Flatland Biking
by
Elizabeth Bassett

They come from across the country. Even across the ocean to pedal the
hills and vales of Vermont. These two-wheeled visitors don't all come
for thigh-burning gap rides. Some prefer to savor the local sights
while actually breathing. An ancient lakebed, the Champlain Valley is
prime territory for bikers of modest muscle and a big thirst for
scenery. Several local organizations help sort out the best routes.
Lake Champlain Bikeways, a public-private initiative, promotes
cycling in New York, Vermont, and Quebec. If 363-mile circumnavigation
of the lake isn't for you, Bikeways (www.champlainbikeways.org) has
also developed 35 theme loops and tours on 1,400 miles of roads in the
Champlain Basin.
The Lake Champlain Islands brochure details five themed itineraries
ranging from 10.1 to 15.8 miles. Several could be combined for a
longer ride. The booklet lists recreation sites, eateries- including
all-important creemee stands; historic sites and attractions,
accommodations, and problem spots like narrow shoulders and limited
sight distance. Maps indicate the routes and any gravel or dirt
segments.
Apple orchards, organic farms, and a vineyard flourish in the islands
with their long growing season and there are four state parks: Grand
Isle, Knight Point, North Hero, and Alburg Dunes. Along scores of
miles of flat roads lie St. Anne's Shrine, a 1783 log cabin built by
Jedediah Hyde, and part of the oldest exposed coral reef in the world
at Fisk Quarry. Ancient fossils dot the 480-million-year-old Chazyan
Reef that was recently preserved by the Isle La Motte Reef
Preservation Trust. Wiggle your toes one of the state's finest sandy
beaches at Alburg Dunes State Park. The wind is slowly rebuilding the
sand dunes which were bulldozed for years to replenish the beach. For
a short course in all things fish, visit the Ed Weed Fish Culture
Station. Each year the state stocks its rivers, streams, and lakes
with more than a half million swimmers, many of them raised in the
raceways at this hatchery. More than 4,000 years ago Indian families
summered along the shore of the fishery grounds just yards from the
Grand Isle ferry dock. Also on Grand Isle, Harry Barber built dozens
of miniature castles from local stone to remind him of his native
Switzerland. The 13.4-mile Stone Castles route passes five of them,
all on private property but visible from the roads.
Two Lake Champlain Bikeways itineraries begin in Vergennes and thread
through Addison county. Rebel's Retreat, 42.5 easy miles, follows the
route of American troops after the Battle of Valcour Island. To avoid
capture they followed Benedict Arnold to Arnold's Bay, south of Basin
Harbor, before retreating on foot to Fort Ticonderoga. The roads hug
the lake passing D.A.R. and Button Bay State Parks, the Lake Champlain
Maritime Museum, and Chimney Point State Historic Site.
More strenuous over 28.5 moderately hilly miles, Otter Creek
Wandering is a circular round-trip from Vergennes to Middlebury.
Excuses to stop along the way include the Morgan Horse Farm in
Weybridge, Sheldon Museum in Middlebury, and in Vergennes, the site of
Commodore Thomas MacDonough's 1813-1814 shipyard. The agricultural
history of the county includes early logging, nineteenth century
orchards, and merino sheep. Today dairy is dominant along with a mix
of sheep, llama, and horse properties.
For those who prefer not to pedal beside speeding cars and pick-ups
towing trailers, bike paths offer a less threatening environment. Two
area rail-to-trail conversions stretch for long, flat miles. With the
exception of the Little Engine that Could, trains don't climb steep
grades so the trails offer long flat ribbons of riding.
The 26.4-mile Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail
(http://members.fortunecity.com/railtrails/VT/SR/) traverses dairy
farm country of Franklin County between St. Albans and Richford. Never
rising at more than a 3% grade, the crushed limestone route parallels
the Missisquoi River as it tunnels through towering cow corn with a
view towards Jay Peak. The Northwest Regional Planning Commission
produces a booklet of maps, distances, and information including where
to eat, park, and get a tire pumped. You can rest a while on benches
overlooking the Missisquoi, learn about the St. Albans Raid in the
Civil War, and watch a baler rolling large round hay bales. Bring
identification if you plan to continue two miles beyond the Richford
trailhead to the Canadian border. For the ambitious, Quebec's bicycle
network, La Route Verte, stretches 3,400 kilometers across the
province. For on-line information in English or French: www.velo/qc/ca
The Burlington Bike Path, Howard Dean's personal political incubator,
follows the former Rutland Rail line from the southern border of
Burlington to its northern tip at the mouth of the Winooski River. A
new three-span bridge crosses the river to Colchester on the
rehabilitated Rutland Railroad abutments. The trail then transits
sandy Delta Park on a raised boardwalk and skirts the edge of
Colchester Bog before emerging onto the Causeway. Gigantic chunks of
white marble topped with crushed limestone stretch across the lake for
three miles. On August weekends bikers can pedal 13 miles from south
of Oakledge Park to South Hero without even the whisper of a hill. A
ferry, operated by Local Motion, will traverse the 200-foot cut in the
Colchester-South Hero Causeway. A non-profit that advocates for bikers
and walkers, Local Motion (www.LocalMotionVT.org) ran a ferry for
several seasons where the Winooski River bridge now stands while
promoting the bridge to replace it. The organization continues to
advocate for a long-term solution for the South Hero cut.
Keep the mountains in your peripheral vision and start pedaling!