Day 47 - Wed, June 25 - Albany, NY, to Brattleboro, VT - 76 miles - 6100 feet climbing

Today's ride from Albany, NY, to Brattleboro, VT, was another great day of riding. The day was mostly sunny with temperatures in the high 70's, a little warm on the climbs but still quite comfortable.

A roadside deli on today's route.


Thirty miles out of Albany, we crossed into Vermont.


A Vermont license plate. I take the license plate photos in our motel parking lots. One of these days someone is going to catch me taking a picture of "their" license plate and want to know what is going on.


The Col. Seth Warner monument in Bennington, VT.


Left-click the photo to read the inscription on the monument.


There were many life-sized sculptures along the streets of Bennington. This one was labeled "Weekend Painter".


The inscription below the sculpture.


We crossed the Appalachian Trail on a 7 mile climb out of Benningtion. The AT stands for Appalachian Trail and the LT stands for Long Trail.


Bill, from Kansas, who has hiked the full length of the Appalachian Trail and many other major trails.


I would imagine that this motel is named after Bill Bryson's book, "A Walk in the Woods". The book is a humerous account of Bill and a friend hiking the Appalachian Trail.
This looks like fun. I reached 43.5 mph on this downgrade. There were other reports of a 47 mph and of Achim and Alex (Germany) reaching 53 mph on their heavy recumbent-tandem.


A clean bubbling brook.


And a sky-blue lake.


Don Berens (Albany, NY) greeting his Vermont "Uncle George" and wife on top of Hogback Mt.
A restaurant on top of Hogback Mt.


Randy (CA) topping one of our climbs today.


George (England) getting some sun at the end of the day. Sorry, George, for the perspective on the fountain (left-click the photo). Hope that your hair is not getting wet!

Tomorrow will be our last full day of riding with our 87 mile journey from Brattleboro, VT, to Burlington, MA. Burlington is just outside of Boston. Tomorrow's ride will also involve a lot of climbing and will be a long day.

I might add that 40 years ago this year (1968), I rode a bicycle from Ft. Devens, MA, to Brattleboro, VT, to visit my brother, John, who was attending a Spanish language school for a few weeks before spending a year as an International Farm Youth Exchange worker in Nicaragua. I was stationed at Ft. Devens during my Army training.

By for now and thanks for the comments,

Bob

Day 46 - Tuesday, Jun 24 - Little Falls, NY, to Albany, NY - 69 miles - 2900 feet of climbing

Another beautiful day for riding. There was a 30% chance of rain all day but again we lucked out. The temperature was also comfortable - being in the 70's. During the evening there was a lighting storm but no rain over our motel.


We passed the historic site of Fort Klock.


A fortified farmhouse at the Fort Klock site.


A landscape view along today's route. We followed the Mohawk River most of the day.


A dam and lock on the Mohawk River.


Our second sag stop today was again hosted by Catholic Charities, the charity for whom our rider, Don Berens (Albany, NY) was raising funds on his cross country ride.


Tyrone, a golden-poodle, also greeted us at the sag stop.


Don volunteered to lead, those who wished to go, an off-route tour through Albany to our motel. Don's tour replaced about the last twenty miles of our ride for the day and primarily used bike paths - which we appreciated for getting us away from the highway traffic. The tour also included cycling through the historic district of Albany. In the photo above, Don is getting a lot of help in changing his flat tire which occurred at a most inopportune time - at the start of the tour he volunteered to lead.


The bike path tour led us along a scenic area of the Mohawk River. Thanks to Don for leading this relaxing and enjoyable tour.

Tomorrow, we will ride 76 miles to Brattleboro, VT, with 6100 feet of climbing.

Bye for now,

Bob