June 19, 2023
Getting Gapped
Thetford Hill to East Middlebury
As usual, I didn’t sleep all that well in my tent. At least I was comfortable.
After a breakfast of two PB&J English muffins and a banana, I left camp at around 6:30.
It was gloomy and cool, requiring my jacket and long pants. Again.
And, of course, I went up. It turns out I didn’t camp in Thetford Hill. Thetford Hill was another steep mile away.
After Thetford Hill I immediately rode downhill to Thetford Center. These hills separate river ways which means…
After Thetford Center came another short, steep climb requiring me to stop to get my breathing and heartbeat under control. Five miles into the ride and I’m already burning out.
Again I plunged down to a river but this time I took a road along its course. South Stratford, then three Royaltons (South, plain vanilla, and North), then Sharon where I stopped at a gas station deli for second breakfast. Alas, the portions were so small that it was ineffective in stoking my engine.
I was now following the White River upstream. It was mighty pretty and sounded good too. I kept following the White River, slogging my way through Bethel, Gaysville, Stockbridge, and Rochester. Every so often the road would turn away from the river and I’d be grinding up yet another short steep hill. Ugh.
After Bethel the sun came out. I stopped to finally peel off my cold weather gear.
In Rochester I stopped at a country store where I had a wonderfully delicious turkey and cheese sandwich and an iced tea. It seem to revive me for a few miles. Before leaving town I stopped at a bike shop to top off the air in my tires.
Even with the sandwich working its metabolic magic I could tell that my legs didn’t have their usual bounce.
More river tracing brought me to Hancock where I turned uphill toward the dreaded Middlebury Gap.
I was doing quite well for about five miles. Then the grade went from 4 percent to 9 percent. My granny and I persisted but it became very clear that if I wanted to get over this mountain with my knees and back intact I’d need to walk. It was my first walk since New York about three weeks ago.
I car pulled up and the shotgun passenger asked if I wanted a lift. I shook my head and grunted “I got this.”
Truth be told, this climb owned me. The grade had to be 12 percent near the top. Even pushing The Mule required frequent stops.
At 3 p.m. the deed was done. There were no signs to pose under, just the 12 percent truck-on-a-cheese wedge sign.
I put my jacket back on and pointed The Mule down. I’m pretty sure I could have made it without braking but not knowing the curves and dips and such I had to play it cool.
One thing I’ve learned about on this ride is the smell of brake pads disintegrating.
I stopped a couple of times to make sure my rims weren’t overheating which can cause a tire to explode which is not something I ever want to experience.
The steep part of the descent was over quickly. The rest of the descent had a few rollers in it, causing me to use my granny gears a few times.
I passed the Middlebury Snow Bowl which is a ski venue created by Middlebury College on the 1930s and still very much in use. Next, I passed Bread Loaf, a Middlebury College retreat for writers, artists, and other creative people. All the buildings have a matching color scheme. Robert Frost taught here.
After Bread Loaf I came to Ripton where the road briefly declines 15 percent. As hard a time as I had getting over the Gap, I can’t imagine starting my climb with a 15 percent knee-wrecker like this.
As I crawled through East Middlebury, I knew I was running on fumes. Soon I spotted an A&W Drive In restaurant. A root beer float seemed the perfect ending to a brutal ride. (To be honest, the float couldn’t hold a candle to the root beer floats at the Dairy Godmother ice cream shop back home.)
I managed to squeeze The Mule into my very small room. Then I cleaned up and headed out on foot (glad I brought my cane) for a family restaurant about a half mile away where I inhaled a bowl of pea soup and a plate of spaghetti.
Tomorrow was a planned rest day (what Appalachian Trail hikers call a 0 day). I am a day behind schedule so I’m going to see how I feel in the morning. Psychologically, it would be good to get out of New England. I have no idea what the terrain is like going through the Adirondacks because my map set doesn’t have an elevation profile of that part of the route. I hope this means no more monster climbs.
Today's ride: 69 miles (111 km)
Total: 1,537 miles (2,474 km)
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