Business810

Hello all,

My girlfriend and I are considering doing a short tour in Vermont/New England this summer. We are planning something like 5-6 days and a relatively slow pace. My girlfriend is fairly new to cycling, so we will probably keep the mileage down to 30-40 per day, maybe a bit more. She is athletic and is going to start training soon, so if her fitness and comfort level goes up, we may consider going farther. I'm new to touring, but I'm not new to cycling as I commute by bike regularly and do long recreational road rides in the summer, averaging ~150 miles a week during warm weather.

We are thinking of mixing camping with B&B's. We both have bikes that will work fairly well for a short tour, and I have a pretty good handle on what gear we would still need to acquire.

My main question regards the route. After searching I found little on here about Vermont, but I'm sure some people here have ridden through there. Does anyone have any suggestions of "must-see's" or paths to take through Vermont. The only place we really have planned would be to spend at least a day in or around Burlington. I still need to do some research on a few other sites, but I thought I would start here.

Thanks!

danacf

On page 5 (2/2/09) there is a "Vermont and New York" route discussion with some good recommendations.

martianone

You mentioned spending "a day.....in Burlington", are possibly planning to start in Burlington ?
If so, are you going to fly/drive there ?

grinningfool

I can't give you any routes to take, but I have driven in Vermont several times and it is very beautiful and very hilly. Just make sure that you and your gf have adequate low gearing. I think that any ride you take in Vermont will be enjoyable, it's very picturesque.

Gordon P

Green Mountains Loop https://www.adventurecycling.org/rout....cfm?pg=detail

Business810

D'Oh! Don't know how I missed that - thanks for directing me to it. There is a lot of good info in there.

One idea was to start there. Vermont is about a 10 hour drive here, so considering that we will have two bikes with us, that is a better option than flying. My girlfriend loves Vermont, which is why that's a possible destination. Riding there is not an option, unfortunately, since neither of us can get that much time off of work.

I've heard it's very quite picturesque and quite hilly. Don't worry, we'll both have triples and a wide ranging cluster out back.

Speedo

Champlain Bikeways has information about routes in the Champlain valley, as well as the loop around Champlain.

Just about any secondary road in Vermont is a good biking road.

Speedo

nun

Some good info here. Also search on vermont on CGOAB

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/Montreal2008

Miles2go

My wife and I started and ended a tour in Burlington. You can see a few photos HERE. Some quaint places, narrow, rough roads, short but steep pitches and good ice cream (beyond that one place in Waterbury). Great people too.

You may also want to consider a finger lakes tour if you can extend your drive a bit.


Tailwinds

martianone

[QUOTE=Business810;8414834]D'Oh! Don't know how I missed that - thanks for directing me to it. There is a lot of good info in there.



One idea was to start there. Vermont is about a 10 hour drive here, so considering that we will have two bikes with us, that is a better option than flying. My girlfriend loves Vermont, which is why that's a possible destination. Riding there is not an option, unfortunately, since neither of us can get that much time off of work.


IMHO-
Since you are driving;
From Albany NY go up the Northway [rt 87] and head toward Ticonderoga. Ticonderoga is sort of the
southwest corner of the ACA GreenMountain route. Find a motel/hotel/BB etc in the area for your first
night- make arrangements (call ahead) to park your car there for the week [or what ever your time frame]. Then follow GreenMTN route, taking the portion along Lake Champlain that stays completely in VT. I've cycled most of the eastern sections from South Royalton to around Sheldon Springs, for some reason I like the counterclockwise direction- not sure why. This would put Burlington toward the end of your trip. I would take the spur into Quebec [make sure you both have a passport] between North Troy and back into US before Richford- this avoids a nasty down hill- however there is a great east view at the top of this hill which the spur would miss. Easy to get going way too fast on this down hill there is a narrow short tunnel like underpass at the very bottom; would not want to meet a milk or log truck going too fast [bike or truck] in this underpass. Not sure when you would be planning to go. June could be buggy. July relatively muggy. First couple weeks of Aug are nice. Lots of folks like latter half of Sept for the foliage, however the weather can be highly variable late in Sept. If you plan on around 80 km per day, this would take 7 or 8 days. A shorter route would be to take Rt 100, which more or less bisects Vermont- if going counterclock I think you can pick it up in Hancock and go north to Troy, then continue back on the ACA route- this might reduce your tour a day or two. Good Luck.

kayakdiver

I loved riding through Vermont late in Sept. 2008 while heading towards Maine. The colors are amazing. Second the hilly stuff. I was amazed at how steep some of the climbing was. 13% and up for short stretches. Not really long but oh boy..... those gaps can be a bi%ch. It was getting pretty iffy weather wise also that late in the season. What time of the summer are you planning?

Business810

Thanks for all of the feedback. The Green Mountains Loop sounds great, but I'm afraid it may be a bit longer than feasible. I don't know for sure how many miles per day over hilly terrain we'll be able to cover, but the more time that my girlfriend has to train, the easier a longer distance becomes - suggesting late summer for the tour.

I'm also leaning towards late July-August right now, too, partly because of the bugs in early summer and partly because I might be going backpacking in Central America in May, and I try to space vacations out a bit...

Speedo

If you plan carefully you can find a route that is not worse than rolly.

Speedo

martianone

[QUOTE=Business810;8421742]Thanks for all of the feedback. The Green Mountains Loop sounds great, but I'm afraid it may be a bit longer than feasible. I don't know for sure how many miles per day over hilly terrain we'll be able to cover, but the more time that my girlfriend has to train, the easier a longer distance becomes - suggesting late summer for the tour.

Another possible route-
Just circle Lake Champlain with the GrnMTN route as a guide.
Ticonderoga to Port Kent [on NY side] then across the lake to Burlington,
then down the east side of Lake Champlain (i think this is called the west alternate on the GrnMTN route) back to Ticonderoga. Probably 4 days, or 5 if you spend a day in Burlington. This is less hilly. A possible add on is riding completely around the lake, the Champlain islands area at the north end of the lake is quite pleasant and fairly flat- it is probably 3 days ride time [basically Platsburgh/Port Kent north around the top of Lake Champlain & back to Burlington].

VT_Speed_TR

When planning your route, do check the Champlain Bikeways website. Also, check Bikely.com which has many local routes using GPS points. You can get a good idea on routes that use backroads.

Remember - East-West routes = Hilly, North-South = Less Hilly. Around Lake Champlain is a very nice ride.

There are 4 ferry routes across the lake and 2 bridges, so switching from one side to the other is ways within reach if you want to cut short your ride. The NY side is a pleasant ride and actually has less traffic then the Vermont side, except around Plattsburgh, NY. The Champlain Island are nice, great views of both NY & Vt mountains.

I live just ouitside of Burlington and work in Burlington. There are many bike paths in Burlington, great places to eat, and Burlington even has its own campground located right on the lake. If you need any local help, just PM me.

Brian

Boudicca

I've ridden in Vermont a few times, and it's wonderful. Great shoulders, considerate cars and lots of ice cream shops.

But there's no such thing as a flat road in Vermont. Forty miles could be quite a lot if gf is not used to biking.

late

Yup,
I love Vermont, but for a beginner? Whew!

I can suggest some fairly easy tours in Maine, and here's a book of rides in Vermont. Some of them don't look too bad. I liked Fort Ticonderoga, and Middlebury.
https://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Tours-...5596970&sr=1-1

You might want to bring a car and do day trips.

Business810

That's why I'm trying to keep the total per day to 30-40 miles as opposed to some 60-80 mile/day itinerary. I think we're still kind of flexible on the distance depending on how she trains over the next few months. She is athletic and does run quite often, so I have no doubt she could handle 40 miles or more if she gets some training in.

We would be driving up, so the idea of day trips is also a possibility. I think we would both prefer to do a bit of bike touring if possible - even if it just ends up being one or two nights. Thanks for the link to the book; I'll check that out.

MotoMan

Vermont is great riding. You have to love hills of all kinds, esp. steep ones. The Upper Valley along the Conn. River has great rides sahring VT/NH border. Make sure you have the right gearing (low...) for your ride. For the most part, the shoulders are wide, the traffic low, and sights are nice. However, this winter has been brutal on the roads. My favorite local rides seem to get rougher each year. Our cheapscape Gov. figures it doe not pay to keep the bike inferstructure going.... I bet the road surfaces are better in Iraq are better then in VT... Have fun!

Boston Commuter

The Northeast Vermont Development Association publishes a guide to cycling in the "Northeast Kingdom", available here: https://www.nvda.net/Transp/documents/cycling_new.pdf

The guide includes loop rides of various lengths and difficulties, with link routes between them so you can put together your own tour. It also lists hotels, B&B's, bike shops, and other amenities.

The Northeast Kingdom is the other side of the state from Burlington (Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties). It's beautiful and very rural.

Hope that's helpful -- have a great tour! As for the hills -- if you live in Pittsburgh, you already know all about those.

-=(8)=-

Im sure you already know this, but on the off-chance you dont...
Take lots of spare stuff, tubes, links etc...Depending on where you
ride you might be far from people, let alone a bike shop.
I lived in Pittsburgh, and VT. You'll be Ok with the hills after western Pa
Hopefully pictures upon return ??