St. Johnsbury

We wake up early to avoid the afternoon heat on our way to St. Johnsbury. To our surprise, the clothes we washed yesterday are nearly dry. With the humidity so high, it seems impossible to line dry anything. I’m able to slip into only a slightly damp chamois. It’s the little things that keep the spirits high.

We’re now in proper Northeast Kingdom territory. You’ll have to google what that means because I have no idea. But I know it’s a big thing for this region. Businesses include Kingdom in their names, little flags and banners adorn people’s homes. There’s a lot of pride being part of a kingdom in a republic.

Whatever the reason for the name, the area is pretty. We avoid the highway as much as possible, preferring the quiet dirt lanes. The price we pay for the solitude is a hefty dose of climbing. It’s totally worth the price of admission though.

As we near roll along a ridge near East Burke we start seeing signs for the Kingdom trail network. Then we start spotting mountain bikers. I’d love to visit again to check out the singletrack. The parts of trails that we can see from the road look fun.

We then spy a bike shop and I stop. My rear tire, which is set up tubeless, has a slow leak somewhere, and I think the sealant might be dried up. I squirt in my supply of sealant through the valve and get my 2 ounce bottle topped off from the friendly dudes at the shop. I hope this solve the problem.

From the shop, we continue on back roads until we get a couple of miles from town. We’re forced to ride the highway the rest of the way. St. Johnsbury is home to the confluence of a couple of rivers and a couple of major highways. The town is joined together with a bunch of bridges. For us it’s a little chaotic figuring out how to navigate the best route to the grocery store.

After a grocery run and a picnic lunch in a shady park, we roll to the hotel du jour. Camping options in the area are super limited. We tried finding a private or state campground in the general area but came up empty. Even indoor accommodation is slim pickings. I guess there’s just not enough tourism in the region to support it.

We take advantage of indoor living by buying a couple of microwave burritos for dinner. With some chips and salsa on the side, it’ll be nice to eat a dinner that’s not pasta.