Day 61. Middlebury, Vermont

Good bye New York! It was good. We really enjoyed all the wooded lakes.

Adirondacks




Hello Vermont!!



As soon as we crossed Lake Champlain (via Ferry - awesome!) we knew we were in Vermont. There is just a certain look and feel some places have. It is very pretty here. The nice rolling hills and farmsteads really set it apart. Other states have stood out as well. I remember crossing the Red River from Fargo, ND to Minnesota and hitting this wall of humidity. That really marked the beginning of the hyper humid mid-west in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and especially Indiana. Ohio and New York as well. Now I know this has been an exceptional weather year for all these places, but one must take note of the high humidity especially when accustomed to the decent temperature and humidity of the great Pacific Northwest! Yeah Baby! The PNW rocks weather wise as long as you can tolerate a bit of rain (which I love).

We started off slooow. A really tough start. No motivation, hills right away, I was ready to quit at 20 miles. Except I know you can't give in to those feelings. We pressed on. And on. And on. Finally covering 85 miles to Middlebury, Vermont. We went over the Blue Ridge mountains which turned out to be an respectable climb. Our New York map shows no elevation profiles which is a shame - some of these climbs should rate a profile.

One of our long descents was spoiled by a deluge of rain. It almost was hail at one point. Painful. I threw on my raincoat, which is a useless gesture as I was already completely soaked. But it did make me a bit warmer and softened the blow of the driven rain and half frozen hail. Alicia had a bit of trouble stopping her bike. It was steep enough we had to get the additional leverage of applying the brakes from the handle bar drops.

We toured Fort Ticonderoga. There is so much history in this part of the country. This fort has played a critical role several times in the past. Originally built by the French to protect Lake Champlain, it changed hands several times over the years. Lake Champlain, Lake George and the Hudson river are all near and provide critical access to vast reaches of colonial North America. Fort Ticonderoga is where the two lakes meet. And the Hudson river is just south of Lake George. This is the same Hudson river that runs by Manhattan. It was a well built fort made of stone overlooking both Lakes.

We took a ferry that has been running since the 1700's connecting highway 74 in New York state to Vermont. It was a fun respite. I love being on the water in any form.

We plan to go to Bradford, Vermont tomorrow. It is slightly off route and will afford us the much anticipated opportunity of reconnecting with friends from the time I worked at Dartmouth. It'll be fun.

Less than 250 miles to go!!! Getting close!

Check out this little fellow screaming across the road. As stretched out, giving his all. Go man, go!!



~Pete