Back "roads" of Orange, VT

8.82 miles, 2116 feet of climbing!

Fall Classic was populaire this year...

Maybe 40 people or so at the start.

Mike and I cruising along as the sun rises.

Mike and Harris coming up the hill.

Amazing fall colors.

Snack stop at Jericho general store.

These were dangerous horses as indicated by the "Danger Horses" sign.

It was a great ride. For the past few years it has been a rainy slug fest but this year it was absolutely amazing. We had a 7 am start this year. If you like riding a bike this is the ride to do! Fall colors, lots of quiet back roads and fall colors. What more could you ask for. (other than the Village Cup Bakery which was not on route this year) :)

I was planning on the 200k but opted for the 100k at the last minute. It was nice to get in earlier and spend time chatting and eating pizza rather than getting in and just running home. Plus work was much more enjoyable today as I climbed up ladders and such all day.

It is interesting to reflect back to 4-5 years ago and the change in fitness level when a ride like this would have wrecked me for a day or 2 afterwards. Looking forward to years to come which will hopefully include more time to ride and longer brevets, I'd like to try a 400k as my longest ride thus far is the 300k.

Geeking out on cue sheets!

Getting ready for the Fall Classic. I tend to zone out and miss tricky turns so I'm adding mini maps to my cue sheet.

D-O-R-K

doing outrageously ridiculous krap

Fall classic 200k...

Looking forward to this weekend, the beautiful and cafe filled fall classic ride. Lots of dirt, climbing and beatiful leaves, pastries and coffee.

400k vermont...

Riders at the 6AM Montpelier start

2AM on Rt. 100 at the top of  a climb

At the finish. An experienced rando and an ultra runner doing her first ever brevet! She (the woman in front) rode a bike she bought the day before the ride and drove from Michigan!

This year we have expanded the brevet work force from 1 to about 6. I took on helping with the 400k. It was a great experience and gave me a deep appreciation for all the folks who do the organizing. Oh, and thanks again to Mike for doing it all solo for so long, you are nuts! :)

It has been raining almost constantly this summer. On the day of the ride it rained heavily in many areas but spared our riders! All riders finished in plenty of time. Everyone enjoyed the route and the scenery. There was a road construction re-route that added a super steep dirt climb after the climb up out of Granville Gulf (which even the speediest and strongest riders commented on) but otherwise all riders approved the route.

Old digger ride

My son's first bike with gears, very exciting as the TrailABike days are left behind.

On our ride last weekend we passed this old excavator that reminded us of MaryAnn in the story Mike Mulligan.

Last Sunday...

snow rollers

dave's winter ride

mike and dave checking out the rollers

inside of my pocket

It's too cold for me to want to ride today, so I'll write about last weeks ride.

Last Sunday Dave, Mike and I went for a winter loop ride in Middlesex. The weather looked iffy, 40-60 mph winds, sleet and rain. We met at the park and ride and decided to go for it. We reversed the original route to avoid a possible high wind headwind ride back. After some bike chat and getting ready, we headed to Montpelier on some dirt along Three Mile Bridge road. We rode into Montpelier and then UP and out of town. After the healthy climb Mike got an SOS text from home regarding sick kiddos. So he headed back. We were right to reverse the loop, it turned out he ended up trackstanded (yes it is a word) by the wind.

Dave and I continued on. Lots of up and down. With some help from a fellow who lived in the area (from whom we learned that Molly Supple Road is Molly "Souple" Road as in Campbells, we made our way through some hike-a-bike and then more onward and upward. I added a few miles of climbing with my miscalculations. We ended with a great soup lunch at the Hen.

Great dirt/snow/hike/ride 20 miler...

when the going gets frozen the frozen get going

headed down the class 4

 Mike emerging from the mist with the lovely sound of studded tire bacon sizzle

At the top of the mighty last hill on the class 4

trail aka north bear swamp rd.

yep

icelandic horses

Met Mike this morning at the Moretown park and ride and then headed out on a wonderful hilly loop. Up north on some dirt/freeze to Middlesex near the Rumney school and then back to the west . Then a bit north and back south on a mile or so of snowy hike a bike. Then a few more climbs and a bomber descent back to chicken curry soup, croissants, coffee and grilled cheese. Yum. A perfect January thaw day!

Tomorrow's ride...

A very nice climby route from Red Hen up the back roads of Middlesex. Should keep the body warm until returning to the hen for soup!

Bar tweak...

Just installed a pair of Nitto noodles! Very excited about the new bars. The old ones were Salsa Moto Ace Short and Shallow. They were ok but I am looking forward to spending way more time in the drops now. I also love the way the shape allows you to angle the brifters in slightly so my hands rest naturally on them. They just feel right.

Winter afternoon ride

An afternoon plucadandbot (plumbers, carpenters, and designers and builders of things) ride.

Clifton riding up the hill

McCullough Hill Road Middlesex

BC Ski

Mike breaking trail

Crossroads

Over the 6" bridge

Tea break

Big

Me breaking trail

History lesson

Coffee/lunch

Ice globber aka ski cicle from stream

Sled dog action

Begin the descent

Went for a great ski with Mike today at Little River State Park. 6 hours of fun.We met at the Waterbury Park N Ride and headed to Little River. Got there around 7:30. Headed out on some gentle rolling park roads past the lake and dam to the ranger station. After a snack we headed out and up Hedgehog Trail and up up up. Amazing powder and traces of a former skiier. We stopped for Jetboil coffee and snacks and then bombed down to our starting point. Heading down was iffy due to being forced into a narrow track about 12" deep. Several times I resorted to the butt brakes as my connective tissue is not as limber as it once was and I had visions of torn ligaments as my speed increased with no room to turn or snowplow. Worked pretty well as long as I bombed down and did little mini plow/tele turns. Sloppy and ugly but it worked. A beautiful day greatly enjoyed.