Tour routes in Vermont
 

Thanks everyone who has helped with your comments thus far on Vermont and Maine. Thought it easier to post a new thread as I try to finalise our routes in New England. Here is what I have worked out on Ride with GPS, your comments on the route, road conditions etc. is invaluable and if there are any must sees, must stop, must eat etc. I have missed please let me know. This is for departure on 1 October.

Day 1 Burlington to Alburg 73.5kms
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2949727
I have arranged transport across the Burlington causeway which saves us km's and traffic

Day 2 Alburg to Keeseville 78.3kms
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2949732
Not sure what enroute, is Ausable Chasm a must see? or just a tourist attraction. I don't want to gut myself to get there.

Day 3 Keeseville to Vergennes 53.6kms
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2949741
Is Charlotte worth a small detour, is there much there?

Day 4 Vergennes to Middlebury 56.6kms
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2949930
Have routed via Button Bay, Weybridge, Morgan Horse Farm and Pulp Mill Bridge..anything else? We don't want to make it too far that day to allow us to see these places and have some time in Middlebury.

Day 5 Middlebury to Brandon 46.5kms
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2949987
I have kept off RT7 as mentioned by someone in a previous post and have gone via Salisbury Station covered bridge, we have then skirted Lake Dunmore, are Falls of Lana worth the walk? Anyone know how far and how long it takes to return? Couldn't seem to find to much when I googled it. I have allowed extra time for this.

Day 6 Brandon to Woodstock 76.9kms
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/2950011
THIS ONE I REALLY NEED HELP WITH. Are we mad going across this, is the road through busy...hate to be cycling up that hill with no shoulder because will be going pretty slowly I'm sure. Is there any alternates you recommend, is it a scenic ride. We do have the option of getting a shuttle from Rutland to Woodstock but then what would you suggest as our ride for the day?
I JUST SAW WE COULD ALSO GO ACROSS BRANDON MOUNTAIN ROAD, its a couple of kms longer but would it be a better route?
Thanks again, any feedback would be very much appreciated, I hope I can do the same if you ever make it to Australia or anywhere else I may have cycled.

Regards
Margot

Margot,

All your routs thru Day 4, Middlebury look good. In fact I just road the Vergennes to Chimmey Pt route yesterday, and was reminded how beautiful and quiet it is along there. In Vergennes be sure to eat at 3 Squares, great food. As far as the other routes, I've ridden the same route on the islands and over to Plattsburg, all nice back roads.

Ausable Chasm is very interesting, but expensive to get into and if the water levels are low not as dramadic as early in the spring.

If you need anything while visiting Vermont, just PM me.

Thanks Brian, have you or anyone done day 5/6 of our tour? I tried to PM you but turns out I have to have 50 posts and I'm not quite there yet...sadly! Perhaps you could PM me and I will respond.

Margot,

FYI, Rt 4 is the major traffic/truck route into Rutland from the east. Also lots of traffic going to Killington Mtn ski area, though if you are going in Sept that shouldn't be an issue. Rt 4 is at least in good shape, but you'll have lots of highspeed traffic going by you. Not sure of the road condition, but the little used Rt 73 out of Brandon can be used to get over the mountains, then Rt 100 to Rt 107, then over to Rt 12 into Woodstock. Woodstock is a very, very nice town.

while I cannot help with specifics, I can mention (maybe again, perhaps wrote this before when you asked about this trip) that in general, Vermont drivers are really quite good for leaving space for cyclists. I rode from Montreal to Boston a few weeks ago, following mostly the 100 from east of Burlington (so spent most of the time east of that large park area) and the experience vis a vis shoulders and car and truck driver politeness was very positive. Coming into the Killington area along the 100 from the north did involve a pretty good climb, so do make sure you have low gearing for the weight you will be carrying, and that everyone is competent enough for riding slowly slogging up a hill with X amount of traffic going by. The actual climb approaching Killington on the 100 oddly enough had the worst cracks in the road, the type that run parallel to your wheels, so you had to be careful while huffing and puffing up the steep bit.
As always, I highly recommend some type of mirror.
Have a wonderful trip and hope weather is cooperative.

I would do Brandon Gap (on the mountain road) over riding Rt 4 to Woodstock. We did Brandon Gap on our tour of southern vermont, we were fully loaded with camping gear. It is a very steep in places, so we had to stop numerous times, but it really isn't that far or long to climb overall. It is very nice at the top and would be a nice ride over to woodstock from there. From the gap, you get to ride 107 and then 12 to woodstock; at Silver Lake, you get the option to take Stage Road down to the town, which was a very nice road, maybe one of the best I have ridden in Vermont anywhere.

Thanks Michael, may I ask the condition of the roads and if there was much traffic. I suspect given both hills are around 10km that my husband and son maybe myself will be walking the steep parts, is there a shoulder for that? We will have our gear but aren't camping so hopefully can keep to a minimum. My bike is more low geared than the tandem my husband and son are riding on.

Your going to like Vergennes. We just rode through there and stayed at Emerson's Guest House, which we highly recommend. If you like rolling hills you will love Vermont.

The traffic and the road through brandon gap should be fine. I don't remember any traffic really at all (but people do drive it). Looking at our tour on Rides with GPS, and from memory, it seems like it was only the top 500 feet (.1 or .2 km) or so of climbing that was too steep for us to really ride. So they may need to walk that, may a mile or two total (1.5 to 3 km). I haven't ridden or mapped out riding Route 4, through Rutland gap, but that is a long stead climb on a very busy road, so worse in every way.

Thanks Michael that's great information. Good to hear from you Cape John, we are also staying at Emerson Guest House. Hopefully we will survive the rolling hills, chose the wrong state if we wanted flat I guess!!! Glad to hear the drivers are kind DJB, they aren't so much here sadly! and VT speed such helpful advice.

Thanks for the PM Brian, system won't let me respond (not enough posts but am getting there). We will be arriving Burlington on 30 September and starting tour on Tuesday 1 October. Would be great to catch up if you happen to be around. I can call you or email (which I don't have) closer to our arrival. The only part I am unsure of now is Brandon Gap but will see if I can arrange some transport up the first peak and then it looks manageable. Anyway can sort that when we get there.

Margot,

great to hear that your plans have come together. I'll try to make a drive or ride up Brandon Gap to check it out. I'll be away on vacation for the next few weeks, but in early Sept I'll do a recon of the gap and let you know what I think of the conditions and bike-ability of the road.

Thanks Brian, I see there are quite a few routes on Ride with GPS over the gap and had a look on google maps, the surface and shoulder I saw looked okay and it has a lovely leafy outlook. The Stage Road comment by Michael also sound promising so we are keen to do. If I can get a pick up truck or transport to the top of the first peak which is only 9 miles from Brandon then I think my husband and son will be a lot happier!! Not sure if I told you but have worked out Maine too. We will cycle Portland/Brunswick/Boothbay Harbor/Rockland and then pick up a car so we can have a day cycling in Acadia and another day hiking or something along those lines. Just need to get some training in now, it's only 6.5 weeks away!

Duuuude - I grew up in Vermont near Woodstock! Family is still there!

I can't help much with the routes but def want to subscribe to this thread - post some pics when you start!

Will do.

Thank you for all your assistance with our trip planning, we had a wonderful time and the weather was great until the last day so can't complain. I have put a trip journal here if anyone is interested http://www.biketouringtips.com/showT...=threadEntries . Feel free to ask any questions.

Happy New Year. Looking forward to our next tour, Margaret River in Western Australia...a little closer to home.