Day 57 Wiener Wednesdays

It was overcast and chilly when we left Middlebury, Vermont. For the first 15 miles we had to climb a fairly steep hill in the Green Mountain National Forest. Near the top we went by the Bread Loaf School of English campus of Middlebury College.

This is where the poet Robert Frost spent every summer and fall teaching from 1941 to 1962. He also had a farm nearby. One of his most famous poems is The Road Not Taken.

The countryside was full of hills and farms.

There were many waterfalls.

Every town had an old church with a funky looking steeple.

Sadly, many of them are now used as city offices, libraries, or places of business. In South Royalton we went by the Vermont Law School. This is South Royalton’s original schoolhouse, built in 1892.

South Royalton has a population of 692 and has no stop lights. Vermont Law School was founded in 1972. For what it is worth the school is ranked in the bottom 25% of US News and World Reports ranking.

Checkout this mailbox. This person had way too much time on their hands.

We followed the Ompompanoosuc River.

Here are cows making milk for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

We crossed two covered bridges. Here is one of them.

Then we crossed the Connecticut River and rode in New Hampshire for a short time. At Orford, New Hampshire we crossed again into Fairlee, Vermont to where our cottages are located.

About one mile from today’s finish there was a bunch of people in safety vests by the railroad tracks. Stopping to see what was going on we found a group of folks out driving their speeders.

There were 45 of these little cars out on a two day, 200 mile adventure. They traveled in groups of about 10 cars at about 25 miles per hour. No doubt that they were having a blast.

We met couples from New Hampshire, Illinois and Ohio. Most of the cars were enclosed and could seat two. The two passenger speeders can be carried around via a pick-up truck and trailer. The larger, six passenger ones are carried around with an 18 wheeler.

Interested? There are many speeders for sale here. Maybe next summer we can travel around with a speeder and look for lighthouses.

Stats

• Middlebury to Fairlee, Vermont
• Distance: 80.3 miles (129 km)
• Climbing: 5308 feet (1618 m)
• Temperature: 47 – 59°F (8 – 15°C)

Dad and Bicycles

Another bike trip that Chad did with Dad included the 1982 inaguaral TOGIR (The Other Great Iowa Ride) which was a 5 day, 450 mile loop from Davenport up through northeast Iowa and back.

There were also numerous 2 day TOMRV rides (Tour of the Mississippi River Valley) that Dad rode with his kids and his grandkids. He rode over a dozen TOMRV rides.

In 1976 Herb and Dad rode their bikes to Wisconsin and then cycled across the state. Here they are getting ready to go.