June 19, 1989
Grand Isle to Barre
It rained last night! It was difficult to sleep (even though we were atop our new, very satisfactory self-inflating pads which we got for a Christmas present from mom and dat) because it rained hard all night. It was a good test of our tent, which passed handily; and of the tent pitcher, who got only a C minus because part of the rainfly came loose, causing it to plaster against Rachael's side of the tent and soak some of her stuff.
Oh well - at least it fell at night, so it didn't hinder our biking progress too much. We awoke early to a small patch of blue, the first we'd seen since leaving Oregon. Unfortunately it was a very small patch that closed up soon after we emerged. The sky looked at least as menacing as it had the day before.
The morning's breakfast was 25 miles to the south at Essex Junction. It was about five important miles further than our anticipated stop in Colchester, which proved to have no restaurants. By the time we reached Colchester we were pooped and hungry. Be the time we reached breakfast, we were famished, as well s beaten down by a very strong headwind that felt as though it must be the harbinger of a great storm.
Breakfast in Essex was fine (omelets and blueberry muffins) but was presented by a crabby faced lady who seemed uninterested in service. Since the thought of returning to assault the headwind was uninviting it would have been pleasant to linger over coffee for awhile - but there was little encouragement from the waitress to loiter.
Oh well. As it happened, the weather turned abruptly better and the road turned sharply eastward, ridding us of the dreadful headwinds. Over breakfast, I had doubted our ability to make much progress at all today - but instead, we fairly easily rode another 40 miles to Barre along the beautiful, lush Winooski River. It was a very enjoyable route, with few hills, great scenery, great company - and puzzling weather which for the first hour or so seemed to change by the minute from showers to broken blue sky and involved outrunning a menacing cloud. By the time we arrived in Monpelier it was warm and summery, inviting us to sit on the front lawn of the capitol for awhile.
Montpelier is a picturesque, lively town with interesting and inviting shops, colorful architecture and a friendly feel. It reminded me quite a bit of Bellingham. We spent a fair amount of time here, wandering through stores and eating. We bought a new front bag for Rachael's bike as well as a water bottle.
From Montpelier we biked ten more rotten miles !decrepit roads to Barre (which is really more of an ugly sister to the capitol) where we planned to pick up some food and then head for a nearby campground. Unfortunately, while Rachael was inside shopping for dinner the sky broke and unleashed sheets of rain on the street. This convinced us to select the local motel instead - so here we are, clean, warm and dry, resting up for tomorrow's Father's day ride to New Hampshire (Hooray - I know the exact dates of the tour now!).
Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 187 miles (301 km)
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