BikeMS Green Mountain Getaway

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

I thought I'd drop by to share an adventure...

This past weekend I drove to South Burlington, Vermont to ride in the BikeMS Green Mountain Getaway.  Way back in January I booked a campsite at the Mt. Philo campground. I chose it because they only had seven well-spaced sites, and the site I picked had a lean-to.

The lean-to turned out to be a most fortuitous choice, as the night before the event it rained steadily for the entire night, except of course, when it poured.  The lean-to kept my tent dry, and gave me plenty of room to sit and read; staying dry without the confines of a tent.

The rain stopped early the next morning, just in time for the ride.  The organizers were prepared, though, and had everything set up under tents.

 

Lining up for the start.  With some very short pre-ride comments, and a truly most excellent singing of the Star Spangled Banner by one of the riders, they let us loose on the route.

 

Even though the rain had stopped, it was by no means certain it would stay stopped judging from the clouds.

 

The more we rolled along the route, the skies threatened less.  We saw more of views like this as we rode south away from Burlington.

 

The route took us through Vergennes.  I locked up the brakes to stop for a picture of the falls on Otter Creek.

 

The sun became stronger, burning off the clouds and evaporating all the rain off the ground to drive the humidity up.  Thankfully the rest stops had ice and cold water.  As the heat and humidity went up, the scenic views continued on a route that paralleled Lake Champlain.

 

The turnaround point was the Crown Point historical site just over this bridge on the New York side of the lake. 

 

Crown Point’s history goes back at least to Samuel de Champlain’s explorations in 1609.  A French fort was built here in the 1730’s and was blown up in 1759.  The English built a larger fort here, and that blew up too.  Luckily for me, nothing blew up while I was at the rest stop.  In this picture you can see the ruins of the French fort.

 

I dragged myself away from all that history and rode back over the bridge, catching a view of a lighthouse dedicated to Samuel de Champlain. 

 

The route then bent along the eastern shore of the lake.  A light breeze off the lake made it a bit cooler.

 

Of course whenever a route leaves a lakeside, it means some climbing.  The people who created the route found a gradual climb that kept the ride pleasant so it was still possible to look around...

 

The last rest stop was at mile 85.  As I rolled in, some dark clouds gathered and rolled in behind me, almost in conspiracy it seemed.  I filled my water bottles fast and gobbled down some food trying to beat the rain.

It didn’t work.

The rain started to patter down as soon as I left the rest stop.  About a mile down the road the rain came down in torrents, winds blew the bike all around, and thunder rumbled overhead.  It was like riding through globs of water with occasional little bits of air in between.  Any sane person would have called for the SAG wagon and hopped a ride to the finish.  You already guessed it –

I kept riding.

I couldn’t have been more wet if I’d been hit with two fire hoses.  But the heat and humidity had broken and clouds hid the sun, making the ride much easier for me.  Even though it was the last 15 miles because it was so much cooler I found I could pick up the pace. 

And I crossed the finish line just about the same time the rain stopped…

Here’s the profile for the ride:

(Yeah, it’s a century that’s 105 miles long because I missed a turn during the deluge and had to double back). 

I’ve been doing MS rides for some time.  This was a smaller ride, and it created a feeling more like being a contributor to a cause instead of a nameless face in a horde.  I enjoyed this event, too, because it was well organized, well staffed, with a scenic route on back country roads. 

 

And it had waterfalls… 

 

[sheep_herder ★]

Welcome back!! You had me worried until, finally there was a photo of waterfalls.

[Wilbur ★]

TK!

[Kzoo]

Thanks for sharing.

[BuffJim]

Awesome. Be a stranger no more. There have been times over the last few months we’ve missed your counsel. 

[Longjohn ★]

Great ride report TK. You have really been missed.  

[Airehead]

Thanks for the excellent ride report @Thaddeus Kosciuszko.  I just shared it with Mr. Aire who ceased being bored and uncomfortable for five minutes to enjoy it.  He wants to know if you saw other riders during the storm?

[Longjohn ★]

 

[Square Wheels]

You've been missed.

[petitepedal ★]

You have been missed..sounds like a great ride except for the storm.....you said nothing about headwinds!!!!

[bikeman564™]

Very nice report and pics, thanks for sharing @Thaddeus Kosciuszko As you may recall I did the MS ride last year in Frankenmuth, MI (back2back centuries). I was amazed how well supported and organized it was.

PS, I'm glad you didn't get blowed up either

[TrentonMakes]

Thanks for stopping in to post your story.  Your photos are beautiful as always.  

Whether in Vermont or around the Capital District you have a knack for posting photos of places that I miss.

[jsharr ★]

Thatguy Kameback!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Awesome write up.

 

Welcome bavk

[Kirby]

Wonderful to hear from you, and thanks for posting the beautiful pictures!  Sounds like a really nice event.

I visited Letchworth State Park last month, and kept thinking of you when I saw the waterfalls.

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

Thank you, everyone, for the kind 'welcome back'!

Airehead, I'm glad the post entertained Mr. Aire, even if only for a few moments.  The few riders that were behind me after I left the last rest stop were wise enough not to miss any turns, so they all moved ahead of me while I was off the route.  Please give him my regards and my sincere wishes for a speedy recovery!

Petite, no headwinds to speak of, just mostly light breezes once the clouds gave way to the sun.  Surprisingly the ride organizers managed to schedule a tail wind for a decent part of the return route!

I see we now have a 'green-with-envy' emoticon.  I was going to respond to Kirby's post with that, but the shade of green wasn't deep enough.  ?

 

[Kirby]

24 minutes ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said:

I see we now have a 'green-with-envy' emoticon.  I was going to respond to Kirby's post with that, but the shade of green wasn't deep enough.  ?

 

Proof that I was thinking about you when I saw the waterfalls!

OK. I can't get the link to work right, but it's post 20 in the July Photos thread.  If you click on the little arrow in the blue part on the top of the post, it will take you there.

 

[Digital_photog ★]

Welcome back. We missed you.  Excellent ride report.