Day 2: Wilmington, Vermont (J version)

Good morning! I would have posted yesterday, but we were out in the middle of nowhere, and I couldn't get service/online access or a place to chill. It's crazy to believe that we're already in Vermont and about to be in New York by this evening.

Beautiful view in Vermont
 

G's doing GREAT so far. When he's done, he seriously does not seem tired or overly sweaty.

I'm currently at a D&D in Bennington, Vermont. We are slowly getting the hang of our routine in the morning. He's been averaging about 85 miles a day so far. He could get another 10 miles in, but it's all due to timing. By 5 pm he wants to be done for the day and has been doing that regardless of where he is. The thing is though our morning routine takes an hour. An hour that could have been spent on the road. You're probably wondering what our morning routine is: 1. Up around 5-5:30. 2. Grab a somewhat quick breakfast near by. 3. I pack up. He looks at the new route and packs the bike stuff. 4. We load ALL of our stuff in the truck. This usually takes 3 trips back and forth. We are trying different ways to minimize the time. Last night we started packing the truck as much as we could and what not. He's been on the road right at 8 am. Today was 7:53. Back at home it was so easy that he'd start right at 7-7:30. When he's done cycling in the afternoon around 5, we go to the hotel and shower then find a place to eat then bed.

 

Still happy!! Woot! Woot!
 

Another time issue is finding our routes. He can't go on the highway, so it's tricky finding where to go. Now, i'm following the exact same route as him. The first day I did the highway aka short way, but we decided it's better if I go ahead on his route, so I can scope it out to look for pot holes or anything that could cause a potential problem. Speaking of problems, it still freaks me out every time I see a "Moose Crossing" sign. The unfortunate thing for me on these side roads is that there's really nothing on them, so I have to stray off the beaten path to find something like this D & D. Although, yesterday on the route in Keene, NH, I've never been so excited to find a Target before. I forgot to pack G a belt. Plus, by the end of the trip he'll be down some major LB's!!!!!!!!!!!!

The people in Vermont are definitely nicer than NH and ME. They are very trusting, too. More on that later.

Yesterday, I had my first official roadie/support crew road side assistance job. I checked out of the

Filling water bottles is another roadie job!

hotel at 10:30, and G called to tell me to find him on the route because he needed a special tool to adjust the seat. I forgot to take a picture of this, but I drove past him to pull over, and he didn't realize it was me. He told me he was thinking, "Wow. That's a nice bike." (Jenard is on the back of the truck). Oh, and little side note. All i'll say is that guys are SO lucky that they can pee anywhere and be discreet about it.

As I was driving, I passed by 3 other cyclists, each different. To me, there's really only 3 main types of cyclists. When I say cyclist, I mean riding your bike like a boss on the main road not

Me on a dinky path last summer
 

some dinky path for leisure like me. lol

Pockets in back for power bars

1.The first breed of cyclist is like G. Serious but still just out for a good time. Enjoying the scenery and challenge. These people wear helmets, special cycling shirts, have limited items on their bikes because they are probably tooling around locally or have an awesome support crew, and will smile and say HI to you if you go past them.

2. The second kind of cyclists are MAJOR competitors. They are in it for the fastest time, and you will see them speed by you so fast you won't even have time to say hi or wave, which wouldn't matter because they are so in the zone, they wouldn't acknowledge your existence anyways. These cyclists also have limited items on their bikes (the more weight you carry the more it slows you down) and are ALWAYS in cycling clothes usually representing some brand or bike shop anddddd are in spandex shorts. My man does not do spandex. Typically, the spandex shorts have a padded butt, but with G's spongy wonder seat he doesn't have to worry about that. Plus, G has always vowed he would never succumb to the S word. Spandex.

3. The third type of cyclist that you see on the road is well, I don't know how to say this without sounding mean, but they usually look somewhat homeless. They do not wear any bright colors or cycling apparel at all. No helmets. The biggest dead giveaway is that they have mannny panniers (type of storage bags for bikes for long distances) on each side of their bike. Typically, these cyclists are on the road because it's their only means of travel. They are, however; rather friendly and usually interesting.

So yesterday, I drove past a woman who did not allow herself to be classified by my 3 cycling stereotypes. She looked and was dressed like the 2nd type of cyclist, BUT her bike was completely panniered up like the 3rd kind. That sight is rare. I was fascinated. I wanted to pull over and talk to her, but I decided that would be super creepy. Several miles later, I had about 2 hours to kill, so the only establishment around was Rite Aid. I bought 4 new lipstick colors. (Buy one get 50% of

Here's one color

the second) They are a thick pencil that has great pigment tones. Anyways, I turn around and who do I see walk in? Bike lady that won't be classified! Whoa. My big chance to talk to her! Well, she looked very not in the mood to talk to anyone. I chickened out and let it go. G told me that she was probably pissy because there was a HUGE uphill in that area and with all the added weight of the panniers must have made her ride 10x as hard.

The last item i'll talk about is our hotel. Ever read or see The Shining? Enough said. We pull into

White House Inn (more like empty house)

this beautiful Inn. It originally was someone's mansion. Gorgeous!! The lobby area was one of the living rooms. The basement was a fancy pants downstairs living room/rec room.  Did I mention we were the ONLY guests in the entire mansion????

Basement/Rec room

The lady that checked us in made an odd comment before we headed upstairs to our room which was, "Yeah, after 7 you'll have the whole place to yourselves." Umm okay. We unpacked in the bedroom which really was someone's old bedroom. No TV. Then, we headed out to dinner. Had an amazing appetizer: Bacon wrapped
shrimp with horse radish stuffing!!  (That's another thing. Those of you who have had the experience of going out to eat with us know that we order a lot and G's love of a certain beverage usually racks up the bill, so starting tonight we eat cheap for a few days.)

We come back a little after 7, and the lady that checked us in is leaving for the night. She goes, "If there's an emergency call the general manager at this number.....or 911." WHOA. There weren't ANY workers. Apparently the GM lives like in an in-law type of area in a private area of the mansion that's like way far on the other side and only comes out in case of emergencies. I was kind of scared. lol PLUS, the lady goes, "The front door will be open, so you can come and go as you please." So theoretically, anyone off the street could come in?? We explored the living room/rec room downstairs (had a TV) and there was a hallway that led to the pool and gym area, but all these nooks and crannies were so creepy with no one there. Then, upstairs on our floor we walked down to the other side and ONE bedroom door was OPEN with the bed undone. Surprisingly, I slept okay.  The last thing the lady said before she left was that the original mansion owners (who were like the Rockefellers of Wilmington) let their children play in another house they owned across the street and didn't want their children to get run over crossing the street, so they built an underground tunnel!

Okay, last observation from the past 2 days in NH and Vermont is that there's very few minorities. I stand out.

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Portland to Portland: A Cycling Dream Come True