July 8, 2019 to July 9, 2019
Bread Loaf Can Wait
Schroon Falls to Middlebury, VT
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Jackie’s avg speed: 9.4 mph
Scott’s avg speed: 10.6 mph
Weather: 60-80 degrees, humid on Vermont side
Phyllis put out quite a spread: banana muffins, French toast, granola, yoghurt, fresh strawberries, scrambled eggs, and bacon. We were well fortified by the time we headed down River Road to hook up with Highway 74 East. I so enjoyed talking to Phyllis and Eldon, it would have been nice to spend more time with them. But the road was calling, and the heat was rising. With only 40 miles to cover, the later start was fine. We just wanted to be at the Frog Hollow bike shop in early afternoon so the mechanics could check my brakes and gearing before the peaks ahead.
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The 20 miles to Ticonderoga marked the transition between the Adirondacks and the hilly farmland west of Vermont’s Green Mountains. This was still a vigorous ride over hill and dale ending in a long slope up and then steep descent to Ticonderoga. The pavement was brand spanking new, the lines had not yet been painted.
The town is a beautiful little settlement with a lot of history to explore. The fort is on the east side, right before the ferry over Lake Champlain. The famous Fort Ticonderoga is a star shaped fort built by a French-Canadian engineer in the 1750s to control a strategic portage between Lake George and Lake Champlain. The fort was of strategic importance during the 18th-century conflicts between Great Britain and France over trade routes via the British controlled Hudson River and the French controlled Saint Lawrence River. During the American Revolution when the British controlled it, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys captured it in May 1775. The Americans held it until June 1777, but withdrew when British forces occupied high ground above it. Some time when we’re in New York, it would be good to stop and delve a little deeper into the fort’s history.
Just a short distance from Fort Ticonderoga is the Lake Champlain ferry. Only $2 for bicycles! We rolled right onto a platform that floated us across to Vermont on the other side.
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The last 20 miles into Middlebury were actually pretty tough. “Hill” does not equal “easy” just because a hill is smaller than a mountain. Riding over one steep hill after another in strong sunlight, humidity, and steady traffic is a special kind of stimulus.
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The anchor of the town is Middlebury College, an elite liberal arts college known for its rigorous foreign language training and its association with the poet Robert Frost. Frost won four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry and a Congressional Gold Medal for Poetry bestowed by President Kennedy in 1962. He lived nearby in the village of Ripton on the slope of Bread Loaf Mountain. Frost taught 29 sessions at the annual Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, upslope from Ripton. The New Yorker magazine called it "the oldest and most prestigious writers' conference in the country." His poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" fits perfectly with Montana winter moods.
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4 years ago
Anyway, in our prosaic Vermont saga, we got to the Frog Hollow Bike shop about 15:30, an hour later than I had said. (Never estimate arrival times when traveling by bike without considering topography). The mechanic swapped out my shifter, which he said had some kind of internal breakage, and cleaned my brake pads and tire rims. He said he had done the best he could in the short time available and to come back in the morning if there were any problems. Fateful words.
The next day we were supposed to ride over the “Middlebury Gap,” a pass in the Green Mountains that cleaves the drainage of rivers flowing northwest into Lake Champlain and on to the St. Lawrence River and southeast into Long Island Sound in Connecticut. The pass is one of the highest in our journey, so we decided to treat ourselves to a stay in the Middlebury Inn (roughly $150 including tax) so we’d be well rested and ready early the next morning.
We bought takeout chicken Caesar salad and a Reuben sandwich from a natural foods market for dinner. Before bed, we packed all our gear and made plans to get donuts and fresh bagels from a bakery nearby that opened at 06:00.
We were in line with the local crowd at 06:30 the next morning. As we were pulling away, I shifted into a higher gear for a slight downhill, but the chain would not shift onto the second sprocket. The small sprocket worked fine, I just could not shift up. We went to a parking lot where Scott tried to adjust the gears. Nothing helped. We would have to take the bike back to the shop.
We parked in the back of the bike shop about 09:00 and the mechanic from the day before came out, knowing why I was there. He said a fresh pair of eyes was needed to assess the problem, he had done as much as he knew. I said there was no hurry, I could leave the bike there all day.
As it turned out, the bike was ready by noon. By then it was over 80 degrees and sticky humid, so we decided to go up Middlebury Gap the next day. We needed lodging for a second night, but wanted to economize. The owner of the Swift House Inn had once done a long bike tour and been treated well by people he met. Since then, he allowed cyclists to pitch a tent under a tree in the corner of the inn grounds, where rooms cost upward of $250/night. He also offered cyclists free breakfast. We took our gear to the inn, spoke with the manager, and pitched the tent.
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We hung out on the porch and in the parlor of the inn, washed clothes at a laundromat 1.5 miles out of town, and stopped for dinner at Fire and Ice restaurant on the way back. The bike worked like a charm now. More importantly, I had the psychological edge of confidence in my rig. I was ready for what I thought would be a challenge.
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 2,637 miles (4,244 km)
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4 years ago