September 20: Ticonderoga, NY to South Royalton, VT

Ticonderoga, NY to South Royalton, VT Sept 20 ( 73 miles)

Adventure Cycling: Northern Tier Section 11

Well I have gone through 10 of Adventure Cycling Maps now. I am over 3500 miles on this trip now -- headed to 3600 pretty soon. I am on my last map from Adventure Cycling – Map Section 11. This map will take me from Ticonderoga, NY to Bar Harbor, Maine. I want to travel up to Presque Isle, Maine and perhaps on to the tip of Maine or maybe into New Brunswick so I will have to purchase a map of Maine when I get there and figure that out later. For now my goal is to get to Bar Harbor – about 350 miles or so from here.

I could not get across Lake Champlain last night because I got to the Ferry after it was closed so I spent the night at the wonderful Amtrak Inn. There was a bathroom at the ferry crossing and there was an Amtrak waiting station a couple of hundred yards above the ferry dock. I went to the Amtrak waiting station and it was open and it was about 20 degrees warmer inside the little building than it was outside. There were not any trains scheduled until 9:30 the next morning so I figured it would make a nice Hotel. It did. It even had an electric outlet so I could send my email and charge my stuff up.

I got up the next morning and was at the dock at 8:00 AM waiting for my ferry ride. It was very foggy and the ferry was on the other side of the lake. They couldn’t see the “Passenger Waiting” sign because of the fog, so they didn’t come across the lake until 9:00 AM. I finally got across the lake. It was pretty chilly and foggy early but the day cleared up and was probably the most beautiful day I have seen on this whole trip. As soon as I crossed over into Vermont the scenery changed somewhat. Not necessarily more beautiful than New York, but just a little different. The Vermont country side is very Beautiful. I can see why the residents here love the scenery.

I never ride on Sundays, but I was 70 miles from South Royalton on my Adventure Cycling route map and Lori’s (my wife) parents were in South Royalton waiting for me with a soft bed, shower, pumpkin pie and dinner. So I rode to South Royalton. I had to climb a pretty steep mountain called Bread Loaf. It was about a 7 mile climb up to Bread Loaf. There was a sign on the road that said the grade was 12%. If you really want to have a good time some day, hang some bags on your bicycle with 80 pounds of gear on them and ride 7 miles up a mountain with a 12% grade. Tons of fun. I have been climbing up and down hills since I got into New York several hundred miles ago and some of those hills are steep but they don’t last long at least. Bread Loaf mountain was a little tougher but I got up in pretty good time. Sometimes I could not continue climbing more than half a mile or so because it was so steep but I have learned how to SERPENTINE. The art of climbing mountains on a bike by riding back and forth on the highway at 45 degree angles to the road so you can continue to move forward. Sometimes it is a little tricky to dodge in between the cars when you are Serpentining up the road and sometimes the people in the cars get a little perturbed as I weave in and out of the cars but it is a very effective way to get up the mountain, if you are not in a big hurry. One Drawback – When you are Serpentining up mountains you have to travel a little farther to cover the same amount of distance that you could if you just rode straight up the mountain. So it took me about 55 miles of riding to get up the 7 mile mountain. Oh well, I really need the exercise. I hardly get any. By serpentining I was able to climb the entire day without pushing my bike up the hills. How nice is that! Also – Serpentining is great practice for the National Guard. When I get back maybe I can sign up in my unit as a Serpentine Instructor. I’m getting a lot of practice on this trip.

Anyway, I got up the mountain, up all the hills and got to the sign to Camp Joseph where Lori’s parents are the caretakers. Milton and Betty Cochran are on a mission to care for the camp where Joseph Smith was born and the Adventure Cycling maps go right through the town. I got to the turn off for the camp and looked at Dairy Hill that goes up to the camp and was surprised. The 2.5 miles to the camp went up a grade that was at least 15%. More Serpentining, except this time I was almost going straight back and forth across the road to get up the hill. I finally made it. My reward was a nice shower, dinner with pumpkin, pie and a soft bed.

These hills and mountains have been somewhat of a test to me and my legs ache pretty good when I am trying to get up them, but I have begun to appreciate the fact that they are on my route. I know that I will get to the top eventually and I no longer worry about them. I will have some pretty steep mountains here in Vermont yet to get over, but I will get over them. Coasting down the other side is always nice even if the ride up is 3 hours and the ride down is 20 minutes. Life sometimes has some ups and downs but I know that we will always get past the hard times and better times will come. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I saw several “Moose Crossing” signs in Vermont today but did not see any Moose. Quite disappointed about that.

I would say that Lake Champlain was very pretty but I couldn’t see it because it was so foggy. Vermont is very beautiful and the rolling hills are pretty cool. The day was a nice 60 degree day with a pretty cool morning. I got to Camp Joseph to have dinner with Milton and Betty Cochran about 6:00 PM or so this evening so I made pretty good time today.

I will stay over on Monday and get a tour of Camp Joseph and the birthplace of Joseph Smith and then go to family home evening with the missionaries at the visitor’s center and at Camp Joseph. I will leave early Tuesday Morning.

Pretty good day all in all.

Later,
Dan

Vermont State Line Sept 20