raybo

I am trying to create bike touring route through Vermont and New Hampshire. I've drawn up on that starts in Plattsburgh, NY (Western Shore of Lake Champlain) and goes all the way to Boston through Northern Vermont and then down the Connecticut River Valley to the White Mountains. You can see the route here.

I'm from the West Coast and have never been to Vermont or New Hampshire. I'd appreciate any thoughts or ideas on the above route.

I'll be riding this route the second half of September, 2010.

Thanks,

Ray

jimmuller 

You should check closely with someone who bikes the White Mountains area regularly. Your route south of (actually heading west from) Twin Mountain follows a road that was re-paved a few years ago and so is fairly wide. It is all wooded, not urban at all, but it carries a lot of traffic because it is a prime connection from the major N/S interstate (I-93) to points east.

Your route then goes down Franconia Notch, a downhill steep for 5 miles. I can't tell if you intend to do it on the highway. If so, be prepared for some serious traffic issues. Rt 3 down the Notch is designated as a parkway with 45mph speed limit but only 1 car in 20 seems to care. This portion is single-lane each way with a steel barrier in the middle. At both bottom and top of the Notch it simply becomes I-93 by chaning its route #, though there are ramps designated for Rt 3. In other words, you could feel like you are biking on an interstate highway. Lafayette Place campground is halfway down the Notch, and that would seem to be a possible target for bike tourers, so maybe people do bike it.

There is a paved trail running much of the Notch. It is designated for skimobiles during the winter and was probably intended for bikes too. But it may be like many purpose-built recreational bike trails in that it could have short switchbacks or hills that bikes really can't do easily but which road designers think they can. In any case, expect to do a lot of climbing to get up to Twin Mountain, some serious braking on the way down!

As I said, need advice from someone who bikes that area.

Jay H

There is a bike path that runs past Canon Mtn, through Lafayette campground and points south, off road, paved.. would help you with cycling through Franconia Notch and not on I-93... not sure of the access points from north and south, but Rt 3 also parallels I-93 once you get down to North Woodstock...

Jay

raybo

Thanks for the informed responses. It really helps!

Would it be better to continue down 116 all the way down to 112 and take that to North Woodstock, thereby avoiding Rt 3 altogether?

Ray

Jay H

You mean avoiding I-93..

116 to 112 to No Woostock where Rt 3 is probably a lot less traffic but it is somewhat hilly and windy. I'd research how much of I-93 would you have to take to get to Canon Mtn and the MUP there. If it's not too much, the MUP is paved and flat, probably flatter than the 116 ridearound because it goes through the "notch" or valley in between Cannon Mtn and the Kinsmans (more mtns) and the Franconia Range (Mt Lafayette, Lincoln, Liberty, Flume)...

Rt 112 is the Kanc and that is also hilly but OK to bike on, so long as you try not to do it while distracted tourists fly by in their RVs, cars, etc.

Jay

raybo

I checked out I-93 in that section using Google's Satellite and it doesn't look more that a couple miles long but doesn't have a true shoulder for the entire way. Assuming that people drive fast on this route, I think I skip it and take the 116 - 112 detour.

Since I'll be here in later September, I assume that the distracted tourist will be thick looking at the leaves. Is it bad during the week or just on the weekend?

The is really valuable information.

Thanks,

Ray

jimmuller 

That's the section. Technically it isn't I-93 at all. This is the part covered by the bike trail. At the bottom (southern) end the bike trail will give you access to the real Rt 3 (the old Rt 3) without hitting I-93. I know this because the Mt Liberty hiking trail uses part of it, and the trailhead parking lot is on Rt 3 south of the Rt 3/I-93 split. You can probably find out about the northern end from the NH parks & recreation dept. They are online, including reservations for all their campgrounds, which includes Lafayatte Campground. All of Franconia Notch is a state park. If the northern end is accessible then you should go ahead and use it.

Late September may be early-to-peak leaf time that far north. (Typically it reaches central Masachusetts over Columbus Day weekend.) Mid-week won't be as busy as the weekend but it will still have a lot of vacationers.

Incidentally, "Kanc" is short for Kancamagus Highway, often pronounced Kanka-MANG-us with an extraneous N in the accented 3rd syllable. It is usually called "the Kanc" or "the Kancamangus". It is a winding, loopy scenic highway, often quite busy. People don't drive it especially fast simply because they can't! It is the only way to cross the mountains there east/west but usually it is easier to go around some other way or just don't go there at all.

raybo

I'm thinking of changing my whole touring concept and not riding through the Adirondacks to Lake Champlain (my wife and I will be spending several days there sightseeing after my bike tour, anyway).

Instead, I'm thinking of riding from, say, Albany over to southern Vermont and then through the Green Mountains. I'd then like to ride over to New Hampshire aiming for, say, Lebanon and then heading upto and across the White Mountains.

Can anyone suggest an "easier" route from, say, Rutland over to Lebanon?

Thanks,

Ray

Lightingguy

Agreeing with others to avoid Franconia Notch and instead use Rt 112 from the CT river over to Conway. Beautiful scenery the entire way.

But that's only if you really need to go to the Whites at all, as it's sort of out of the way and in truth, the SW portion of NH is as pretty and has better riding with fewer tourist traffic then the Conway/North Conway region. One option for Vt as well is to head south from Burlington on local roads, skipping Rt 7, then head east over the Greens at Rt103 south of Rutland, which is preferable to Rt 4. Or head south from Plattsburgh, cross the lake at Essex, NY to VT on the short ferry, then head south then east, thus avoiding Burlington altogether. Then south to Rutland and east to SW NH. Any road will do as long as it's a state numbered road as opposed to a US Numbered Hwy (2,4,5,7, etc...)

SB

jimmuller 

Unless you really want to see the high ranges (where tree line is a mere 4000 to 5000 ft). Truth be told, if you don't want to ride some hills you'd do best to skip New England completely!

Lightingguy

Easier ?. No such thing when crossing the Greens east/west as the hills go N/S.

Shortest ? and prettiest with least traffic ?. https://beta.mapmyride.com/route/deta...pen_ive_done=1

Stay off Rt 4 from Rutland to Killington, and Rt 4 from Killington down to Woodstock has ton's of traffic with no shoulder and doesn't get better to the CT River, so it's not the nicest road in the state. Rt 103 to the south has a lot less traffic. Then north to the Kingdom Road (at Echo Lake) up and over to to Rt 106, with a warning up front that it's a long hard climb. Alternate is south on Rt 103/100 to Ludlow, then 103 to 131 to Rt. 5. FWIW, rt 5 up around White River Junction is busier then heading into NH then north to Lebanon.

And as a heads up about the time of year, this area gets cold early and I'd be bringing tights, polypro tops, glove liner, hat and rain jacket. It warms up in the late morning but can also get down to the 30's at night.

SB

jimmuller 

He! He! We might just scare the poor guy so much he stays home!

But Lightningguy makes a good point. You must be a real New Englander if you've ever worn your parka with shorts. Or used your heater and air conditioner on the same day.

On the other hand, raybo, you won't have to worry about the mosquitoes because you can tell whether they are flying toward you or away from you by whether the red or green light is on the left wing or the right. At that time of year there won't be too many anyway.

raybo

Does it make more sense to turn right at Wallingford and take 140 over to 103 instead of riding up to Rutland and then back down to 103?

Thanks for the heads-up on the weather. I'll bring some warm clothes.

Ray

Jay H

Definitely want to really avoid Conway and in North Conway if you don't want to deal with insane traffic on the weekends and don't need anything at IME (international Mountaineering Equipment) in No Conway.. There are byways if you check out Google namely west side road to 302 and others..

Dont forget the Crown Point bridge is out. there is a free ferry there but don't try to ride over the crown point bridge unless you get a really good burst of speed and can clear the lake in a big jump.

Lightingguy

140 is steeper as it goes up the Roaring Brook gorge, so hard to say if it's "faster" then going up 7 to 103, but it is half the distance so would be my choice in any event. Less cars as well as Rt 7, being the primary N/S route on the west side of the Greens, gets a lot of traffic. It has a decent shoulder though, but I'd still use 140.

Some planning idea's. Use MapItPronto as it has a great elevation profile tool, better then MapMyRide or GoogleMaps. That'll tell you what the hills look like.

The following link has the State of Vermont road map in sections https://www.state.vt.us/vtmap/vtmap.htm.

Pay attention to the key to learn what road symbols indicate un-paved roads.

I found this on a quick Google search, but if you search a bit you may find better maps, NH and mass as well.

Final note. New England has the Green and White Mts. as well as the Berkshires and pretty much everywhere else in between is hilly, just not AS hilly as area's that have so-called mountains. These are not the Rockies nor Sierra Nevada in terms of grandeur, excepting the Presidential range in the Whites. BUT, the gradients can be steep, especially going cross the ranges, which generally run N/S. About the only place that's truly flat is Long Island and Cape Cod. Using an on-line mapping program such as MapItPronto can help guide you around the speepest stuff, just note that the steeper stuff also usually carries less traffic, especially trucks. Usually.

New England, especially Vermont, is about as beautiful and enjoyable a place to bike as to be found in the USA. Vermont especially has reasonable road conditions and seemingly a country store at every corner, with Cliff Bars and Gatorade, or sandwiches and Green Mt. coffee. Upstate NY, NH and Mass are likewise beautiful country so I suspect you'll really enjoy this area of the country. Certain are's can be a bit congested with cars, but outside of NYC and Boston it's tolerable and the big note tis to be prepared for typical NE fall weather - very chilly in the AM going to hot by 2.

Have fun

SB

bmike

can't see your route... bikely seems down?
which option are you looking for?

pm me. i've helped lots of folks map out routes in vt.

Jez Horrocks

Its abit late I know- now ! But I would like to ride roughly the same rouite (from Plattsburgh (will be coming over from UK in SEpt 2013) and would like more info if you have it- HOW DID IT GO !!??

rumrunn6

FYI, Vermont & NH are quite hilly in general ESPECIALLY Vermont. My car doesn't even like Vermont!

raybo

It was a great bike tour and I would recommend it if you don't mind some serious climbing. On some of the steep ones, I'd stop every few hundred meters to rest and catch my breath (sometimes camouflaged as a photo stop). The only thing I'd do different is not to ride on Rt. 11 east out of Manchester. That was a long, hard ride on a shoulder-less road with heavy traffic (in the rain).

You can read all about my ride in the journal I wrote.

Here is the actual route I rode: https://trackmytour.com/wFZJX#33008

If you have any specific questions send me a PM.

rumrunn6

ASTONISHING!!!!!!! well done sir! great great great documentation as well!!!!!

Salmosebago

Wow, glad this thread was resurrected! Great pics and read. I ride quite a bit of the territory you covered and LOVE this neck of the woods. Day 25 near North Windham, ME you were a mile or so from my home. The river you don't know the name of, the reddest trees, is the Presumpscot. The river flows out of Sebago Lake and there is some VERY good salmon and trout fishing to be had there. Sounds like you had a great adventure - congrats!

raybo

This was one of my favorite tours. The area is very pretty and it was a great time of the year to ride, especially for someone born and raised in California!

The ride to Kennebunk, the next day, was rainy and the rest day I spent there could have, more profitably, been used elsewhere. But, that is a minor complaint about a wonderful tour.

Thanks for the kind words about the journal.