Northern Tier Update and Reviews

[johna]

Just a few notes:

- On section 11, map 142, Middlebury Alternate: Swamp Road is newly paved, not gravel.  Woohooo!!  Nice covered bridge, BTW

- Same map, section 11, map 142, in Middlebury*, the Bike Center bike shop is awesome. Those guys really helped out and fixed some problems we had and some we didn't know about.  Plus, they gave us a great alternate to the Middlebury Gap - it's the Brandon Gap, and well worth it. 

*(Yes, we did the alternate, then rode in to Middlebury too.)

- On Section 10, map 136, the Drift Inn Lodge is awesome!  You get a lot for the $100 charge: your own laundry facilities, hot tub, huge place, kitchen, and just about anything you want - the owners are wonderful folks and extremely helpful.  We highly recommend it.

[indyfabz]

We climbed the west slope of Brandon crossing the country back in '99.  It was the one climb I thought I might have to walk part of. Came down the west slope of Middlebury last year on Cycle Vermont. Brandon is shorter but steeper. Middlebury was being paved when we did it.

[FredHiltz]

I am happy to report that repaving the west slope of Middlebury Gap is now complete. The old busted-up shoulders are history. The shoulders are about two feet wide in most places (only on the uphill lane in a few tight spots), and nicely marked with a white line.

They did not repave the eastern slope, which is in good shape anyway.

While the repaving was going on, I scouted Brandon Gap as a possible alternate or even a change to the main route. We decided not to do it because Midd Gap is easier and has better access to points of interest. Brandon would have made the route longer, too, although that was not really a factor.

On my own loaded-bike journeys, only two passes in the U.S. have required pushing the bike: Sonora Pass in the Sierras and Brandon Gap in Vermont. <grin>

Fred

[JHamelman]

Thanks for the info johna and Fred. I'll add your comments to the Northern Tier files.

.Jennifer.