Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Yesterday was a perfect day for some VT Leaf Peepin'. Temps in the Mid-60's and lots of sun



happy cows


happy rider


Watch out for Meese!


Top of the World in Eden


Looking back at the Mansfield range


And Finally, The Bike that brought me there.


Early 80's Austro Daimler SLE, Velocity A23 Rims on Electra Ticino hubs, Dura-Ace 7800 9-speed Drivetrain w/Bar-End shifters (its awesome) and a TA Triple.
I've got Nitto Noodle bars on there right now but they feel bigger than I'd like on there and I might go back to a SR Road Champion.

jimmuller 

You live in Snuggler's Motch? How's the traffic through there? Just curious. Nice pics.

due ruote 

Nice - looks pretty much like cycling heaven.

ColonelJLloyd 

Dude, you are everywhere! Kudos for finding time to ride while on tour.

OTS 

Jealous.
Harvesting corn and beans here right now,
Clouds and crop dust is all the drought left us with.
That 650b looks awesome.
Congrats.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Yeah we did ok up here in terms of rain this summer. Crops are good, cows are happy and nobody went underwater like last summer (Hurricane Irene).

Jim, yep I live just a few miles from Smuggler's Crotch. Traffic depends largely on what time of year and what day of the week. Fridays and Saturdays in the summer there's more traffic than usual. Spring and Fall after peak peepin season are my favorite times to ride it. If I'm gonna take a ride over the notch I'll usually hit it on a Sunday afternoon or a Monday and there's very little traffic past the resort entrances on either the Smuggs or Stowe side. If you hit it in the late afternoon like 5-6pm you can have it all to yourself some days. The best is in the early spring about a week before they open it to traffic. The snow and ice is gone and cars aren't allowed! Hit me up if you ever wanna ride it



Justin, who's the guy with my beard?

Due Route, Its pretty damn close as far as I'm concerned

ColonelJLloyd 

Wait. You are not Jim James?

cooper34

OP,
Been thinking about a tour in the Lake Champlain area. Wondering about the road quality, road shoulders and traffic. I live in Virginia where shoulders are non-existent.
Any thoughts or suggestions
Thanks

lostarchitect 

Dang, I miss Vermont. Went to college there. Great state.

nlerner

I wonder how those wheels would look on a De Rosa.

lostarchitect 

Stop Smurfing your Merckx.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

I rubbed em on my De Roser but it didn't go so well.

The wheels are really nice. I just gotta get the damn tire bead seated better. Jan Heine and those dudes are serious... its a real bish.

Cooper, you'll get the full range of road conditions. There's shoulders on the numbered routes, some have more traffic than others. Roads without marked shoulders are generally the ones that are less traveled by car. There's been a lot of road paving going on this summer after so many roads were wrecked by the floods last summer, so there's a lot of nice fresh pavement out there to enjoy. For the most part I think the pavement is decent save for the frost heaves which can be nasty.
There's also an extensive network of unpaved roads which are perfectly navigable with a road bike, really damned fun and are very lightly traveled by car.

I'd recommend if you're in the northern part of the champlain valley and you like the Lake, to ride out to North Hero. There's a ferry there that goes across to Plattsburgh which is pointless because Plattsburgh is crappy but there's lots of good riding on the VT side that goes all through the tiny islands up there in the northern part of the lake. Bring your passport if you're going that far north. They're very bicycle friendly at the border checkpoints.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

or if you wanna crush some hills come up to Stowe and ride the notch. lemme know if you do

oddjob2

I worked at the Trapp Family Lodge for about a 5 weeks in 1978. Learned to ski icy moguls very well! I loved Stowe, until I discovered western skiing. But it is hard to beat New England charm! Had the best New Years of my young life at Stowe one year and Madonna another year!

Don't forget to include the Adirondack region as well. Extremely light traffic during the week except the height of summer season. The ferry service will get you across Lake Champlain pretty cheap, $8.50 each way for a vehicle, at Essex, NY and just south of Burlington.

If you're a hill rider, the Lake Placid Ironman road course has among the steepest and fastest runs in the 48 states. More mellow terrain is 10 minutes west, west of Saranac Lake.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

lol, I occasionally do work for the Trapp Family Lodge. Its a different place since you were last there....big fire.

Good MTB trails up there (i'm told)

jimmuller 

I don't get over to VT too often but that's sure a tempting offer. Maybe I'll bring the Masi out one day and let the mountains show me who's boss.

pastorbobnlnh 

I was in VT today but on the other side, by the CT River. After I made my visit to a church member, I headed south to drop by to see Frank the Welder. Always a treat to see Frank. Both of us wished we had the time to go for a ride today. Simply a stunning fall day here in northern New England.

ZB, too bad there is a whole (albeit a small one) state and a mountain range between us. Sometime soon we will connect.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

I hear ya Bob, we'll figure something out i'm sure. I've been over to Littleton, NH a few times now and its really nice there. I've heard Lake Sunapee is awesome.

well put. I get schooled regularly

vinfix

Love the scenery. I'll be there in 2 weekends! I road the singletrack trails at Trapp back in July, they're nice. On a 1984 Ross Mt. Hood, for C&V cred.
Further south in the Champlain valley (below Middlebury) the numbered roads tend to be busier with faster traffic. Lots of good gravel roads, better with fatter tires. The new Crown Point bridge is great to get to the NY side by bike.

BluesDaddy

I need to get some foliage/wheel time in the next couple weeks. Are you guys available Oct 9/10?

Maybe Franconia, NH?

-holiday76

Nice pics.
where is your morning jacket?

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

I'd do that but I gotta work both those days.

I'd never heard of My Morning Jacket until this thread. Google says that means I'm not particularly hip. Also the guy in that picture looks a lot more stoned than me.

Vin, where are you headed? If you're into singletrack they just opened a huge network of trails in Stowe last month. Thankfully not affiliated with the resort so its all public access. Its called the Cady Hill Forest. I actually just finished up my vintage(ish) MTB. Its a 90's Specialized Ground Control. Its a mean machine.