Vermont to Switzerland
Enjoyed the 2013, and likely last* (for awhile) VT Fall Classic Brevet and Populaire. I rode the Populaire, with Greg. Felt great at the start, ended up coughing up blood and struggling by the end. Finished with a couple minutes to spare.
*I’m burned out from being brevet organizer… so I’m taking some time off. There is movement to continue with some of the VT rides, and I’ll post up any solid information as soon as I hear something.
I set out with a friend and a couple of online acquaintances in early November to do a bit of late fall bikepacking. I need to write up a full trip report – but here is a photo dump from the ride. We covered 56+ miles, much of it on trail and class 4 road. Machines were all Pugsleys – a single speed, an IGH Necro, and my white 2×9 all with bikepacking bags. We also had a first generation along (the first one sold in VT) with racks and panniers.
The start was in Pittsfield, VT. We crossed the Green Mountains near Chittenden Reservoir and made our way north to Silver Lake to camp, taking the Leicester Hollow trail in from the south. Fire, chatting, eating, and then sleeping as snow started coming down.
At 2am everything was white – but by 6am when I got up to start a fire everything was just wet. We left the park on the Leicester Hollow trail, which was the only dirt on the second day.
We stuck to pavement back to start, as the weather turned as we climbed Brandon Gap – we had rain and freezing rain and sleet coming down the east side.
The last 10 miles were truly a death march – I was a little sad we eliminated all the dirt and trail – but thankful to eventually be warm and dry.
Got out for a very short, very cold ride on New Years day. We’ve had a bit of coverage over the ice from a recent storm – but the woods and path are still hard enough to skate on.
