So Much Fun I Feel Guilty

Today and yesterday were what I had been waiting for quite a long time: good biking weather combined with great terrain and scenery. It was so cool when we set out from Brattleboro that many riders were wearing jackets for warmth, not rain protection. The light had an ethereal quality as it filtered through the cool fog.


What a change from just a few days ago when we battled fierce heat in western New York. I felt so invigorated and happy I didn’t want the morning to end. The first few miles were near some beautiful lakes, and I took some side trips to drink in the view and take some pictures.



Another goal of the morning was to spot a moose. At certain times of the year, they come out more during the day, but I was told by locals not to get my hopes up right now. I figured that a bog would be the most likely place to spot a moose. Although I never saw one, I took this picture in hopes that one would turn up when I enlarged the image. Let me know if you spot anything.


Soon we entered our final state of the ride!


Many riders were dreading the climbing today, since it was reputed to be harder than some of what we did out west. As it turns out, most of the climbs were short, but steep. They were mostly up hills, not over mountain passes, so it was more like what I encounter around the Shenandoah Valley, but with more trees and quaint villages.

I rode with a lot of different riders today, but hung with Sara, Chuck, and Peg around lunch time in hopes of finding a good place to eat, hopefully with homemade pie. We scored on the lunch end by finding a café with a railway theme. The hamburgers were good, but there was unfortunately, no pie today. I did buy a raspberry turnover at the gift shop to which the café was attached.

After lunch we attacked the biggest hill of the day. I was able to get by with third gear for the steepest part of the climb, since I never knew if the road would get steeper, and it is always good to have something in reserve. A few more rollers and we found ourselves in the old industrial city of Manchester. I was wondering if we were headed for the same hotel I had stayed in several times when I was in Manchester for the FIRST Robotics kickoff. When we were about two blocks away I recognized that it was in fact the same place.

This evening we gathered for our last dinner officially together as an ABBike function. The “feast” consisted of some lasagna and salad, but nothing to drink until the ABBike staff rounded up some water pitchers. Although the food was lame, we had a good time recalling highlights of the ride, and each of us was given the chance to offer a few words to the group. Most of us commented on the closeness of our group as a whole, and how it was the people that really made this ride work out to be such a great experience. I am sure there will be more reminiscing tomorrow night at the lobster dinner.