vermont cycling

[hopkid60]

Has anyone done any cycling through Vermont in the summertime? Looking for any suggestions, inside scoop,etc. Trying to decide whether to try it this summer. Thanks.

[JayH]

http://www.champlainbikeways.org/

I did the Lake Champlain loop clockwise from Woodhull, NY which is half in VT, came down from St Jean sur Richelieu to St. Albans through the Hero Islands and then snaked our way down back to Woodhull.  very nice in the summertime and since this was my first bike tour, it was a credit card tour with 2 rear panniers on my MTB with slick tires on it.  Champlain bikeways has other short side tours and frankly, you could probably just pick county level maps, avoid the interstates and just go.

The one thing we found was that many dirt roads, more than I expected at least so I was happy to have the MTB with (generally) wider tires than your average road bike.

Jay

[FredHiltz]

Further to Jay's excellent suggestion, do not ignore the Adventure Cycling Green Mountains Loop, which gets you into the mountains as well as the lovely Champlain Valley.

It is no accident that organized U.S. cycle touring began in Vermont. The scenery, closely spaced villages, and quiet roads make it easy. Nowadays, a good rule of thumb is to avoid U.S. and state highways numbered with a single digit.

52% of Vermont's public roads are unpaved. Fat tire touring on these is great fun, but published routes and maps are hard to find. I'd start with what you find here and with a Google search "Vermont bicycle routes" without the quotation marks.

The riding here is great right now, but soon will be chilly. Most campgrounds are closed.

Fred
Shelburne, VT

[litespeed]

Bicycling in Vermont, New Hampshire or the Finger Lakes region of NY involves a lot of short, steep climbs and descents. You'll need low gears and good shifters. You will be doing a LOT of shifting.

[FredHiltz]

lot of short, steep climbs and descents.

Truly spoken. If Vermont were ironed out, it would be almost as large as Texas.

Fred

[thester32]

My wife and I did the ACA Green Mt Loop this past June.  Or I should say we started to.  We had one afternoon of sunshine, other than that, it was either overcast or raining.  We made it as far as Orford,  NH, where the extended forcast called for more heavy rain with high winds and chance of hail.  We decided to bail, and rented a van to get back to Burlington, VT, our starting point.
That said, we had a great time!  Everything about the route was great!  Lots of small towns, friendly people, etc, etc.  There is lots of climbing though.  We did about 250 miles in 4 days, and in that time we did over 20,000 feet of climbing, and we hadn't gotten to the big hills yet.  
We're looking forward to going back and giving it another try.

[Peaks]

Vermont is a great state for biking.  Geneally speaking, many roads have wide shoulders for biking, or low traffic volume, drivers are respectful, scenery is great!

We've done the Green Mountain Loop, and I've cycled St. Albans to Brattleboro almost every year for the past several years, always a different route.  One leg of it coincides with the Northern Tier across Vermont.  

Other than that, there are a couple of books with short (day) tours in them.  

You might also check out commercial bike touring companies, like Vermont Bicycle Tours.  

[biketheusa]

I have done Rt 7 along the western boarder of VT from the Mass State Line to N. Hero, about 25 miles beyond Burlington.  Beautiful scenery but Rt. 7 can be dangerous.  Narrow to no shoulders and a lot of logging trucks.

[litespeed]

One very pleasant bicycling road in Vermont is US5 which runs right up alongside I91 on the the Vt.-NH border. Since it parallels the interstate there is very little traffic and since it follows the Connecticut River most of the way the climbing isn't generally too arduous.

[Peaks]

For even less traffic, go up the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River.