North Woodstock, VT - Thursday, August 17

Middlebury, VT - Monday, August 14

We camped at a pretty nice campground, but the manager was a pain in the you-know-what. As is the norm, Andy was the last person to arrive at camp. Normally we just explain to the office that Andy (the money man) will arrive later, and ask the office where we should pitch our tents. The office manager would have no part of this. He would not let us on the property until we had registered and paid. He claimed that it was due to insurance regulations. After I negotiated with him for a few minutes, he agreed to let me register in my name, and let him run my credit card through the machine. He would not actually charge my card, but would keep the paperwork and charge it if Andy did not show up. Okay. When Andy showed up a while later, the manager was good to his word. There was a nice covered pavilion right next to our campsite. The manager would not let us use it because of insurance regulations since we had not paid extra for it. Jeeze. It rained at night, but stopped before we got up.

Middlebury is a very nice New England town and is the home of Middlebury College.

Today's ride was a departure from the state forest roads we have been using the last couple of days in New York. I saw a McDonald's for the first time since we left Niagara Falls...of course I had to stop. We passed by Fort Ticonderoga, and I stopped in to sight see a bit. The border between New York and Vermont is Lake Champlain. We took a cable ferry across the lake. Cal had a flat today - a big piece of glass.

Most of us are still making travel arrangements for returning home. I had a chance to stop at a library and print out my Delta confirmation paperwork. Cal's wife is driving in on Saturday to meet him. I'm looking forward to meeting her. Andy is catching an early plane home on Saturday. Hans and I are catching planes home on Monday. Ann is riding her bike from Bar Harbor toward her parent's home in New Jersey. I'm not sure if she is riding all the way, or if she will ride to an Amtrak station.

Gaysville, VT - Tuesday, August 15
We are finding that Vermont has virtually no shoulders on their roads. We rode through the Green Mountain National Forrest much of the day. I had to walk two short stretches of very steep hill. We are seeing more of the classic New England architecture. I stopped at an old inn and had a smoked salmon sandwich on rye. There was a lot of confusion at the campsite again. We had been assigned two campsites in the woods with no grass. We tried to get the office to switch us to sites with grass. No deal. After Cal negotiated with the office, the manager switched us to a single site with grass. I could understand the problem if we had RV's.

Andy had a big day. He got a new bottom bracket bearing and got the bearings on both wheels lubed. He also found out for sure that he will be leading the "Southern Tier Plus Expedition" this fall.

Orford, NH - Wednesday, August 16
We had a nice short day and stayed at a nice campground. I got into camp by 3:30 pm. The hills continue to be steep but short. I have found that a tail wind is not important in these mountains.

North Woodstock, NH - Thursday August 17
Today we had perfect weather, with a high of about 82 degrees. We rode through the White Mountains National Forest, where there was one long steep climb. I had to stop 3 times to catch my breath, but I did not need to walk. At the top of the climb was the Appalachian Trail. As you might guess, the downhill was equally steep and long. I hit 52.4 mph on the descent...the fastest I have ever gone on a bike I think.

The campground is ok. The best thing about it is that we have a shelter where we can get out of the sun and rain if we want. The most unusual thing about it is that the showers are outdoors; that is to say, there is no roof on the shower building.

For supper, we ate out at a nice restaurant.