Cross Country Ride Part 1: vermont training, day 2

veni. vidi. vici. (trans. "i came. i saw. i kicked its ass!")

view from near the top of the big climb looking out on equinox valley (taken on the way down!)

the big hill i came up here to climb isn't as big as it was this morning, or all the other mornings for all the years i've driven up it and wondered if i could make it up it on my bike. today, i put that fear behind me and climbed the damned thing. 5.5 miles worth of uphill climbing. about half way up, a park ranger was walking along the side of the road and, almost pitying me, warned me that the steepest part of yet to come. but, i got up it. and still had my granny gear in reserve. didn't need it. but i do want to thank creedence, the chili's and, especially linkin park for the musical accompaniment that helped me get up the mountain (more on that tomorrow). i have come to learn that if i can sing while i'm riding, my lungs are working well. by the time i got to the top, i was singing "sweet hitchhiker" along with ccr.

oddly enough, i'm not nearly as sore today as i was yesterday. while i had two huge climbs today, the 58 miles were relatively mild compared with yesterday, especially the finishing hills up to stratton.

there's actually three more hiding in the brush

today was a great day of rolling hills and riding along the river that runs throughout the equinox valley (or, as it's called up in dorset, the "stone valley" owing to all the quarries in the area). great sights, great smells (the lilacs are just starting to blossom up here and their special fragrance was wafting along the roadside all day long). the sun popped in and out of the clouds and, this time, the weather that was supposed to be in the high 60's, actually was.

along the way, there were a number of
dairy farms, sheep farms and the odd llama or two. the surprise was a shrill sound of squawking that i heard as i was approaching the covered bridge on the way to arlington. i couldn't figure out for the life of me what it could be. then, there on tree stump, were a dozen guinea hens. by the time i stopped to take the picture over half had flown off across the street. i haven't seen them since i was in africa.

this covered bridge is one of the few remaining intact throughout southern vermont. i had to stop, not only to take the picture, but also to get close enough for you to see the sign warning of speeding fines. gotta love a vermont sense of humor.

late in the day, i stopped to refuel at the dorset general store. a very cute place with great fresh baked goods that i highly recommend, including stopping by to see the rest of the village. while loading up on water and gatorade, the proprietor and alice, his baker, convinced me to try her wares. she had just taken a batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. hot, sweet, and delicious. a nice treat. she was disappointed that i only took one cookie. i didn't have the heart to tell her i had my mind set on hitting the ben & jerry's ice cream stand over in manchester before attacking the route 30 hill.

okay, history fans out there, i need some help. what the hell is the significance of the year 1761? was there a great migration from europe, or from the south from the new york city area that year? why were all the towns and villages around here established/incorporated/settled/chartered in that year? okay, for incentive, i'll throw in a bottle of t'jara for the first correct answer.