July 10, 2019
Closing the Middlebury Gap
MIddlebury to Bethel
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Jackie’s avg speed: 9.9 mph
Scott’s avg speed: 10.4 mph
Weather: 60-85 degrees, increased humidity in afternoon
Like Groundhog Day, we were back at the bagel shop at 06:30, buying donuts and bagels for the road. My stomach was a little queasy worrying about Bread Loaf Mountain, so named because of its shape. The actual summit is called Middlebury Gap. A guy who lives in an apartment over the bike shop and used to work there told us the grade at one point was 14%. Oh jeez. But it’s really short, he said, no longer than a quarter mile.
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The first five miles were actually flat, quite unlike the hills on the west side of Middlebury. Then the grade started to go up. The guy was right, there was a steep stretch of maybe three or four minutes that made the thigh muscles burn and chest heave with the effort of pulling in enough oxygen to match the exertion. But then the grade eased off into a series of shelves, followed by ups, then another shelf. After a sign for the town of Hancock, the grade got steeper again, about 10% according to our GPS data. I saw Scott waiting and thought it was another shelf before more climbing. I would eat some of the Jelly Belly Energy Beans to give me the boost for the last stretch. Then I saw the sign with the truck nose down on a wedge. “Is this IT?” Sure, it was hard, but so much shorter than I had expected after crossing Cascade Mountain passes and Logan Pass in Glacier. All that useless worry.
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The route on Vermont Highway 125 is predictably smooth on the west and east slopes of Bread Loaf Mountain, which helps whether cranking up or cruising down. The grade on the west slope is about 10 percent and about 12 percent on the east slope. The highway deteriorates east of the town of Hancock. I came to a dead stop and moved off the road on the descent when a car came toward me and another came from behind. I had nowhere to ride safely. Speed and potholes are incompatible on a fully loaded bike.
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The next 22 miles to Bethel had a couple steep hills, but with the hardest part behind us, we didn’t mind. We turned west into town, on the lookout for a hearty lunch. Main Street was not more than four blocks long, with the choices of a pizza joint/soda fountain or sandwich shop/cafe. A couple guys in their 50s saw us parking our bikes and said, “You’re not from around here. Where are you from?” The town was that small and apparently not on any beaten tourist path, and that made strangers stand out. We explained our journey, and their eyes got big. Many people make this cross country trek, but maybe they don’t stop in Bethel. They asked about Montana’s governor, Steve Bullock, who’s trying to raise money for a presidential run and make himself known more widely across the country. In our ride so far, they were the first to mention anything about politics, but maybe that’s to be expected in a solidly blue state.
We opted for sandwiches. I got a Vermont cheese steak (super good!), Scott went with the “Lympus,” a ham and cheese fit for the gods (minus the “o.”) On the way out of the building, he stumbled on an uneven step and stretched something on his knee: the same leg he injured back in Michigan while riding in a downpour. Riding the bike the few blocks to our lodging seemed okay, he just couldn’t walk without limping.
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Susan, the operator of the Nestled Inn B&B, came out as we started taking the panniers off our bikes and parking them on the porch. “Good timing!” Yes, it was. We showered, took a short nap, and waited for our appetites to rebound. We ate the bagels purchased in Middlebury an entire mountain ago, then walked back into town for ice cream at the soda fountain. On the way back, a band was playing in a park across the street from the Nestled Inn. We listened to decent covers of classic rock until about 21:00, then lights out.
Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 2,677 miles (4,308 km)
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