A fine final day—September 1

 We had a beautiful 42 mile ride from Middlebury into Burlington, with views of Lake Champlain and across the lake into the Adirondacks.  We rode through those mountains!  We rode just about 1250 miles in the course of a month.  We saw lovely scenery, struggling small towns, and some struggling not so small towns. There were lots of Trump flags in the rural areas, not nearly enough people wearing masks, dramatic labor shortages, many friendly and curious people, and not as many other bikers as we expected. New York is developing great biking infrastructure, lots of trails and protected lanes, very good signage, and lots of information and suggested routes available on line.  It’s not quite as sophisticated as what we found in Quebec, but New York is well on its way.  Now if they could just put in some switchbacks on the steeper hills.

I’ve made many visits to Middlebury and never saw this tribute to Emma Willard until this morning.  

A bucolic view of Vermont cows, with the Adirondacks in the far distance 

Hope is a retired teacher who remembers how to make a paper hat and sing 

My Hat It Has Three Corners. 

When our group shrunk to eight, the six of us rode together most of the time.  We were a very congenial and supportive party.  I hope to ride with all of them again.