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| Vermonting in Vermont |
The town of Bethel was 25 miles away. It looked like it had a bakery and a market. The right distance. Places to get some food & water. All side roads.
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| A Dam On The Quechee River |
50 miles in Vermont means a lot of ups and downs. It's hilly there! Well, quite a bit hillier than eastern Massachusetts, anyway. And gorgeous. Most of the route paralleled a river, but getting into the valley meant riding from one river valley to another.
The roads had fairly light traffic and almost as a rule the drivers gave me oodles of space when they passed. It seemed to me that the Vermont version of the "punishment pass" was only giving me four feet. As I left the Quechee River Valley, I realized there was a long climb followed by a LONG descent down to the White River. I realized it was going to be an interesting return trip if I chose to do an out and back along the same route from Bethel.
Regardless of the climbing and descending, the area was simply gorgeous. The route was nicely simple. From one valley to another. Ride along a river. Take a left and ride into a town.
The weather was perfect. Sunny. Maybe even a bit warm. I was carrying three water bottles on my bike. I had my trunk with me with some extra food, a cable lock, and some spare clothing in case the forecast was wrong (vest, arm/knee warmers). You never know.
Finally I got to Bethel. As it turned out it was not a very big town at all. And most of the shops were closed for the holiday weekend. Fortunately, the little market with the very friendly people staffing it was open. I bought some water, Gatorade, Coca Cola, and a packet of peanuts.
I popped open Google Maps to see what my options were going back. I picked an alternate route back. Unfortunately, when I remounted I rode in the wrong direction and then circled back. When I did that Google Maps re-set me to its preferred cycling route back to Quechee -- the same way I came. I really had wanted to go another way just to experience some different terrain. It would have taken me on the other side of the White River. Additionally, the route would have passed closer to Woodstock where my wife & daughter were spending part of the day. I thought that I might have been able to meet up with them there. Oh well.
There were a few historical markers along the way detailing incidents around the Revolutionary War and Lafayette's visit/return later in life.
Along the way there was a little backup in traffic while someone backed his boat into a driveway. Oh, I should mention there was tons of spots to pull off and go into the river. If I were the swimming type, I might have taken advantage of it. I also had a nice conversation with a motorcyclist while we were rolling slowly in traffic. There were lots of motorcyclists out enjoying the day. Had I gone through Woodstock I would have seen more cyclists. My wife told me there were lots of people out riding on the other side of the river. I saw a scant handful all day.
Finally, I got to the bridge over the White River. And the climbing began. And the climbing went on and on and on. I just got into a comfortable gear and ground away. Up and up. Periodically I had to stand up in the pedals just to stretch and vary the stresses on my body. On the way up I passed a group of hikers with fishing poles. I wish I had stopped for a minute to hear that story. But anyway, the endless climb just continued endlessly.
Until it was finally over and I crested the climb. There was no way I was going to touch my brakes going down to Quechee. I couldn't believe how shot my legs were. I soft pedaled on the crazy descent, just to keep the blood moving in my legs. After bottoming out at the Quechee River I had a couple small climbs up to my rental. My legs just felt dead. It was great. Anyway, I finished up. Texted my wife and sat at the table for a good ten or fifteen minutes before I moved again.
It was a tremendous ride. About 51 miles and it felt tougher than a lot of 100 mile rides I've done.
