A great day for a ride across Vermont. Overcast skies and 52 degrees as the ride started on the former Delaware & Hudson railroad line, converted into a rail trail. I spotted a deer and fawn sharing the early morning trail with me.

First stop was in the quaint college town of Castleton, where a few other cyclists were fueling up for rides. Nearly everyone I came across gave a jovial ‘Good Morning!’. Maybe that’s a Vermont thing. Or maybe the emerging sunshine after days of rain helped spark a good mood. Or maybe people just liked my crazy elephant jersey.

Today featured a climb up and over the Appalachians, the first significant day of climbing since the Black Hills of South Dakota. From an elevation of about 500 feet in Rutland, the route crested at 2100 feet above sea level. Overall, a moderate elevation gain – but some stretches had incline grades of more than 15%. Most modern mountain passes are engineered at a 5-6% grade with numerous switchbacks, but these old roads often go straight up hillsides. And Vermont has plenty of steep hillsides.

Some gravel roads at the top had me questioning my route decisions. ‘Old Plymouth Road’ deteriorated into 4-wheel drive adventure – not passable for cars. Barely passable for bicycles, especially after the recent rains.

As if the rough road was not hazard enough, a stubborn porcupine decided to camp out in the road. I waited patiently for passage, but apparently, the porcupine was not impressed with my crazy elephant jersey. Not wanting an unpleasant brush-up, I bush-wacked around the prickly road camper and carried on.

Former president Calvin Coolidge was born in this area of Vermont, and his namesake adorns several parks, roads, and museums. We met up for lunch in one such park, and Jax found a beautiful nearby lake for paddle boarding.

Then, a nice scenic roll down the Ottauaquechee River valley to our overnight town of Quechee. Here’s a view from the aptly named ‘River Road’:

A beautifully adventurous and sunshine filled day. 64 miles of excellent Vermont biking.

After a great night in Little Falls (perhaps the best canal town we’ve stayed at so far), day 50 of this coast to coast adventure starts off cool and cloudy. The first trick is navigating the steep stairs from our third floor room at the Canal Side Inn.

Temps and air quality both in the 50s. The rain held off for most of the day, but made its appearance for the final 20 miles. Early on, the trail wound a bit into rock formations that create some cascading waterfalls in the area.

And one of these sharp rocks made its way into my front tire for the first flat of this 2023 segment. A special shout out to the Mohawk Valley Alpiners club for strategically placing a nice bench alongside the trail right where I needed it.

At several points, the ‘old’ abandoned canal would be on my right, and the ‘new’ active canal on the left. Here are a couple locks (I like to think of them as water elevators), one old and one new:

The best stop of the day was at a creek-side park, where Schoharie Creek meets the Mohawk River / Canal. Jax had a beautiful paddleboard ride amongst aqueduct ruins from the old canal. And we had the whole park to ourselves… except for the bald eagle that flew by low and waived hello while eyeing our lunch. The passing cars, trucks and trains were whizzing by too quickly to enjoy the beauty.

A nostalgic quote from a fellow passing traveler in this same area, as posted on a nearby interpretive sign, captured the sentiment we felt:

“The graceful winding curvature of the old canal, the meadows, and woods, the half-hidden church nestling among the leaves of its elms and pines, the neat secluded hamlet, the farmhouse… so disposed as to greet the eye of the passenger, will long be hopelessly looked for by him who flies through this scene” – James Fenimore Cooper, 1851.