Hello everyone,

The Wifi / internet connection has been horrible here…. I hope to complete this post tonight but it could be iffy. As of now, I have one more hard day to ride plus the 17 mile ride to the beach the following day. Other than the obvious hazards that any urban bicycle ride might encounter, that is our typical warmup on any given day.

Today was a study in contrasts – while the scenery was beautiful, the roads and traffic were horrendous. It seemed to last almost the whole day with a few breaks early in the day. If you recall, 2 years ago, I broke my handlebars on this day and was delayed for about 3 or more hours while we repaired them enough to get me to the bicycle shop in Brattleboro. It seemed there was a lot less traffic 2 years ago, but memories are often selective and fuzzy. My main concern then was that i had ridden (or walked) every inch of the ride and the broken handlebars threatened that feat.  This year I was able to concentrate on just riding.

We left Albany on tricky roads with a lot of traffic and that traffic congestion lasted for 12 miles. There was some climbing and we went through one tunnel. Two years ago part of the route was under construction and we had to walk through 1/2 mile of mud. This year, that part was solid but there was considerable contraction the entire day. After mile 12, the ride was actually quite pleasant and we had a real tailwind. i was riding with Pierre and we made good time. However, there was a 4 or 5 mile section of road as we approached the DAG that had been stripped of upper pavement and was “waffled”. So we dodged trucks, cars and potholes.. On a 3 mile descent we averaged less than 1/3 what we could have ridden under normal circumstances.

After the SAG more construction and about 1 mile of  only 1 way traffic. We finally turned and the construction ceased at the Vermont state line. We took a few photos and headed off. I stopped to take some photos and lost track of Pierre until I saw him on a climb. In the city of Bennington, we began a 7 plus mile climb up to a ski resort. The first 4 miles were fairly easy and I was ale to hit 14 mph with not a lot of effort. All of a sudden the grade changed and speed slowed perceptively. I had on a rain vest as there was a constant threat of rain. I was sweating bullets and averaging about 5 to 6 mph for the last couple of miles of the climb.

It was about this time that the traffic started to get heavy and there often wasn’t much of a shoulder. Lots of road cracks, ruts, and freeze damaged surfaces. You had to pick your line and often get into the traffic lane. There was a lot of big rigs and most of the traffic was going faster than I thought safe— especially for me. Due to the nature of the roads, I also took the descents very slow and was passed by many riders. There was some spectacular scenery but I didn’t take many photos because I wanted to get off the mountain and had a few close calls. Later in the day , a few of the there riders told me of similar experiences.

Around mile 55, I hit the second SAG in Wilmington. I didn’t linger long because I wanted to get the ride over and the threat of rain was getting more obvious. From the SAg, I climbed up Hogback mountain and it did begin to rain. I had on my blinker but was a little concerned because it was darkening. The rain did not last long and wasn’t intense but did leave the road slick. There was a lot of descents after the peak at Hogback and again some of the riders that i caught at the SAG passed me. As I was descending, I saw an orange object on the side of the road and stopped to look at it. It was Alan’s flag and I retrieved it so that I could return it to him.

There was a lot of traffic in and around Brattleboro and I went off course a couple of times. I arrived at the hotel, kind of out of sorts and took a nap. I did manage to get a load of laundry done and i should be good until I get to Boston. The ride is over as os Saturday morning and I will return to St. Louis on Monday morning. I didn’t make any plans for Boston and have not made hotel reservations yet. I may try to stay close to a beach that is not too far from Logan. Any suggestions?

Tailwinds

Chuck