Back to Burlington

This being the weekend before Labor Day weekend, the campgrounds are at capacity. Our original plan to camp somewhere along the way to Burlington doesn’t pan out because the state parks in route are booked.

Instead we decide to ride from Lake Dunmore to the city campground north of Burlington. It’ll be our longest ride of the trip, but the weather is finally in our favor. It’ll be overcast and 70 degrees. Nothing finer then that.

The first order of business this morning is a welcome treat. We meet with Carrie’s friend Devon in Middlebury for second breakfast. Devon moved to Vermont from Reno last winter because her husband John got a new job.

We eat pastries at a nice little cafe in downtown Middlebury and chat about our bike tour, about living in Vermont, and about plants. Devon and Carrie are plant nerds so naturally we spend time discussing the subject.

After an enjoyable time visiting with Devon, we continue north to Burlington along the Lake Champlain Bikeway. The Bikeway is a signed route that tries to keep cyclists on the quieter and safer roads. And no surprise, it does just that. We roll along some wonderful back roads often overlooking the lake. It’s some of the best riding we’ve done on the trip, especially since the weather is near perfect.

We ride into Burlington now familiar with how to get places. It’s pretty rare that we actually know where we’re going on a bike trip. We head to the co-op grocery store to grab dinner and then off to the campground. Today’s ride was an excellent way to cap off a bike tour.