“Three P” races that include skiing, biking and paddling have existed for decades—out West in places like Crested Butte, Colorado, and Bend, Oregon, but also in the Adirondacks, from Tupper Lake to North Creek to Lake Placid. The idea, says Scott McKim, who’s competed in these events all over the country, is to “have fun during a tough time of year,” when ski and bike trails are at the mercy of mud, and waterways might be crusted with ice. And because it’s shoulder season, those who play year-round have yet to “make their gear-closet transitions from winter to summer, so they can use it all.”
For a 3P revival, McKim, who lives in Gabriels and works as science manager at Whiteface Observatory, in Wilmington, set his sights on Saranac Lake…