3 Beautiful Vermont Bicycle Rides
Beautiful And Scenic, With Plenty Of Hills And Thrills, 3 Beautiful Vermont Bicycle Rides
Two of the bicycle clubs I was in when I lived on (yes, on not in) Long Island (pronounced Longailand) NY, took multi day trips to central Vermont every summer.
One club rented a house in Proctorsville, Vt., just outside of Ludlow. The other club stayed at Blue Gentian Lodge, Londonderry, Vt.
The first ride, below is routed from Ludlow. However, since, the route goes through all the above towns, plus Weston and Chester, you can actually start in any of these places.
Ride 1…Terrible Mountain Loop 43 Miles
Terrible Mountain (really) Loop. 42.7 miles, 2894 feet of climbing – but OH the downhills you will have. Read On.
If you start from Ludlow, the bad news is that Terrible Mountain is within a mile or so. The good news is that the first 2.5 miles of the climb are rather gentle. DO NOT GET COMPLACENT.
At about mile 2.5 you hit the wall. From my recollection, about 12% to 17% for .33 miles.
After that, you have a 2.5 mile slog to the top.
On the other side, you have about 2 miles of steep, at the top, downhill. For speed demons, I have regularly broken 50 mph on this hill.
As I got older, however, I hit the brakes on the top part of the hills.
After Terrible Mountain, you have rolling terrain through Weston and into Londonderry. Lots of places to stop, if you are so inclined.
After you leave Lond
onderry, you again have some rolling terrain, ending with a 1 mile climb up Magic Mountain. Not too steep.
But, now, wait for it . . . you have 11 miles of downhill, with just a few tiny rises on the way, all the way into Chester. Wheee. Time for some well deserved lunch or snack.
The ride back to Ludlow, is, of course a climb, but nothing too strenuous.
All in all a lovely ride.
Ride 2. . . Ludlow to Woodstock Loop 53 Miles
The Ride To Woodstock. 53 miles, 2600 feet of climbing The start is at The Dunkin’ in Ludlow.
Right outside of Ludlow, some beautiful riding on Vermont 100. About 10 miles of beautiful country road.
At mile 10.6 you turn on to VT 100A with a nasty little climb up to the Calvin Coolidge Historical Site. Take break and look around.
When done, continue on VT 100A, until it ends at Route 4. This part of the ride is a bit busy, but is the only way into Woodstock, where you will spend some time walking around and having lunch.
For the ride back, you are again into scenic Vermont
There will be ups and downs, of course, but nice riding.
When you get to your turn at Route 131, stop for some ice cream at Villagers Ice Cream in Perkinsville, before the last 12 miles back.
Ride 3 . . . Ludlow to Grafton 41 Miles
The start of this ride is a, mostly downhill return to Chester. You then turn on to State Route 103 for awhile, with a right onto Horseshoe Farm Road, to take you into a Step Back In Time In Grafton, VT. Plan to eat here and spend some time wandering on foot or bicycle.
For the ride back, you can return the way you came, or follow the route for Chester/Grafton Rd. This is a gorgeous country road. It is two lanes with no shoulder, however. Traffic is light.
Comments Welcome, Below
Cape Cod, MA, another great place to ride.
Glenn Abelson