Adirondack and Green Mountains Round Up

So I cycled back home from Union Station, didn't include those miles in trip total. No reason to be that geeky.

I wanted to do a round up about maps, connectivity, and elevation/steepness.

The ACA maps. There were times when they unnecessarily led me up steep inclines. Like going into Burlington--it would have been better if I'd just stayed on the Champlain Way instead of going up Irish Hill Rd. Also going into Canada that gravel road it immediately puts you on once you cross the border felt unnecessary. I think their criteria is to put riders on the least trafficked roads. I learned that some of the state routes were not so bad and the grades were gentler. Overall it is good to have maps and I liked the ACA ones because they were “laminated” and did not curl up in humidity or dissolve from the rain. Buy a Vermont state map and keep that handy. Do not be afraid of the gravel or dirt roads--these are wonderful, like riding in Acadia National Park!

Connectivity. I use T-Mobile who are supposed to be “everywhere.” I was not always able to make phone calls or search. The state parks in general had no WiFi--except for Gifford Woods. So if you rely on the phone to connect to Warmshowers etc you might have problems in some areas.

Outside of Cornwall I have not encountered such long, steep hills. It felt as if my chest was bursting to ride up some of them. I generally tried to stay in the saddle to get up and if the road wasn't busy that helped greatly as I could weave a bit. Definitely make sure you have 3 chainrings for the front. My lowest in the front is 20 teeth! So I had a good range--and yet at times I still had to walk the bike up because it simply made more sense.

The platform peddles that I installed a week before the trip were the EXACT RIGHT thing to do.

Warmshower=3

campgrounds=6

stealth=1

Books read=3

The following are a few pics from my quick side trip to Brooklyn--where I rode a Citi Bike in Williamsburg. It was freaky and fun!