Day 60: Middlebury, Vermont

Day 60: Middlebury, Vermont

August 11, 2016

Miles: 43

Average Speed: 9.4 mph

Burlington to Middlebury, VT



Di's alarm went off this morning at 7:15 and that made me start the day with a groan.  I felt like I could use a little more sleep, though with all the rest days we've taken that is a little surprising.  We headed to the Best Western Continental breakfast and were joined there by Brian and Michelle.

Breakfast was not bad (and free!)

Our breakfast conversation turned to politics because Michelle brought up something Trump had recently said.  I think she did this on purpose because this is a sure way to get a rise out of Di.  I know that sometimes I feel a perverse desire to tell Di I agree with Trump just to see Di get on her soapbox. In case there was somebody out there that didn't know, Di is passionate about politics.

We went back to our room, packed our bikes, and met Brian and Michelle outside to say our farewells.  We have spent the last four nights with them and we have had just a great time.  Brian and Michelle are wonderful people and are crazy funny.  If you ever just want to laugh all night long, then spend a night with them.

Saying goodbye to Brian and Michelle

Stick Brian says goodbye (an example of crazy funny)

Stick Brian tries to hitch a ride with Di

We headed out of Burlington by riding through a part of the UVM campus.  I was able to point out my senior year residence hall to Di and Di was able to pretend to be interested.  (I've pointed it out to her on a number of occasions in the past.)

Harris-Millis Residence Hall (I lived in Millis)

We caught glimpses of Lake Champlain along the way

We rode on some exceptionally pretty roads

Its not hard to guess mountains will figure into our future

At about the 15 mile mark, we met Carly.  Carly was riding her bike in the opposite direction from us and asked us where we were going.  We stopped to talk to her and she said she rides her bike every day and could help us with directions.  She asked us where we were going (Middlebury) and what were we using to get directions (American Cycle Maps).  She asked these questions because she has seen so many bicycle tourers over the years, but when she calls out to them they never stop.  That might sound rude, but after spending 45 minutes with Carly, and I will say they were a delightful 45 minutes, even I regretted stopping.  We could have ridden 7 or 8 miles in that time and now not only had we lost the time and distance, it was getting hotter.  Carly was able to give us a route to Middlebury that kept us off a pointless climb (PC), so I guess it was a good thing we stopped and lost all that time.  Carly knew about the PC because she does her marathon training there.  By the way, Carly is in her sixties, so she is one athletic lady!

Carly and Di

We resumed riding.

We saw folks enjoying Lake Champlain

We got to ride over a covered bridge

By this time, it was early afternoon and it was already very hot.

Stopping at a convenience store to hydrate (with chocolate milk!)

It was hilly and windy, but mostly it was just hot

We stopped in Vergennes with the plan to grab a quick snack.  Middlebury was only 15 miles away and it made more sense to hang out in the larger town instead of the small town of Vergennes.  We found a restaurant that looked good and when we entered we were shocked at how cold it was.  Really, it was so cold it almost made us gasp.  Strangely, though, after just a few minutes we were used to the frigid air and sat down to enjoy our meal.  I remembered I hadn't locked our bikes, so I went outside and the heat made me actually gasp.  I was shocked at how hot it was.  I realized I had thought the restaurant cold only because it was so hot outside.  Before returning to the restaurant, I entered the thrift shop that was right next door.  I was just killing time before our food was ready and also hoping I would get lucky and find a good book to read.  There weren't many books in the shop, so imagine my surprise at finding a book from the Anne of Green Gables series. And it was Anne of Windy Poplar, the fourth book, and the next in line for me to read.  I found this a coincidence almost as amazing as meeting Leroy Bailey on the other side of the country a year after our first meeting.  Okay, maybe not on the same scale.  (By the way, yes, we did give Leroy money.  As we rode away from Leroy, I told Di the one black spot on her soul has been removed.  In typical Di fashion, she expressed regret that she hadn't also given him a banana she had been carrying.  I told her its okay, we'll probably see him in a few months in Rhode Island and she can give it to him then.)

Our lunch in the ice box

We learned in the restaurant that it was 95 degrees and today was the hottest day in Vermont so far this year.  Yay.  We ended up staying in the restaurant for over an hour because the air conditioning was just too enticing.  We finally left the restaurant and went out into the hottest day of the year.  We've ridden in hotter temperatures, but it was also very humid, and the combination served to tire us out.

Does it look hot?

We didn't arrive in Middlebury until 5:30.  We checked into the Inn on the Green and by 6:30, Di was fast asleep.  I woke Di and 7:30 and we went to Two Brothers Pub to grab a beer and some food and watch the Olympics.

Di at the Inn on the Green

Downtown Middlebury

Thursday night special includes pints of  Narragansett

Sometimes pub food really hits the spot (like tonight)

We finished our food and stumbled (literally) back to the inn.  Tomorrow we have our biggest climb of the trip, so I'm hoping a good night's sleep will find us with renewed energy and rearing to go.  We don't have a destination yet for tomorrow's ride; we will figure that out in the morning.  I hope its cooler tomorrow because one "hottest day of the year" is enough for me.