Biking with Bill

VERMONT’S GREEN MOUNTAINS

Some say “climbing mountains builds character”. If that is true, I am a better man today–along with my cycling buddies. We climbed two major summits of the Green Mountains and 5400feet on today’s beautiful 77 mile ride across lower Vermont.

It would be hard to pick a better route than we rode today. We left Troy on Rt 2, connecting with NY Rt 7, which became VT Rt 9 as we crossed the border into the picturesque town of Old Bennington. Some stopped to climb the stairs of the Bennington Monument (which looks like the Washington Monument). You could tell we were in Vermont: the old churches, the GREEN mountains, (actually the well named Green Mountains), the dirt auxiliary roads, the tourists etc. By plan I stopped on Main St in Bennington to meet again with Joan, a sorority sister of Betty’s, on the front porch of her husband Neil’s law offices. We caught up on Tri-Delt news.

Immediately outside of town we began what the route rap sheet called, “Climb next 10 miles”. Climb we did–slowly, steadily, past Haystack Mt Ski Area , and through the Bennington National Forest, and finally over the spine of the Green Mts. The descent was terrific!

We then cycled through the tourist town of Wilmington, VT , where we stopped at the SAG and at an ice cream shop. Then we climbed again–at mostly a 6% grade–riding along side the rapids of the Deerfield River. I was riding alone, hearing only the sounds of the river unless disturbed by a motor vehicle. It was a beautiful, sunny, Saturday with temperatures in the low 80's. The descent into Brattleboro was again a fun ride. It was a pleasurable, challenging biking day.

Tonight, I’ll have dinner with friends from Naples–the Clarks and the Jeffries–along with Kirk Jeffries (brother), a fellow cyclist from Minnesota.

Enjoying Vermont,

Bill