Coast2Coast Days 78 (rest day) and 79:  Ticonderoga, New York/Waterbury, Vermont/The Bridge, New York to Sunny Brook Farm/Sharon, Vermont; shed New York, embraced Vermont, communed with the White River, and enjoying our Sunny Brook Farms location!

Rest day:  Have been trying to take one day a week for some rest.  It was a bit more leading to RAGBRAI, as the timing was just a bit imperfect, I.e., Daniel and I rode too far and too fast.  We ended up spending a couple of days in Des Moines with friends from the Chicago area (Steve and Deanna) and Topeka (Stefanie), after I had taken Daniel to a ‘great’ American dinner of salad bar steak, potato, asparagus, and crème-de-menthe on vanilla ice cream.  Hopefully, something he will recall fondly (versus Swedish fish balls).  [Inside joke!]

Cathy and I had planned and arranged for a rest day after crossing into Vermont via a ferry from Ticonderoga, New York.  Unfortunately, when we met in Ticonderoga we learned that the ferry to cross Lake Champlain there had been closed indefinitely.  (Note to self:  Pay more attention to the route addenda!]

When we did get to Ticonderoga, we flexed and drove to our planned rest day location of Waterbury, Vermont.  The driving route took us over a bridge across the Lake, and over many twists and turns to arrive in Waterbury.  I was struck by the relative flatness of Western Vermont versus my fond recollections of coming to Vermont to ski in the 1970’s.

We showered and went to dinner at Prohibition Pig (Pro Pig), as suggested by Don, our host.  We sat at the bar, and Cathy struck up a conversation with her neighbor, John, as she was interested in what he and his companion had ordered.  (They shared that she worked at the restaurant, and also frequently came there to eat, so their thoughts and comments carried some weight.). John also bikes, and is interested in our journey.

The next morning, we had wonderful breakfasts at Maxis, and took in some of the ambiance of the Historic District.  We returned to our rest-day-home for Cathy to work, and for me to co some catching up on correspondence, etc.

Cathy had procured two tickets to the Ben and Jerry’s Factory Tour, and we walked there (not the bets route).  During the tour we found out that B&J’s has ~70 flavors in circulation at any time, AN D they retire 10 flavors each year, meaning that there are 10 new flavors each year!!  We also stopped at the Scoop Stand to have ice cream lunch!  We walked back in the rain, using a different route that included the Waterbury Community Trail (definitely a suggestion). We had a lovely dinner at The Reservoir to close out our rest day in Waterbury.

Day 79 Ride:  In the morning, we did not rush, and took a path back to New York across the bridge, so I could ride from New York to Vermont.  Crossing over the bridge, you realize how large Lake Champlain really is, and how it dominates the border between New York and Vermont.  The addenda indicated to ride mostly East toward Middlebury, where the college has a collection of beautiful buildings.

From East Middlebury, there begins the first climb I experienced East of Rockies that compares.  It was an eight-mile climb, with some stretches of 8-16%.  The ride was interrupted by several construction zones that narrowed to a single lane, with alternating traffic flows.  The floggers were kind, and facilitated my momentum when possible!

The descent from the summit of the climb was exciting, with some 12% grades pushing my speed close to the motorized vehicle limits!  I stopped at The Heart of Hancock for a lunch of fried cos sandwich and a milk shake, and was served attentively by Christina!  She commented that I had come a long way from Oregon!  From Hancock, the route seemed to flow alongside the White River.  During August the water flow is quite low compared to the rush from the Spring thawing.

Cathy and I again met at the library in Sharon, where she had been working.  Since our Harvest Hosts for the evening were right on the route for the next day, we decided that I would ride the 2.6 miles (and 550 feet of vertical.  Tomorrow will take us into New Hampshire, our fourteenth state of the journey!