Sometimes You’ve Gotta Just Keep Going

I went on a ride yesterday with my friend Darren and pushed myself further than I’ve been pushed in a long time. Rode the first half of the route with the Vermont Gran Fondo and wow did they put on an amazing event. The route, course markings, and rest stop offerings were incredible. I can’t recommend this ride enough.

We followed the VTGF route starting in Bristol (Appalachian Gap [mile 15, max ele. 2,356 ft]>Lincoln Gap [mile 30, max ele. 2,422 ft][steepest paved mile in the US], Appalachian Gap 2nd time [mile 45], Middlebury Gap [mile 75, max ele. 2,145 ft]) and then turned south and rode Brandon Gap (mile 103, max ele. 2,158 ft) (5 miles almost completely unpaved with the first half scarified and clean with the second and steeper half full of loose and piled gravel), Rochester/Bethel Gap (mile 117, max ele. 2,148 ft) (the easiest of the gaps but with partial washouts), Roxbury Gap (mile 148, max ele. 2,407 ft) (entire ascent was packed gravel before some washouts toward the top) and finally the Appalachian Gap from the East (mile 161) to get back to our car in Bristol. HUGE thanks to The Blue Stone – Waitsfield for filling our water bottles and giving us slices of amazing pizza after we discovered everything else in town was closed. We would not have made it back without the help for their amazing employees and food.
(http://vermontgranfondo.com/the-gaps/ ignore the Mooretown Gap, that’s obviously not real)