 49.5 miles per hour on my bicycle on my most recent road ride in the Adirondacks.

I was aiming for 50 - must've been the wind.

I have a little odometer/speedometer device on my handlebar, primarily so I can keep track of how many miles I can claim to have ridden. But I find it impossible not to risk glancing down while tucked in a downhill coast to see how fast I'm going.

We live in a spectacular region for

road biking. Rolling terrain, ample shoulders and good pavement bring cyclists from all over to explore via two-wheels. Last weekend, my husband Kevin and I took off from our house on the Adirondack Coast of Lake Champlain and peddled UP to Moriah, where our great journey really began.

There are a ton of great loops to choose from in the region, but I think I've found a new favorite, (aside from that UP part). From Moriah Center, we took the Ensign Pond Road toward North Hudson. This secondary road is not very busy, with rolling terrain and a pleasant, meandering layout that passes sparsely spaced private homes and eventually bisects a section of protected wildway that includes a really cool wetlands area on both sides of the road for a bit.

The road is 13 miles long, and eventually ends in North Hudson in the Schroon Lake Region, with a short connection to Route 9, where we took a right toward Keene and Lake Placid. Route 9 in this section is a bit bumpy; segmented cement surface for a couple miles, but then it smooths back out to regular pavement. We were on this road for about 7 miles, where it meets our next turn; the Tracy Road, right near exit 30 off Interstate 87.

The Ensign Pond Road doesn't add all that much elevation gain to the ride, but the hills to get TO the road are steep. Really steep. This is my excuse for our next move.

Though we couldn't see it from the the Tracy Road turnoff, we know that there is a parking area at King Phillip's Spring just a few hundred yards further. The spring is no longer open. What IS open there in summer months? A hot dog stand.

Though it might defeat the purpose of aerobic exercise and I had energy bars stashed in my bike bag, we pedaled the extra yards and had a picnic-style meal of burgers. (Incidentally, this is also a trailhead for King Phillip's Spring rock climbing wall.)

Renewed from the nourishment, we clipped back into our pedals and headed back to the start of the Tracy Road - a road that motorcyclists from far and wide make part of their visit to the area as it is essentially an 8 mile-long series of hairpin curves through forested land. It is equally wonderful for road bikes - though you'll notice the slight elevation gain on pedal power if you head east - which we did (head east AND notice.)

Before long, we heard the distinct sound of high powered motorcycles coming from behind. They passed us at about the halfway point to the end of the road, neatly leaning into the corner and disappearing from sight.

We saw them again when we arrived at the end of the road, where there is a natural spring, and usually someone there filling their water bottles. We stopped to do just that, and chatted with them. They had ridden from Quebec for the day, and do that once in a while just to ride our favorite bicycle loops on the well-maintained Adirondack roads.

We bid them good day and hopped back onto our bikes for the last 5 miles back home. The Tracy Road ends in Witherbee, in the Town of Moriah just a tad higher in elevation and a couple miles from where we began the Ensign Pond Road earlier. This is a great loop starting from King Phillips Spring at Exit 30, or from the beginning of either of these roads. But we still had one last leg to get home.

It was all downhill from here.

The beginning of Pilfershire Road back toward Lake Champlain is steep. And the reward for going UP earlier, is that coast back down at the end of a 37-mile ride. I checked my speed intermittently as I coasted - 35, 38, 40, 48, 49.5... and I started to slow as the grade lessened. I followed behind Kevin, who pedaled hard to get up to speed before the real descent and pulled away quickly on the hill and likely surpassed my max speed.

I think it's fair to average our scores and call it 50.

-Kim Rielly is the director of communications for the Lake Placid CVB/Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism. 

MORE INFO: ADIRONDACK CYCLING ROUTES