Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Chuck that sounds fun. I'll bring my skinny tires!

I might actually be able to make this September ride in Montpelier. Would be a good excuse to go air out the Bates and drink a beer. Onion river is a good organization. I don't mind giving them 20 bux.

Anyone else going?

southpawboston

Dirt roads are a type of road. Hence, you can ride road bikes on dirt roads.

Semantics aside, if any state knows how to build and maintain dirt roads, it's VT. In my experience, their dirt roads are smoother and more predictable than many paved roads. Most road bikes do just fine on them.

Would you prefer to ride a road bike on this?



or this?



The ride looks fun! I will try to make it up there. I'll bring my '82 Jack Taylor with 32mm Grand Bois Cypreses. Plenty cushy for VT dirt roads.

vtchuck

Not to be condescending, but please..... I have lived in Northern New England my entire life, including 40 years in Vermont.....in all seasons, Fall,Winter, Mud Season and Fourth of July.
I don't need a flatlander to tell me about Vermont roads!

southpawboston

40 years in VT and you don't want to ride on dirt roads? That's like living in Cambridge and not wanting to be a liberal.

Blue Belly

Worthy is a great ending spot! Set it up & I'll post it on the page.

Blue Belly

I live 5 miles up a dirt road. My vintage lightweight sewups get plenty of action on them. Haven't destroyed one yet(fingers crossed)

vtchuck

When you slog through axle deep mud, frost heaves deeper than Quechee Gorge and blinding dust, dirt roads lose a bit of their romantic appeal. You gotta stop reading Vermont Life and Yankee.

And liberals?? We of the Peoples' Republic of Vermont scoff at your Cambridge liberals. Amateurs.

southpawboston

I grew up on this road, just one state west of you. Last I checked, upstate NY experiences four seasons as well. Blinding dust you say? Where I'm from is situated on the Marcelus Shale, and the dirt roads get their red tint from fine shale clay dust.



When I was younger, this road was only one lane wide. I *think* I know a little about mud, dust and dirt!

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Luxury. We lived in a tin can in t'middle of road and every day for 26 hours a day we had to scrub road clean, eat a spoonful of hot gravel for dinner and father would beat us to sleep with a belt at night.

You've got a Vermonter pissed when they start calling people flat landers.

pastorbobnlnh 

Fantastic! I'm in if I can keep my Saturday clear from other "stuff" and I doubt you will regret it one little bit.


@jonwvara, @BluesDaddy, @ftwelder, are you guys interested?

pastorbobnlnh 

Thus the reason I live in the "Live Free and Die" State wedged in between!

Hopefully this can be a bi-partisan ride.

vtchuck

and move on to the So. Royalton ride.

I'm going to move over to theVermont Vintage Velo Facebook page.

Once I have a firm date, I'll start a new thread here on C & V.

Blue Belly

perfect!

Blue Belly

Cheap? We had a great monthly vintage ride in Pasadena, Rosebowl Vintage Ride, that never asked for a cent. We all had a great time & ended up @ cafe for food & coffee(Best of all, conversation), This isn't a sanctioned race with prizes, just a social gathering of common interest &, hopefully, fun conversation.

Ed.

Well, there you go! I'm sure the 'organizer' of this event will gather up his proceeds and retire to someplace warm and wonderful.

Sir_Name 

Great, I may be in as well. Not sure yet about the one listed in the original post.

jonwvara 

I'd love to do this ride if I'm not leading a commercial bike tour then--I may not know that for a week or two.

Bob, my take on the relative shapes of New Hampshire and Vermont is that Vermont appears upright and broad-shouldered, while New Hampshire's wide-at-the-bottom configuration makes it look pot-bellied and slump-shouldered. It's right there on the map for all to see!

vtchuck

I've posted a tentative description over at Vermont Vintage Velo. Feedback Appreciated

jstewse

Well, guys, this wasn't exactly how I was hoping this thread would turn out.

Glad to see another ride was piggy-backed off this one, hopefully it will be flat and and loaded with our previously discussed, excellent pavement.

Anyhow, I wanted to clear up a couple things regarding the nature of the ride...

I won't get into the route, the info is there, if it's not something you're into go ahead and pass. The roads are nice, the climbs will be challenging, but we're not looking to kill anyone.

Most importantly, this is NOT a 'take my money' ride! This is a super small scale, L'eroica inspired event, that we thought would be cool to host. We're planning on screen printing some t-shirts and a few custom mussette bags, and having some food for post ride. Any DONATIONS would be used to cover those costs. If you just want to show up and ride, by all means.. this is just for fun.

Equipment-wise, all bikes will be welcome. While it is an inspiration, this is not L'eroica. No vintage requirement rules will be forced in any way. Any pre-ride bike inspections will be of the geeking variety. If you feel like your vintage steed isn't properly equipped, bring something modern.. and then regret it, because we'll be having more fun on vintage bikes.


I'm hoping to see some of you guys out there, I'll keep this thread updated with any new and pertinent info.

Cheers!

Ed.

If the weather cooperates, I hope to be there. I'm bringing some walking shoes, just in case (and I'm expecting 'case', LOL.)

Trillian2

I'll be there. Unless it is like thunderstorm, in which case I'll be eating tacos at Mad Taco. Actually I might wind up eating tacos no matter what.

I did a little 15 mile loop on some scenic Lamoille county dirt roads. '37 Bates, 32mm GB Cypres tires. Good Times, see ya on the 20th.

jstewse

@Ed, hope you do make it, no shame in hoofing it!
@Trillian2, 1937! Allright. Looking forward to seeing that.

BluesDaddy

I'll be in NC on 9/20, so that ride is out. I am interested in any October group rides since the scenery is so great then. I can say from personal experience that tire pressure is key in Northern New England. I have settled on 80psi in my 25s. I have suffered a couple pinch flats this summer but the smooth ride is worth it. I have cracks, chip-seal and dirt sections on many rides. The worst road hazard I've had this summer has been the grape-sized granite stones strewn along the shoulders of paved roads.

southpawboston

I'm going to try to make it. I've been looking for an excuse to take the family for a weekend in VT, and since it's close to 3 hours away, this is just the ticket. I'll bring my '82 Jack Taylor, which is pretty much period-sensitive, but I draw the line on toe clips. I'll be unapologetically sporting SPDs...

While I don't expect you to post the route beforehand, I would like to know approximately how many feet of elevation gain the route has, and about what percentage is on dirt, so it would be much appreciated if you could divulge that much...

jstewse

@southpawboston just updated the original post with route info via. I'd say its 60% dirt, although its all well-traveled dirt roads, no class 4 or the like.