Chester, VT to Sunderland, VT

July 1, 2015

My last day, and I woke to a steady rain, if not a downpour. These things always look worse than they really are. But I lingered nonetheless, subconsciously thinking (I suppose) that I could wait it out. It would be a short day with a climb up and over the Green Mountains and a long descent into Manchester. I was more worried about the descent. Fast descents in rain are not fun. And my brakes were on their last legs and ready for new pads . . . I would take it easy regardless, but the rain did not help.

Rainfall in front of the Fullerton Inn at about 9:00 AM.

So after a leisurely breakfast, I loaded my bike (they let me store it on the first floor of the hotel), and I was off.

Today's ride to Sunderland

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By now, the rain was down to a drizzle at best. For the first time during this trip, I had gone ahead and mounted my light system on my helmet, mostly for the rear red light. I use a Vis 360 light system, and it has a great rear light. Today might require the extra visibility. The hotel owner had warned me the road got narrower and steeper further west and was not as generous as the section from Springfield, which had nice wide shoulders for most, if not all, of the way. Plus, she said, the road conditions deteriorated. "Hmmm," I thought to myself, "Could they be as bad as Nova Scotia?" We'll see on all accounts!

And I did. Things were not as bad as presented. And the ride up to Bromley was beautiful and practically rain-free. I didn't have six-foot shoulders, but the road was more than ridable.

The road to the Green Mountains. The rain had mostly stopped by the time I left the hotel. Good planning!

It was all climbing but some "rolling" that would level out before climbing again.

At the top! Bromley Mountain Ski Resort. This came as a bit of a surprise to me. The riding was pretty effortless.

Then the descent . . . definitely tougher than the climb. I would have a different opinion maybe if it had been a clear day, but it wasn't!

The beginning of the descent. The descent was tougher than the climb.

Then it opened up. And we're talking major downpour. Ergo, no pics of the descent. It was bad enough that I had to stop partway down and seek refuge under a tree. I know, not the smartest thing as there was thunder and lightning. But it was so bad I could barely see the road conditions. And on the descent, the shoulder all but disappeared. And cars were not being as nice as you would think Vermonters would be. Maybe it was visibility. Maybe not. So pull off I did.

After 20 minutes, it "cleared" enough to resume my ride. I would let it open up a bit on the descent if I could see a natural breaking due to terrain (a flat section or slight uphill); otherwise, I tried to keep myself at around 12 or 13 mph. Besides road conditions, higher speeds would require more maneuvering room, which meant more to the middle of the lane. I wasn't prepared to place myself there today.

Eventually I reached the bottom and made a stop under the US-7 interchange bridge. Garmin was telling me I was off course, so at some point I had missed a turn. The sign told me I was about three miles from Manchester, where I had planned to visit Randy at his store, The Vermont Bird Place & Sky Watch. But given the weather and the fact that the road going to Manchester didn't look too friendly, I decided to return to my original course and head for John and Randy's homestead in Sunderland.

Good choice! Backtracking maybe 1/2 mile, I discovered my missed turn was East Manchester Road, a very quiet backcountry road that eventually connected to more similar roads and provided for a great riding experience as I tooled down the valley to Sunderland. In retrospect, I could have picked up this road fairly easily from downtown Manchester, but at the time, given the rain conditions and my current knowledge, it was the best choice. I really wanted a hot shower!

The ride to Sunderland was vintage backcountry Vermont roads. The rain had lightened up further but occasionally came back with a vengeance. At least once, I sought refuge under a friendly porch and again waited it out.

Bob's Maple Shop provided me with relief from the deluge!

But then it would stop . . . or nearly stop, and I would continue.

After one last climb of about 10%, I arrived at Dunlap Farm Road, and to my surprise, found it unpaved! But, very ridable and holding up well in the downpour that had resumed. In 3/4 mile, I had arrived and would have a picture, but the iPhone was too wet to function! Once we all dried out, the sun came out, and everything was good.

Those Adirondack chairs look very inviting right now!

The unloaded bike . . . with my functional, if not soggy, makeshift fender. It got good use today!

Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 3,472 miles (5,588 km)

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