Albany, NY to Brattleboro, Vermont

80 miles, 5:34 riding time, 5,119 feet climbing, 4,013 Calories

Rain! Headwinds! Climbs! The gorgeous Green Mountains of Vermont.

The forecast was for 40% chance of rain and winds from out of the north. I pocketed my wind breaker, just in case, and headed out of the motel parking lot. We navigated the city streets, with potholes, impatient traffic, and even a tunnel. Inside the tunnel were some potholes big enough to swallow a bicyclist, but we safely navigated our way around them. Eventually, we turned onto Route 7 and entered the forest. Thirty-one miles from Albany we crossed the Vermont State line, pausing to take pictures and sprinkle some of our CA sand.

Painted moose structures appear to be all the rage in Vermont; I especially like this gold one. We stopped at the Bennington Battle Monument - the tallest manmade structure in Vermont. The monument commemorates a battle during the Revolution; unfortunately, the actual battle site is some ten miles away in the state of New York, but don't tell anyone.

Coming out of Bennington, we started a 7 mile climb. Near the top, the grade was 8 & 9% for a couple of miles. In fact, the entire day was spent climbing or descending. As we neared the top, it began to sprinkle and then to rain in earnest. We donned our jackets for the descent. It rained, off and on, all the way to the hotel. This wasn't as bad as the rain we had riding from Erie to Canandaigua, but my left shoe was full of water at the end and everything was covered in mud.

It's too bad the rain detracted from a wonderful ride in the Green Mountains. There were streams and rivers, lots of trees and steep hills, a perfect mix for a perfect day of bicycling through Vermont.

Brattleboro is the oldest town in Vermont. It's situated in a deep valley next to the Connecticut River. Since Vermont doesn't have any regulations against public nudity - it's usually so cold here, no one would think of going outside with no clothes on - Brattleboro is the home of the Vermont World Naked Bike Ride. Unfortunately, the ride was two weeks ago, on June 13, so we missed it.