or blueberries, blue cheese sausage, and fine spirits...!
tuesday, day 3: we packed and got out early, headed to wolcott general store and breakfast. one false turn later we got on the right track. it was interesting having sawyer with paper maps, matty with the route on gps, and joel with google maps on his phone--it had survived the fall. as we ate outside the store, a scrap-metal truck driver chatted us up on the best route up and over the next hill.
"you don't want to go up east hill. i live on east hill and you want to go back and take town hill straight up to west hill and down to cemetery road. that'll take you straight into craftsbury."
it was a terrific climb, close to a 800 feet in three miles, most of it in the first half mile. i was feeling relatively weightless on the addict and pedaled hard and fast to a 360° view along the top. matty and i stopped to wait in a field where soy shared a beer when he came up. the truck driver was right about the straight shot into craftsbury. we stopped at the general store and bought a lunch of cheese, berries, and bread.
after packing things away, i got to chatting with a couple guys with motorcycles doing some back roads themselves. i was directing them to evans notch on the nh-maine border when i felt the gentle hand of the 'time bastard' on my shoulder. no need to speak, i got on my bike. after another climb out of that valley we pulled off and ate. i supplemented my fare with peanut butter, the others with sausage.
the 'time elf'--that's a well fed 'time bastard'--got us back out on the road, which after a short climb, turned into a dirt track through the woods. at the bottom of a steep section we came out to some back fields on either side of a muddy wagon/tractor track. i am not sure why matty and joel stayed to the muddiest side but i got past fast enough to snap a few shots as soy took a drier line.
these back roads we were piecing together with the singletrack, gravel, and blacktop, made for an interesting pastiche. my guess is that's what gives it the name "adventure cycling". a good number of these back ways didn't even have a name. out on the gravel roads there were usually signs to help guide us. this one in the picture had the crazy name 'rocking rock rd' which just so happened to match the name of sawyer's rock n' road tires. it is also a good shot of a well appointed steel frame.
we were in the high country above craftsbury, headed over to greensboro and the award winning hill farmstead brewery. it wouldn't be open until wednesday noon-ish but sawyer had found a sweet camping spot in a farmer's elderberry orchard just a couple miles--down hill--past the brewery. we found the farmer, todd hardie, at thornhill farm and got instructions for camping. after taking off bags and setting up bivys and hammocks, we pointed our lightened bikes down garvin hill into greensboro for a swim in caspian lake and some grocery shopping.
while we were swimming we could see a storm coming in over the lake. we got out, mostly dried off, and made it to the store just as it started to pour. our timing was right as when we came out with dinner and some breakfast, the rain had pretty much stopped. by the time we headed back up garvin hill, the roads were drying out. i got matty to stop at breitmeyer's berries near the top end of the road. i had noticed their sign on the way down and remembered those were the berries we bought in craftsbury. i had the empty box with me so i returned it and we picked a bit. the breitmeyers were happy to have us.
soy and joel were back at camp when we arrived. we decided to check out the sheds over where we were getting water as it was raining again. we set up a kitchen under an eve and cooked a big supper to make up for tuesday's meager affair. the boys had bought more sausage--made at jasper hill farm, we saw their barn going into greensboro--along with veggies. cooking it, was smelling so good, i decided to taste a bite of the blue-cheese version. it was the first sausage i have eaten in over forty years, and it was delicious. those are three serious eaters pictured--i think they liked dinner!
wednesday, day 4: the night, was a tad bit rainy, but the stars were also out periodically. i was learning how to adjust the bivy bag, to allow for breathing, crucial, and keep the rain off my head, comfortable. i woke early and went back over to the sheds and snapped a picture of the 'yard' and surrounding barley fields. todd had spoken with us the night before and told us a bit of the story of thornhill. he also gave us a tip on caledonia spirits, a distillery he actually started before buying this land and farming.
i set up a breakfast kitchen in the lower sheds to the right of the drive. todd made it into his office before the boys showed, but they eventually did and we had oatmeal and tea. there was plenty of time to dry things out and clean up since hill farmstead didn't open until noon.
packed and ready to go by a leisurely eleven-ish, we headed back up hill to the brewery. there were already a dozen or so groups there, milling about. when a line finally started at least a dozen more had shown up. some of these people looked damn serious, with coolers and growlers at the ready. the doors opened early and we got our beer and went back on the porch. before we even took the first sip the 'time elf' was happy enough to announce, "drink up and relax boys, we are in good shape..."
retracing our path down to greensboro we got through town and headed toward hardwick. the ride over went up and down some really beautiful country. there were plenty of distant mountains to think about pedaling up and over--the last one into infinity.
lucky for us we didn't didn't ride away forever into infinity, we made it to a local hardwick sandwich shop just before it closed. unlucky for the meat eaters, they were out of most all the meats. after our sandwiches we pedaled out to caledonia spirits for a tasting. the women doing that was super friendly and was a bike tourer herself--she even took a tour of our bikes. i passed on the gins and vodka but did get some cold water.
back on the saddle again, we found buffalo mtn road and headed up. at just a mile and a half and only 700 feet up, it felt like one of the steepest and most sustained climbs we did. maybe that was more the heat and rocky back road. sawyer had us looking for a little pond at the height of land. when we came out of the woods into a huge clearcut, there it was. after the climb, camp with a swimming hole was heaven.
we each had a dip and set up our sleeping spots. as we cooked dinner, we watched a storm rolling in from the west. it was certainly going to rain at some point in the night, if not sooner. no need for the 'time bastard' to spur on clean up--we washed and stowed gear quickly.
the rain held off long enough for us to enjoy a little fire to fend off the mosquitoes, they were not holding back at all. when the coals were burning out we headed off to sleep. on and off rain all night gave me a lot of practice with the breathing/dry balance bivy thing.
thursday, day 5: by morning i had enough. with a break in the rain, i emerged from the hot, wet cocoon and gave a 'time bastard' call "all rise and start packing, we're riding to breakfast!" more like riding without breakfast, or at least a sit down kind. we shared our collective bars, watered up, and pedaled away from our piece of paradise.
in less than a mile, the road went gravel and we started seeing houses. another mile or so and we rode back into the woods on a four wheel drive only road. it was an uphill struggle made nearly impossible by hangry deer flies, feasting on my back. i couldn't slap them or even flick my shirt as if i let go the handlebars i would lose my pedal. i yelled instead, "aaaaahhhhhrrrrrggggg!!!!!" thank goodness for going uphill as sooner or later you get to go down.
once we peaked out the road turned into a series of huge mud holes. this route was clearly a four wheel mudder's nirvana. the flys were still biting but i could slap more, at least when i wasn't negotiating a thin, dry-ish line. as we tipped off the ridge we picked up enough speed to out pace the flies--at least the slower ones. i quit yelling and started whooping. going fast down a rocky back road can be just as technical as going uphill. it demands focus--whooping seems to help.
we were headed out of the woods looking for the maple corner store. it would have some breakfast food to supplement the energy bars we had so far. it soon appeared and was blessed with a hose we could easily access to spray off the mud. as i was finishing my wash job, sawyer and matty came out with a couple of muffins and some bananas. they offered to share and i took them up on it.
clean and refreshed, we dropped into calis where i had to pull off and lock in my rear derailleur as it had stopped shifting. still two in the front, i dropped from eleven, to one in the back--now i was riding a very expensive two speed. it was enough of a spread that i could pedal up the steep, and on the flats, not over pedal too much. i was good with coasting down the hilly stuff. we were hunting for one last single track that would drop us into montpelier.
at first we cruised right by a faint path leading into the bushes at the corner of a field. when we found it, i was closest and dove down the ditch first. right off, there was a good bit of bridging over some boggy parts. as we got into bigger woods, the bridging got really tricky, and slippery. i hit one section of two side by side 2x6s, spaced with a groove in the middle. i aimed for the space and hoped for the best. chance and good fortune kept me from braking and after flying through that section, i stopped to wait.
a flurry of noise let me know that the others had not been so fortunate. when they came up, soy reported that matty had slid out--"don't break, don't turn!" hadn't worked for him. the bridging dropped away just after that, and we found some sweet single track--and it was downhill, some of it wicked steep. thankfully those sections were fairly short. the whole trail was more fun than is legal in some places.
it was a bit of a let down to t-onto a street and pedal smoothly into town. but, i was thinking a bike shop could put my derailleur back in working order. the others were more interested in beer to satisfy their thirst. we found onion river outdoors right around the corner from three penny taproom. everybody was happy. while i was at the shop they went and ordered a few pints and some lunch. matty came back to check that i hadn't pulled a koby and fallen asleep on their couch and let me know i had a sandwich ordered.
shop owner kip roberts finished up on the addict, putting it back to 22 gears, and making a few suggestions that drummonds might want to consider once i got back home. my "impossible" burger was delicious, even though it was plant based, and i drank a last beer. we trickled back to the bikes and pedaled out of town toward our parting ways. joel sawyer, and i were headed back to waitsfield and the final killer hill. matty was going toward little river where he had parked back on monday.
we were turning onto lague drive and he was staying on state street. it had been a wonderful five days for me. and save for joel's slide on the road, it seemed like everybody had a grand time.
i bet they would all agree...
go outside and play!
(oh, and drinking beer seems to help!)
ps joel, soy, and i made it down to waitsfield pedaling along river road, rt 100B, and finally rt 100. we stopped at some picnic benches and stripped off all the extra packs on sawyer's and my bikes. joel was resting his knee and watching the gear. we were riding up those last 1000+ feet in the final couple miles. i totally appreciated the carbon frame on that last leg. 'hot' off the bikes, soy and i took a final picture just before i went down to pick up joel. he was so pleased to see me, he cooked us a couple of delicious pizzas to end the week--even if it meant skipping the mad taco!
tuesday, day 3: we packed and got out early, headed to wolcott general store and breakfast. one false turn later we got on the right track. it was interesting having sawyer with paper maps, matty with the route on gps, and joel with google maps on his phone--it had survived the fall. as we ate outside the store, a scrap-metal truck driver chatted us up on the best route up and over the next hill.
"you don't want to go up east hill. i live on east hill and you want to go back and take town hill straight up to west hill and down to cemetery road. that'll take you straight into craftsbury."
it was a terrific climb, close to a 800 feet in three miles, most of it in the first half mile. i was feeling relatively weightless on the addict and pedaled hard and fast to a 360° view along the top. matty and i stopped to wait in a field where soy shared a beer when he came up. the truck driver was right about the straight shot into craftsbury. we stopped at the general store and bought a lunch of cheese, berries, and bread.
after packing things away, i got to chatting with a couple guys with motorcycles doing some back roads themselves. i was directing them to evans notch on the nh-maine border when i felt the gentle hand of the 'time bastard' on my shoulder. no need to speak, i got on my bike. after another climb out of that valley we pulled off and ate. i supplemented my fare with peanut butter, the others with sausage.
the 'time elf'--that's a well fed 'time bastard'--got us back out on the road, which after a short climb, turned into a dirt track through the woods. at the bottom of a steep section we came out to some back fields on either side of a muddy wagon/tractor track. i am not sure why matty and joel stayed to the muddiest side but i got past fast enough to snap a few shots as soy took a drier line.
these back roads we were piecing together with the singletrack, gravel, and blacktop, made for an interesting pastiche. my guess is that's what gives it the name "adventure cycling". a good number of these back ways didn't even have a name. out on the gravel roads there were usually signs to help guide us. this one in the picture had the crazy name 'rocking rock rd' which just so happened to match the name of sawyer's rock n' road tires. it is also a good shot of a well appointed steel frame.
we were in the high country above craftsbury, headed over to greensboro and the award winning hill farmstead brewery. it wouldn't be open until wednesday noon-ish but sawyer had found a sweet camping spot in a farmer's elderberry orchard just a couple miles--down hill--past the brewery. we found the farmer, todd hardie, at thornhill farm and got instructions for camping. after taking off bags and setting up bivys and hammocks, we pointed our lightened bikes down garvin hill into greensboro for a swim in caspian lake and some grocery shopping.
while we were swimming we could see a storm coming in over the lake. we got out, mostly dried off, and made it to the store just as it started to pour. our timing was right as when we came out with dinner and some breakfast, the rain had pretty much stopped. by the time we headed back up garvin hill, the roads were drying out. i got matty to stop at breitmeyer's berries near the top end of the road. i had noticed their sign on the way down and remembered those were the berries we bought in craftsbury. i had the empty box with me so i returned it and we picked a bit. the breitmeyers were happy to have us.
soy and joel were back at camp when we arrived. we decided to check out the sheds over where we were getting water as it was raining again. we set up a kitchen under an eve and cooked a big supper to make up for tuesday's meager affair. the boys had bought more sausage--made at jasper hill farm, we saw their barn going into greensboro--along with veggies. cooking it, was smelling so good, i decided to taste a bite of the blue-cheese version. it was the first sausage i have eaten in over forty years, and it was delicious. those are three serious eaters pictured--i think they liked dinner!
wednesday, day 4: the night, was a tad bit rainy, but the stars were also out periodically. i was learning how to adjust the bivy bag, to allow for breathing, crucial, and keep the rain off my head, comfortable. i woke early and went back over to the sheds and snapped a picture of the 'yard' and surrounding barley fields. todd had spoken with us the night before and told us a bit of the story of thornhill. he also gave us a tip on caledonia spirits, a distillery he actually started before buying this land and farming.
i set up a breakfast kitchen in the lower sheds to the right of the drive. todd made it into his office before the boys showed, but they eventually did and we had oatmeal and tea. there was plenty of time to dry things out and clean up since hill farmstead didn't open until noon.
packed and ready to go by a leisurely eleven-ish, we headed back up hill to the brewery. there were already a dozen or so groups there, milling about. when a line finally started at least a dozen more had shown up. some of these people looked damn serious, with coolers and growlers at the ready. the doors opened early and we got our beer and went back on the porch. before we even took the first sip the 'time elf' was happy enough to announce, "drink up and relax boys, we are in good shape..."
retracing our path down to greensboro we got through town and headed toward hardwick. the ride over went up and down some really beautiful country. there were plenty of distant mountains to think about pedaling up and over--the last one into infinity.
lucky for us we didn't didn't ride away forever into infinity, we made it to a local hardwick sandwich shop just before it closed. unlucky for the meat eaters, they were out of most all the meats. after our sandwiches we pedaled out to caledonia spirits for a tasting. the women doing that was super friendly and was a bike tourer herself--she even took a tour of our bikes. i passed on the gins and vodka but did get some cold water.
back on the saddle again, we found buffalo mtn road and headed up. at just a mile and a half and only 700 feet up, it felt like one of the steepest and most sustained climbs we did. maybe that was more the heat and rocky back road. sawyer had us looking for a little pond at the height of land. when we came out of the woods into a huge clearcut, there it was. after the climb, camp with a swimming hole was heaven.
we each had a dip and set up our sleeping spots. as we cooked dinner, we watched a storm rolling in from the west. it was certainly going to rain at some point in the night, if not sooner. no need for the 'time bastard' to spur on clean up--we washed and stowed gear quickly.the rain held off long enough for us to enjoy a little fire to fend off the mosquitoes, they were not holding back at all. when the coals were burning out we headed off to sleep. on and off rain all night gave me a lot of practice with the breathing/dry balance bivy thing.
thursday, day 5: by morning i had enough. with a break in the rain, i emerged from the hot, wet cocoon and gave a 'time bastard' call "all rise and start packing, we're riding to breakfast!" more like riding without breakfast, or at least a sit down kind. we shared our collective bars, watered up, and pedaled away from our piece of paradise.
in less than a mile, the road went gravel and we started seeing houses. another mile or so and we rode back into the woods on a four wheel drive only road. it was an uphill struggle made nearly impossible by hangry deer flies, feasting on my back. i couldn't slap them or even flick my shirt as if i let go the handlebars i would lose my pedal. i yelled instead, "aaaaahhhhhrrrrrggggg!!!!!" thank goodness for going uphill as sooner or later you get to go down.
once we peaked out the road turned into a series of huge mud holes. this route was clearly a four wheel mudder's nirvana. the flys were still biting but i could slap more, at least when i wasn't negotiating a thin, dry-ish line. as we tipped off the ridge we picked up enough speed to out pace the flies--at least the slower ones. i quit yelling and started whooping. going fast down a rocky back road can be just as technical as going uphill. it demands focus--whooping seems to help.
we were headed out of the woods looking for the maple corner store. it would have some breakfast food to supplement the energy bars we had so far. it soon appeared and was blessed with a hose we could easily access to spray off the mud. as i was finishing my wash job, sawyer and matty came out with a couple of muffins and some bananas. they offered to share and i took them up on it.
clean and refreshed, we dropped into calis where i had to pull off and lock in my rear derailleur as it had stopped shifting. still two in the front, i dropped from eleven, to one in the back--now i was riding a very expensive two speed. it was enough of a spread that i could pedal up the steep, and on the flats, not over pedal too much. i was good with coasting down the hilly stuff. we were hunting for one last single track that would drop us into montpelier.
at first we cruised right by a faint path leading into the bushes at the corner of a field. when we found it, i was closest and dove down the ditch first. right off, there was a good bit of bridging over some boggy parts. as we got into bigger woods, the bridging got really tricky, and slippery. i hit one section of two side by side 2x6s, spaced with a groove in the middle. i aimed for the space and hoped for the best. chance and good fortune kept me from braking and after flying through that section, i stopped to wait.
a flurry of noise let me know that the others had not been so fortunate. when they came up, soy reported that matty had slid out--"don't break, don't turn!" hadn't worked for him. the bridging dropped away just after that, and we found some sweet single track--and it was downhill, some of it wicked steep. thankfully those sections were fairly short. the whole trail was more fun than is legal in some places.
it was a bit of a let down to t-onto a street and pedal smoothly into town. but, i was thinking a bike shop could put my derailleur back in working order. the others were more interested in beer to satisfy their thirst. we found onion river outdoors right around the corner from three penny taproom. everybody was happy. while i was at the shop they went and ordered a few pints and some lunch. matty came back to check that i hadn't pulled a koby and fallen asleep on their couch and let me know i had a sandwich ordered.shop owner kip roberts finished up on the addict, putting it back to 22 gears, and making a few suggestions that drummonds might want to consider once i got back home. my "impossible" burger was delicious, even though it was plant based, and i drank a last beer. we trickled back to the bikes and pedaled out of town toward our parting ways. joel sawyer, and i were headed back to waitsfield and the final killer hill. matty was going toward little river where he had parked back on monday.
we were turning onto lague drive and he was staying on state street. it had been a wonderful five days for me. and save for joel's slide on the road, it seemed like everybody had a grand time.
i bet they would all agree...
go outside and play!
(oh, and drinking beer seems to help!)
ps joel, soy, and i made it down to waitsfield pedaling along river road, rt 100B, and finally rt 100. we stopped at some picnic benches and stripped off all the extra packs on sawyer's and my bikes. joel was resting his knee and watching the gear. we were riding up those last 1000+ feet in the final couple miles. i totally appreciated the carbon frame on that last leg. 'hot' off the bikes, soy and i took a final picture just before i went down to pick up joel. he was so pleased to see me, he cooked us a couple of delicious pizzas to end the week--even if it meant skipping the mad taco!