Life On A B-I7

Route

• Ticonderoga, NY to Rochester, VT

Metrics

• Miles: 42
• Travel Time: About 6 Hours

Note

• We are more connected to each other than we realize.

Thought For The Day

• Work hard and take time for rest.

Me, if I were rafting across the country. (A 1965 New Yorker cartoon.)

The day began with a ferry crossing across Lake Champlain from Ticonderoga, New York to Vermont. I pulled up to the landing and I was the only person waiting to cross. I looked across the lake and I was pretty sure I could see the ferry on the other shore, but it wasn’t moving. I waited for about 10 minutes and was beginning to think it wasn’t operating today. A car pulled up and I thought, oh good, now I’m not the only person waiting. The driver got out of the car and we struck up a conversation. We talked about bicycles and motorcycles. After a few minutes, he walked over to the ferry ramp and pulled a chain which raised a placard to let the Ferry know there was someone waiting. I looked at him and said, “thank you. I would’ve waited all morning!” He has taken the fair many times, but he said there are days when he’s forgotten to do that, we both laughed.

When we got to the other shore, he pulled over and we exchanged phone numbers and I gave him a link to this site. He said if you have any trouble at all in Vermont to call him and he’d come get me. He said he also has friends in New Hampshire, so if I break-down or have any trouble in New Hampshire, he’ll get them out to help me. I am continually amazed at the kindness and generosity of the people I meet on this adventure.

To expand slightly on today’s thought for the day of work hard and rest, I did exactly that. As far as the “work hard” part of that goes, my navigation app tells me I did 2,800 feet of climbing today. That feels about right. There’s the difference between the mountains out west and the mountains here in the east. So far, I have experienced steeper grades in the east. Out west, I did not have to get off the bike and push. To reach the top of today’s biggest climb, I had to push the bike the last two thousand yards to the summit. There may be a couple of factors influencing that. My legs are starting to feel heavy, which is another way of saying they’re getting tired. I’m also carrying more weight than I was when I began the tour. However, all things being equal, the climbing today was more difficult than anything I’ve encountered so far. As far as the “rest” portion of today’s thought goes, i’m staying at a very nice Inn in Rochester, Vermont, the “Stable Inn.” I had dinner at a wonderful farm to table restaurant just across the street.

There’s a very good bike shop next-door to the Inn. “Green Mountain Bicycles.” A husband and wife run the two businesses. Since I’m staying at the Inn, the bike shop did a quick tune on the bike, no charge. This area is a Mecca for mountain biking. When I came back to the shop to pick up my bike, the mechanic who worked on it said, “my good friend Mark in Seattle built your bike.” What a small world we live in!

I took a small cable ferry from Ticonderoga, NY across Lake Champlain to Vermont. The ferry runs on two cables. The crossing takes only 6 minutes.

I asked the captain, “What happens if one of the cables breaks?” He replied, “We could end up in New York harbor, but that would require us to navigate a lot of locks on the Champlain Canal, so it might take us awhile.”

I’m in Vermont!

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit I have underestimated the physical challenge presented by the Green Mountains.

Itinerary | Maps