I awoke early Friday morning to dark clouds and a weather report forecasting thunderstorms moving through the area with the arrival of a cold front. Finally, an end to the brutal heat and humidity, but it was going to rain hard for a while. I decided to hang out for a bit and let the cold front move east of me. The thunderstoms arrived in short order and dumped a lot of rain. Then they were gone and things started drying out. By 9:30am, there was sunshine! So I got on my way by 10am with a somewhat shortened route planned. Here's a pic of the bike in the Tupper Lake Motel parking lot as things were drying out:

I was going to take 30 north to 11 and 374 then 3 south back to Saranac Lake, but the late start meant trimming that northern loop off my day. So I took 3 east to Saranac Lake where a rugby tournament was going on. I got to look around a bit while crawling through town. The players seemed to be enjoying the muddy fields. I picked up 86 east into Lake Placid. Here's a pic on the way to Lake Placid:

Lake Placid was full of people and it was cool to revisit the site of many backpacking trips. It's certainly built up outside of town, but downtown seemed much the same. Once out of Lake Placid, I took 73 through Keene Valley past I87 to 9 south. The views of the High Peaks were outstanding along 73. I've spent many days hiking up in those mountains. Here's a pic from the road back to one of the major trailheads into the High Peaks:

Getting close to Vermont now! I took 9 south (very nice road) to CR-4 east. CR-4 was a tight and twisty little adventure in the middle of nowhere that popped me out in Moriah Center. I followed signs for Port Henry, then took 9N south to 903 by following signs for Crown Point. I crossed the bridge into Vermont at noon. Time to work my way north to Stowe! Here's a pic from 903 just before crossing into Vermont:

My plan was to run three of the four LAMB gaps on the way to Stowe. In order to do this, I needed to head a bit south first, so I worked my way over to Rt 73 in Brandon via 125 and 22A. I ran Brandon Gap and it was OK going uphill (west to east), but then mellowed and got a bit bumpier on the east side. A short blast up 100 north took me to 125. I was warned that 125 was bumpy, and it was. I think I was on the pegs (like a jockey) the entire ride over the mountain to jct 116 in East Middlebury.

I stopped for lunch at the gas station / deli there on the corner then continued on my way. I took 116 north to jct 17 at Bristol and headed over the Appalachian Gap ("App Gap"). The App Gap rocks hard. Very twisty and techinical with good pavement. I lucked out and had zero traffic the whole way. A "must do" section of road if you're ever in Vermont. I stopped for a break at the overlook at the top of App Gap. Here are couple pics from the top:

 

The ride down the eastern side of the App Gap was just as technical as the ride up. It was cool to pass Mad River Glen, home of many crazed telemark skiers (yes, I'm a pinhead too). That brought me to Rt 100 in Waitsfield. Last leg of the journey ahead. I took 100 north to Waterbury Center and stopped for a beer at The Alchemist. Highly recommended if you're into brewpubs. I'm a homebrewer and micro/import beer geek, but since I was riding, I only had one and continued the last few miles to Stowe. Here's a pic of Rt 100 just south of Waterbury Center:

I continued on 100 north towards Stowe and noticed the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory and the Vermont Teddy Bear Company on the way. One last turn onto 108 north and I was at the Riverside Inn. Guy and Exelda (sp?) were hanging out on the front porch. Evidently we were the first people to show up. It was about 3:30pm, so I took a shower, hung out for a bit, then decided I needed to do some research on the beer selection over at The Shed, a neighboring brewpub. Gotta love staying a short walk from multiple restaurants, a brewpub, and a liquor store with a good beer selection. We were set! Here's a pic of the Riverside Inn:

People started trickling in, the beer started flowing and soon it was time for dinner. Trying to organize a bunch of sport-tourers is like herding cats I think. While everyone was debating where/when to go, I chose to grab something quick at the pizza shop across the street. I bought a six pack at the neighboring liquor store after dinner, brought it back to the Riverside, then joined the others for a few beers at The Shed. After the group left The Shed, we all hung around drinking and BS'ing and greeting the later arrivals. Then it was time for bed around midnight. I had a full day planned for Saturday and wanted to be on the road by 8am.

Click here to continue with Day 3