Burlington - Montpelier, VT - Writing

Taking beautiful back roads from St. Albans to Burlington made for a spectacular hilly ride. Trying to follow a crappy map and the posted bike route signs provided along the way, we did get a bit lost and unfortunately had to ride the last five miles into Burlington on route 7, a road highly recommended to stay away from on bicycle. No shoulder, honking cars and busy, not very fun. Ryan and I have been hearing such wonderful things about Burlington, often being compared to Boulder, CO. Maybe our expectations were a bit high from all of the positive comments, but we did not fall in love with Burlington like we imagined. The outskirts were a touch rough and right as we rode into town a guy on way too many drugs was looking at himself in the mirror, dancing to his reflection, laughing hysterically before turning to yell at an older woman walking by and then yelling at us. Well, hello Burlington!

We found our way to Church Street, the main drag in town filled with restaurants, coffee shop and specialty shops. It was unique but again, a lot of people on drugs and plenty of street kids. I guess it was just different than anticipated and to be honest, I couldn't wait to get out. We ended up spending the day in town, enjoying the coffee shop, book store and riding along Lake Champlain, which was absolutely gorgeous. There is a bike path that runs along the lake that is filled with sailboats and the Adirondacks are enormous and beautiful on the other side. I can definitely see why people like this town, it was just not what we expected and filled with too many oddballs for my liking. We used warmshowers and ended up staying the night with three great people in their mid-20's. The three of them definitely raised the bar for Burlington as a whole as obviously it attracts great people. Again, it's all about who we meet along the way that seem to make the biggest difference.

Wanting to check out Montpelier, Vermont's capital and home to only 8,000 or so people. We took advice from Noah (the guy we stayed with in Burlington) and road south out of Burlington, taking back roads that were less busy and very hilly, at times even having to push our bikes because the roads were unridable in sections. Although a pretty route, we turned our way to find the paved roads, which brought us through Richmond where we hit up a bakery called On The Rise. Yummy. For unknown reasons we were both whooped and did not want to ride the 25 miles needed to get into Montpelier. Back in July while riding the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, we met a couple from Montpelier traveling by car. Ray had cycle toured in the past, an instant conversation starter and before long he handed over his business card and offered their home if we were to find ourselves in Montpelier. Great people and we had talked about them from then on and excited to have the chance to spend a bit more time with them in Montpelier. It was a Friday when we contacted them last minute and they kindly opened their home to us but could only offer outdoor space for our tent because they had friends visiting over the weekend as well.

Tired legs, we left the bakery in Richmond around 4:30 and since we were following a river valley (which we did not expect or know when leaving), we easily arrived in Montpelier just after 6. The road between the two towns was great. We followed another bike route that had one stretch of 8 miles or so of packed dirt, but along quiet roads and the river, making for an easy and beautiful ride. This route took us through the town of Waterbury which would have been great to check out, but the setting sun made us pass through rather quickly. I hope to one day head back to this area to explore all it has to offer. We could easily live in Vermont. What a fantastic state. Anyway, we rode into Montpelier as the sun was setting and the golden dome of the capital building was lit up and poking out of the trees surrounding it. There was a huge grassy area as we came into town that was occupied with people playing frisbee, reading or just hanging out. Now this is what we expected Burlington to be like; clean, welcoming and people enjoying life. We rode directly to Ray and Jess' place for a night of meeting new friends over dinner and drinks. It felt like we had known them forever.

The next morning, Ryan and I woke earlier than the rest of the house. We walked to the quaint downtown consisting of maybe five blocks with coffee in hand. Just our style. Local shops, independent restaurants and good coffee. It was fantastic. When we got back to the house, Ray was cooking a delicious breakfast of crepes with nutella and fresh fruit. Awesome. We filled up and had a chance to meet their friends from Boston who arrived after we had fallen asleep the night before. Again, it was like we had known all of them forever. Montpelier has a farmers market every Saturday. Finally, a farmers market where we weren't a day late! We enjoyed sampling the local cuisine and walked the streets again. Although the four of them were heading into Burlington for the day for brewery and vineyard tours, they let us use their home as a base to spend the day off the bikes. Montpelier is absolutely on our list for future homes. We absolutely loved the feel of the town and what it offered. We spent our day strolling around, having a beer and a burger at The Three Penny Taproom (fantastic beer selection and a delicious burger...which we split because like I have said, we need jobs!), and enjoying the used book store. Absolutely perfect.

Thanks to more kindness, we were able to add another potential spot to our list for future homes. As our bicycle travels are quickly coming to end, we find ourselves talking about where we want to land next. Being "homefree", we keep our eyes open as we hop from town to town and make mental notes for potential areas to look for jobs. It is exciting and freeing to know that we can choose to live wherever we so choose and can find jobs. I guess having minimal possessions makes that process much simpler. Anyway, Montpelier has definitely made that list.

After another absolutely delicious breakfast (Ray is quite the cook), we finally starting riding south, following route 100 down the center of Vermont. This route follows the chain of mountains, passing by ski resorts, mountain towns and quiet valleys. If you happen to pass through this way and see a sign for a Creamey (or something similar to this), you should stop for a cone. Make sure to ask for a small as a small is more like a large. We have definitely had our share of ice cream when riding in the northeast and this was one of the best. Yum.