Day 10 Thetford to Rochester
Average speed: 10 mph
Got moving at about 7am. Kim and Ken were great hosts, as I said last entry. It was too early to bid them goodbye. The weather was mid 40s, so up from yesterday, and no rain or mist, which I’ve frequently had over the past few days.
Getting back to the route on the Thetford state road was only a half mile, past the house where Kim grew up and another house where her mother now lives.
The hills started pretty much right away with a decent climb, then another a few miles down once I left the main highway for a side road. It’s always nice to get away from high speed traffic, even if it means a climb. Rolling along the beautiful VT countryside, but there’s a cost to getting an early start. School buses and commuter traffic are higher from 7-8am, but most cars were respectful.
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I came to a long climb, about 2 miles in length, that was a bit of a bear, but managed it ok. The downhill was something. Over 5 miles!! I was glad I was going west instead of east. And as I was going down, I recalled from my GML ride 4 years ago a Maplefields convenience store at the bottom. (Maplefields is the #1 convenience store chain, in my view). It was chilly and I had many layers on, so sweat was making my inner layers wet which made it even colder. But that made the cup of coffee and hash browns inside a warm cafe feel that much better.
After chilaxing for a bit, it was back on the road towards Rochester. There were still several climbs, but low in distance and very manageable grades. The scenery was beautiful still, classic Vermont. The route followed the White River and on back roads the ride was very peaceful. Some sites looked familiar.
There are two ways to get to Rochester from Thetford. One is to take the Rochester Gap route (wicked hard) or loop around following the White River. The Northern Tier chooses the latter whereas the GML loop lets you choose the option. I’m glad there was no option this time!
Continuing on the ride, the classic Vermont scenery continued.
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I rode through South Royalton, where I had stayed before at an Airbnb, owned by Claire. That was interesting. She offered her boyfriend to put my bike in his truck and drive me over the Middlebury Gap. Not the point. She was very nice and I think enjoys having Airbnb guests - I’m sure you have to!
I arrived in Rochester probably about 12:45. The Pumpkin Patch B&B (where I am now) had my room ready. I talked a bit with Debbie and Rich then took advantage of having a local bike shop nearby - Green Mountain Bikes. They took a once over of the bike and things looked fine. Some minor brake adjustments and some lube was all that was needed. I do need to lube more and check the tire pressure more frequently. (I’m just happy to retain air after Hampton Beach!).
It looks like a Nor’easter is coming in tomorrow. Debbie tells me they predict snow in the mountains. And I’ll be going over the Brandon Gap, which, being a gap, is in the mountains. I don’t want to bike in 38 degree weather, with rain, which then turns to snow as you go higher. So, it looks like I’ll be taking a rest day tomorrow. Hopefully only one; Friday looks like rain too, but hopefully lighter. But the Pumpkin Patch B&B and this small village of Rochester is a good place to hang out for.a couple of days. They even have a laundromat!
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