Waiting out the rain

Sleeping soundly through the night, we woke before the sun knowing a huge storm was coming through, both of us wanting to find some form of shelter. The weather report was calling for up to 3 inches of rainfall, so getting a room for the day was possible. We rode 40 minutes into the town of Poultney, VT that sits in the southern part of the state, almost touching the New York border. We cruised through the three block downtown strip as well as riding through the unique and hippy campus of Green Mountain College. Just before the 8am bell rang, students were walking barefoot through campus, coming from their college dorms and on their way to class. If only we had the ability to rewind in life. My rewind would take me to a college similar to this.

Following the crowds, we ate breakfast at a small diner that held only 4 tables and a long counter. Just as our food arrived, so did the rain. After a quick meal and back on our bikes, we rode to the information center a few blocks away to discover the only hotel in town was ten miles away and the bed and breakfast was way above our budget. We heard of a cafe new to town called The Station. It had an awning for our bikes and warmth inside. As soon as we walked in we were instantly welcomed by the young 32 year old owner named Josh. Asking if we could hang out most of the day, he gladly opened his cafe and even offered for us to throw our sleeping pads on the ground for the night after he closed up shop. Amazing generosity!

Spending so much time in the cafe catching up on emails and the blog (my apologies for the lack of recent updates......I have no excuses) and old National Geographic's, I went to the back and spent a good hour or two catching Josh up on dishes. He was running this cafe solo and pulling 14 hour days on a regular basis. Absolute dedication, but like he said, he loves what he does so it doesn't feel like work. Ryan put himself to work, fixed a framed painting on the wall, washed windows, swept, etc. It was a win win. Josh even made us a special dinner of homemade fettuccine that was delicious. He is quite the chef and baker. What luck to meet this guy!

As things seem to happen to us, another couple came in with loaded questions about our travels. Before long they opened their home and all three of us headed to their house for an evening of beers and conversation. We had a blast and were so thankful to avoid the torrential downpour flooding the streets of Poultney.

We woke to blue skies with a fall crispness to the air. This is why we love living on a bicycle. These are the days when I say I want to ride a bicycle forever. Although a bike path goes most of the way south into Massachusettes, traveling through public and private land, we instead took a local woman's advice and stuck to the roads.

Taking the roads led us through the historical towns of Manchester and Bennington, through covered bridges and climbing rolling hills covered in trees with leaves just beginning to change to fall colors. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day. We followed the 7 into Massachusetts, initially thinking we would spend the night in the beautiful and a bit pretentious town of Williamstown. Too expensive for our budget. We rode toward Adams and stopped at an organic grocery store. Out front was a young guy showing off his Surly Moonlander. Ryan instantly noticed and before long they were talking bikes and he offered his home for a shower and bed to sleep. Yes! Taken in yet again. A few hours of conversations and this led us to one of the greatest breakfasts as of yet, two doors down from their home; greasy food, grungy locals, hilarious family run restaurant in the morning. My goodness I love this lifestyle.