XC Day 14 - Ticonderoga NY to Hanover NH
Today we biked across Vermont crossing the green mountains at Brandon Gap. While in the 50s to start, the temperature reached up to the 80s in the mid afternoon. Fortunately, there was often shade on the roads. While not quite as spectacular as yesterday, the scenery was still wonderful.
We started the day biking down to Lake Champlain.
We waited for the ferry to make its way back from VT.
After loading up, we headed across the lake.
And then we added another state to our list.
Almost immediately, we were in farm country with hay bails rolled up ready to be wrapped and stored.
Looking back, we can see Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains we biked across yesterday.
Looking forward, we could see the Green Mountains that we biked across today.
There seemed to be a bit less orange and red color in the leaves here in the Green Mountains compared with the Adirondack Mountains yesterday.
The big climb of the day was the Brandon Gap. In Vermont, the passes over the mountains are usually called gaps. Earlier this year, Jesse, Ruth, Doug and I biked the Vermont Grand Fondo. That ride started in Middlebury and went back and forth, back and forth over the Green Mountains using AppalachIan Gap, Lincoln Gap, Middlebury Gap, and Brandon Gap. In that case, we were traveling Brandon Gap east to west which is the easier direction while today we were riding west to east. The main part of the climb is 5 miles with 1500’ of climbing.
With my legs struggling again, I was quite slow going up the climb.
However, I do like to descend fast. So, what energy I had in my legs, I put into the descent. I ended up averaging just under 39 mph for the 4 mile descent segment which was actually the 7th fastest descent for the 1749 riders who have ridden it at least once and posted to Strava (the dominant social media application for recording biking, running, and other activities).
I thought I would include this barn since it was unpainted unlike the massive number of red and the occasional white barns I have previously included.
As we made our way to Hanover, I spent some of it riding with Paula, Ruth, and Jesse.
We biked along the White River from near Bethel the remaining miles to New Hampshire.
The road was generally quiet. More importantly, since we were riding down river, the road was generally slightly downhill.
Another view of the White River.
There wasn’t a state “Welcome to New Hampshire” sign where we entered, so I took this picture instead.
Tomorrow is a tough day at 98 miles and over 7000’ of climbing. I am sure that the scenery and weather will be lovely, and that my legs will continue to protest. Thursday will be our last day as we bike the final 70 miles from North Conway NH to Portland ME.