Author: Shular Page 7 of 12

Shular crosses Lake Champlain on a ferry boat

On Thursday, August 2, I crossed Lake Champlain on a ferry boat. The operator told me he had recently turned 74. He’s been on the job 46 years. The short ride brought me the Vermont side I rode on to Middlebury. I stopped to talk to Terry about camping for the evening. My original goal of Hancock was too far. That is when Jan showed up.

Trail Angel Jan

She looked at the map and discussed the merits of several campgrounds. She called her husband to get the phone number for Branbury State park located on the eastern shore of Lake Dunmore at the base of Mt. Moosalamoo. The attendant offered to leave a map marked with available sites. We enjoyed our brief stay their before starting todays route.

I started climbing Bread Loaf and Middlebury gap this morning. Some of the grades approached 16 percent. This made for long slow climbs. I had more climbing in the afternoon, but not quite as steep. In the late afternoon I rode into New Hampshire. I soon discovered River Road, designated on my route was closed. I rode to Lyme. I was looking at the map and talking to Terry about where to camp when a fellow across the street came over with local knowledge of campgrounds. It turns out that he has ridden coast to coast. He suggested the Pastures in Orford. It was 9 miles away and mentioned on my map. We are camped at the Pastures tonight on the Connecticut River. The wi-fi is great, the bathrooms are clean, an no quarters needed for a shower!

There is more climbing tomorrow. I am now just over 300 miles from Bar Harbor.

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Cable Car at Lake Erie house

Day 58 – Monday, July 23 started in the country southwest of Huron, Ohio. It didn’t take long before I was seeing the lake in backyards. Eventually the houses became massive with a variety of landscaping. The Aspen cable car was one of the off-beat. I met a cyclist from Lakewood who was about 15 miles east of home, riding a titanium Seven with Campy Chorus equipment. I asked him if he had any advice on the route. He said I should try to get east of Cleveland. He suggested I get to atleast Willowick. I was there a little after 8:00pm, but the clerk at the motel had no idea how to tell me how to get there. It might not have even been in that suburb. I used my phone to checkk online. I need an app for that. I went of the route, made some inquires and ended up in Mentor. I am east of my plan for the day. The total was 87 miles. I back tracked when when I was off the route in Cleveland.

The houses along the lake in several of the suburbs were amazing. Another unique decoration was a British phonebooth. I had a southwest wind thet was a big help in making the mileage today. It was still 96 degrees just before 7:00pm. There breeze helped some. While I made good time on some of the roads, eventually the stop signs and traffic signals made for a slower overall time.