The Hardest Day
Wednesday June 26, 2019. Troy, NY to Brattleboro, VT. 76 miles
Ascent/Descent= 5,287/5,002 feet. Cumulative= 3,488 miles
We enjoyed a warmer start than usual start, somewhere around 70 degrees, but excessive heat was not an issue even though we had a "Mile high Day", with more than a mile of climbing over the official 73.7 miles. We were primarily on NY Rt. 7 and VT Rt 9 all day, with varying grades of climbing through most of the day with a few longer descents, particularly one at the end of the day, which is always welcome. Once we got out of Troy, it was all rural with a few towns and small cities, which seem to be having better economic times than many municipalities we have seen along the tour. The scenery was beautiful all day.
Most of us held something back during the seemingly endless ascent in the morning because of Hogback Mountain, approximately 75% into the day, just after the second of two SAG stops, as well as the rumor that Rick, the long time tour veteran, had pronounced this the hardest day of the tour. After refueling for this last climb, we found that Hogback was a little anticlimactic after the hype and the climbing we had already accomplished earlier in the day.
Biking into Brattleboro, Charlie told me he wanted to find someplace to get a bite to eat, and after biking around the downtown for a bit we found The Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery. And enjoyed a beer and a hummus platter, while we also enjoyed the view of the Connecticut River from their second floor deck.While there, we were joined by Kathy Page, who along with another tour member's wife had spent the day following our route, in cars, working in some shopping and a stop for coffee, as well as sampling some spirits at a distillery.
During the miles approaching the second SAG, there were lots of sirens and emergency vehicles going in the opposite direction. During the time I was at the SAG, word came in that one of our bikers had fallen, perhaps blown by a passing vehicle onto the gravel on the shoulder of the road.
His injuries are sufficient to end his tour, including a head injury that left him disoriented at the scene and resulted in him being medivaced to a trauma center. Although we were largely in the dark about his status during the rest of the ride, we learned at dinner that he is lucid, his wife has been able to join him at the hospital, an he is expected to make a full recovery. This is a guy who is an excellent biker and generally regarded as one of the more cautious bikers, and a friend who had maintained EFI status right up to his fall. We were all shaken up by the news of his fall, and saddened that he has left us and cannot complete the tour with us, but certainly relieved that he is stable and will recover.
Tomorrow is a big day, with 90 miles and almost as much climbing as today, but at the end of the day we will be in the Boston metropolitan area, 16 miles from the Atlantic.
Ascent/Descent= 5,287/5,002 feet. Cumulative= 3,488 miles
We enjoyed a warmer start than usual start, somewhere around 70 degrees, but excessive heat was not an issue even though we had a "Mile high Day", with more than a mile of climbing over the official 73.7 miles. We were primarily on NY Rt. 7 and VT Rt 9 all day, with varying grades of climbing through most of the day with a few longer descents, particularly one at the end of the day, which is always welcome. Once we got out of Troy, it was all rural with a few towns and small cities, which seem to be having better economic times than many municipalities we have seen along the tour. The scenery was beautiful all day.
Most of us held something back during the seemingly endless ascent in the morning because of Hogback Mountain, approximately 75% into the day, just after the second of two SAG stops, as well as the rumor that Rick, the long time tour veteran, had pronounced this the hardest day of the tour. After refueling for this last climb, we found that Hogback was a little anticlimactic after the hype and the climbing we had already accomplished earlier in the day.
Biking into Brattleboro, Charlie told me he wanted to find someplace to get a bite to eat, and after biking around the downtown for a bit we found The Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery. And enjoyed a beer and a hummus platter, while we also enjoyed the view of the Connecticut River from their second floor deck.While there, we were joined by Kathy Page, who along with another tour member's wife had spent the day following our route, in cars, working in some shopping and a stop for coffee, as well as sampling some spirits at a distillery.
During the miles approaching the second SAG, there were lots of sirens and emergency vehicles going in the opposite direction. During the time I was at the SAG, word came in that one of our bikers had fallen, perhaps blown by a passing vehicle onto the gravel on the shoulder of the road.
His injuries are sufficient to end his tour, including a head injury that left him disoriented at the scene and resulted in him being medivaced to a trauma center. Although we were largely in the dark about his status during the rest of the ride, we learned at dinner that he is lucid, his wife has been able to join him at the hospital, an he is expected to make a full recovery. This is a guy who is an excellent biker and generally regarded as one of the more cautious bikers, and a friend who had maintained EFI status right up to his fall. We were all shaken up by the news of his fall, and saddened that he has left us and cannot complete the tour with us, but certainly relieved that he is stable and will recover.
Tomorrow is a big day, with 90 miles and almost as much climbing as today, but at the end of the day we will be in the Boston metropolitan area, 16 miles from the Atlantic.
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