Latham, New York to Brattleboro, Vermont

For breakfast this morning I had orange juice, coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon, two egos, and a bowl of wheaties with half a banana. That should be enough to get me over the mountains and into Brattleboro, or at least to the second SAG stop where there was promise of a hot dog stand. At route rap last eve we got the route sheet and there was concern by some of the riders about the mountains we would be climbing over.

As I got ready to roll my Bike out of the room this morning, I looked out and it was raining. Bummer! It was not forecasted. I had been a little slow getting around this morning so I had the distinction of being the last rider to leave. That’s the first time on this trip. No problem, I planned to set a comfortable pace for myself and enjoy the day.

I decided against putting a jacket on because the temperature was 72 degrees. Even if I got rained on I would still be warm, and it didn’t look like a all day type of rain. It was the right choice because it stopped raining shortly after I left. As I was riding along by myself still in Latham, I saw a sign, “Steck for Congress”. Do you have any relatives in Latham New York Randy? I continued on and began catching riders who had left not long before me. I crossed the bridge over the Hudson River. The clouds remained and the air was heavy with moisture.

The first SAG stop was at a Dunkin donut store. A couple of donuts would be good with a cup of coffee but I’m not sure how well they would ride in my stomach as I started climbing up the promised mountains. So I got a banana and some salty pretzels and topped of my water supply. When I get home I’m going to go to the donut shop and get a couple of donuts to enjoy with a cup of coffee!

We cycled into Vermont at mile 31. I got the obligatory state line pictures and proceeded on. One of the first towns we rode through after entering Vermont was Bennigton. It was a very attractive town with interesting church buildings and other buildings with a unique architecture. The town center had many interesting restaurants and cafes. It had a distinct New England flavor. Here’s another town that I would love to come back and explore.

Shortly after leaving Benngiton we began the climb that reportedly would be about 8 miles to the highest point. The grades weren’t too steep at first but eventually we came to some 8 and 9% grades. Groups usually disperse when getting into the steep climbs because everyone has their own pace for grinding up steep grades. I was feeling good today so off I went. Soon I was cycling alone with my thoughts as the miles accumulated. It wasn’t as difficult as it had been built up to be. After arriving at the second SAG stop at 58 miles and checking in, I decided to go for a hot dog. Rick, John, Amy and I went to little hot dog stand and got a dog and a drink.

Soon I was back on the road again. I caught up to Jerry Griswold at the Hogback mountain overlook and got him to take a picture of me, and I took one of him. We departed together to enjoy our decent. I maxed out just over 40MPH twice and I was braking to hold the speed down. Jerry said he let it go and almost made 50. That’s crazy! I talked about Jerry in my previous post. He is a very good rider and I decided if I could keep up with him to the finish that I was doing pretty good. I did, and we arrive d at the hotel at 1:30 PM after a 80 mile day. I felt the best riding today than I have felt since we left Erie, PA. My saddle sore issues have become non-issues, so I can pedal and not think about my pain. A&D did it for me. Thanks to Larry from Colorado for suggesting the routine of application. Also, I think taking it slower for a while helped.

To the readers of my web log, I have appreciated your interest, and many times your encouraging words gave me the boost I needed to have a brighter outlook.

I do not expect to post a log entry for tomorrow, or the last day until I get home. Tomorrow evening Pat, Allison, and Mark will be joining me when I arrive in Manchester. Tomorrow evening we will be having a last meal together as a group and we will have time to share reflections of the trip and say our formal farewells. The last Day, Tuesday we will ride to the Atlantic for the traditional wheel dipping and then all go our separate ways.

I just can’t see spending an hour or two posting a blog entry with all that going on. I know you will understand. I will post the final two days entries and final thoughts on the trip when I arrive home.



Response to comments on previous post:

Wow! I'm so honored to have 10 comments. I think that may be a record . What can I say? Thank you sooo much!