I believe I mentioned this before - when it comes to traveling anywhere by bicycle, usually the biggest problem for me is finding time. The solution is an overnighter - just a quick, 1-night trip somewhere nearby. Most of these are called S24O - "sub-24hrs overnight" rides. I typically like to turn them into S36O and try to pack more hours of riding in a 2-day period.
Last week I had a rare chance to take 2 days off and go west - visit Berkshire County in Massachusetts and then continue north into the southern part of Vermont's Green Mountains.
Day 1
To begin, I drove west to Shelburne Falls, MA where I left my car at a Park&Ride lot. I started pedaling at 9AM in a still cool but humid morning air. Fortunately, around 10AM sun started popping out from under clouds and pretty quickly humidity was gone. I stopped briefly at Bardwell's Ferry Bridge then rode north towards Greenfield.
Right after Greenfield is where the fun starts. My route was taking me along Green River and this section was very familiar, since I rode it before - when I tried to replicate my own D2R2 experience back in 2018. The Green River Rd is a great place to ride - relatively flat, unpaved and with nice views of the river and several good spots to stop and dip your feet in cool water.
This time the road was a bit more muddy because of the ongoing grading work and some rain a day earlier. Soon, I reached the famous Green River Covered Bridge.
At that point it was already around mid-day and it started getting a bit hot. I kept going to enter Wilmington, VT. This looked like a relatively good spot for lunch or to resupply but I wasn't in need of neither and I didn't want to be close to other people. We are still in pandemic after all.
A bit further down the main road I finally spotted National Forest Road 71 - my entry into Green Mountains. This is a fairly long road (23km or 14mi) that runs pretty much all the time through forest and has many free (legal) roadside camp spots.
I wasn't planning on staying there overnight. The spots were not particularly attractive. Most of them were very shady, moist, with muddy ground. They seemed to be designed for a quick overnight stop for car tourists.
It started raining very slightly. Nothing major. I kept going uphill for quite some time. My knees started to hurt slightly - might be my lack of training in mountains. Despite that I seemed to have a decent tempo the whole day - about 15km/h (9mph). That's enough for a touring pace.
Finally, I reached Stratton-Arlington Rd. It was close to 5PM at that point and I only had about 2.5hrs of sunlight left so I wanted to find my camping spot.
Camping in Green Mountain National Forest is free, but not always legal anywhere. Some places are clearly labeled as prohibited. The one good camping spot I had on mind was Grout Pond. Silly me not to do enough research about this place. It turned out to be a popular spot. There are multiple designated places to set up a tent but most of them were reserved! I had no idea that camping at Grout Pond isn't free (there is a fee to leave in a deposit box) and can be reserved online. Had I done my research, I would've reserved one too. I spent several minutes walking along the pond trying to find a spot that wasn't reserved but they all seemed occupied.
Finally, I got lucky. One spot was reserved for the following night but not the night I needed. It was empty. I studied all information carefully to confirm I was right. I didn't want anyone to suddenly show up and kick me out just before the sunset.
My camping spot was perfect. Right besides the pond, with a bench and a picnic table. All I had left for the day was to set up a tent, cook dinner and hang up food bag on a tree. This is officially recommended in order to avoid surprise night visits of Yogi Bear or his companions. Having encountered a black bear in that area 2 years ago, I would say the recommendations are reasonable.
The night was warm and quiet.
Day 2
I woke up at 6:30AM. That may seem like an early hour for some, but since I was in bed around 9PM (there isn't much else to do in a tent after sunset), it felt right. Morning was dull and very cloudy.
Anyway, I retrieved my food bag (no bears), made breakfast, packed up everything and by 7:20AM I was back on the road. The early riding hours were humid. There was not a slightest breeze in the forest and despite relatively cool morning I felt hot. Maybe because I was still moving uphill.
Fortunately, after every uphill comes a rewarding downhill and boy, this one was! The next 16km (10mi) was all downhill - about 35 minutes of coasting down the mountain on an unpaved road. Brilliant!
With sun out, it started getting hotter, but less humid again and soon I reached Bennington, VT. I had to resupply in water and some snacks and fortunately, a nearby convenience store solved that problem. I was then going to face the first major climb of the day - my plan was to go across the next mountain range and reach North Adams, MA.
Very soon the road started going uphill and then the pavement ended. For the next hour I kept riding and walking my bike (more of the latter than former) uphill. The first mile or two were on a rough dirt road but then it turned into ATV-only trail, with large rocks scattered all over the place. Well, at least the "road" was there and it wasn't flooded or muddy. Still, I spent a lot of time pushing the bike uphill and covered barely 7km (4mi) in an hour.
But again, that hill had to end somewhere and what came next was a crazy fast downhill ride all the way to North Adams. The next 9km (5.5mi) flew by in no more than 5 minutes!
Unfortunately, I wasn't done climbing for the day. I still had to go over Hoosac Range and the next climb started nearly as soon as the previous one ended. I was making my way slowly up on Mohawk Trail - a major paved road (Rt 2) with plenty of car traffic and in full sun. Not fun. I couldn't find a better way to reach Florida, MA (what a name!) from North Adams though. Well, at least this climb was a bit easier and with some rewarding views form the top.
After another long and steep downhill (Whitcomb Hill Rd - amazing!) I reached River Rd, where before continuing east, I decided to briefly ride up west and see the historic Hoosac Tunnel (Old railways are fun!). The rest of the trip was a smooth ride along Deerfield River, back to my car in Shelburne Falls.
Of course, I had to stop by at Hearty Eats and get some dinner. Even for non-vegetarians this place is a must-go.
I'm glad I had a chance to visit Western Massachusetts and Green Mountains. I should certainly explore that area a bit more. One final conclusion I made was that 115km (72mi) in one day seems like a bit too much in a very hilly terrain. It simply doesn't give me much time for longer rests stops and at a camping. Or maybe it's just my old bones talking.
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