Have you ever known someone who always finds something to complain about? You know – the person that, no matter how nice they have it, they have to find something wrong and make it known to everyone? These are the “glass half empty” people – and always wanting their cup full. Well, for just a short while there today – that was me! Just 3 days ago, we were looking at the Nor’easter coming into the upper Mid-Atlantic through New England and just imagining how bad it was going to be today – a day with 104 miles and 8,400 feet of climbing on the agenda. Well, not only did we have no rain today, we had a beautiful Fall day with the sun mostly shining on the Vermont fall foliage. It was one of the most scenic rides we’ve had in weeks, but of course, I started to complain about the headwinds! One of my fellow riding partners reminded me to count my blessings with the weather – so I shut up!
Given the miles and climbing we had to do today, we started early with a 7:45 roll out down past Fort Ticonderoga to take the ferry across Lake Champlain. But this ferry was hardly 1/10th the size of the ferry we took across Lake Michigan a couple of weeks ago and it ran along a cable and took less than 12 minutes to cross the narrow northern section of the lake.
But once we landed on the eastern edge, we hit our 13th state – Vermont! After taking a few pics of the “Welcome to Vermont” sign – we started climbing and it went on intermittently all day. Before we hit our first SAG stop, we passed by Middlebury College and refueled in the town of Middlebury, which seemed like a nice town – but I couldn’t help imagining what it looked like in the dead of winter. It also seemed like a very “crunchy” town – lots of electric cars being driven by dudes with beards and birkenstocks. I know that’s a generalized stereotype, but our SAG stop was right on the town square across from a coffee shop and I observed 2 of the 3 cars and drivers that came in and parked near us to share those characteristics. And while that is not a good statistical sample, I still think I’m right.
The morning air wasn’t cold but the descents put a little chill on us and most of us kept outerwear on until we got to Middlebury. By the time we got to our 2nd SAG stop at mile 38, we were sweating the climbs but the rising sun kept us a little more comfortable on the downhills. It was after mile 38 that we started the 11th of 19 registered climbs for a 4 mile series of climbs of 1,300 feet that didn’t fully cap out until mile 44 and it was brutal. I had to dig deep to make it over the final lip of the climb at a 17% gradient – and even there we had a stiff headwind and we still had 60 miles to go.
With a few climbs between there and our lunch stop at mile 60, I wasn’t sure that I still had 44 miles in my legs at that point, especially with the Nor’easter generated headwinds slapping us in the face with each gust. After lunch though, we rode through Montpelier, the Capital of Vermont. I was shocked at how small that town is, for being the state capital at least. There are only 8,000 people that live there. It’s a pretty and quaint town but it sure does look like there ain’t a lot going on there. Did you know that Montpelier is the only state capital without a McDonald’s or a Starbucks? Look it up.
After getting through Montpelier, the climbs started again with the biggest being a 3.4 mile 900 foot climb with some short high single digit gradients, but again with headwinds all day, especially in the open space sections of the climb. After refueling again at mile 86, we had just 18 miles to make it to St. Johnsbury – and after all of that climbing, we still had more to go. But the last few miles included a 2 mile descent that left me a little respite as I rolled into the Fairbanks Inn gassed and exhausted at 5:40 PM – the sun was casting long shadows at that point as it began to dip below the Green Mountains. I was in the saddle for 8 hours and 14 minutes today – that’s a lot of pedaling.
It was a tough day but I have to say that I enjoyed the challenge. My quads are shot tonight but with just 2 days left, I will ride a tricycle to the Atlantic if I have to! We had a nice group dinner in stages at the 98 Mill restaurant nearby where most of us griped and moaned about the climbing and headwinds today – and it reminded me again to be a “glass half full” guy.
Tomorrow we head to North Conway, NH – and soon we’ll be able to smell the Atlantic. I thank God for my strength, health and safety these past 6 1/2 weeks and ask for His continued countenance over our group as we head to Portland!
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