Saturday, September 10, 2011

Mad River



Enjoyed about two weeks in Vermont's Mad River valley, arriving on the heels of a devastating flood caused by Hurricane Irene. Many persons were displaced, long dumpster-sized piles of belongings and house-parts alongside road, in front of homes low and close to the river. Our travel was delayed because bridges and roads were washed out from the north, south, east and west. The four-day Green Mountain Stage Race (GMSR) was rerouted at the last minute and part-cancelled on day 4 due to more heavy rain. I was moved and impressed by Vermonters' resilience and appreciation for their government -- Hand-painted signs dotted the road with thank-yous to local authorities. (I wish this scaled to the national scene ...)




Son Avery rode intensely in his hardest race series of the year. No podiums, but we'll be back. It was pretty rainy, so we didn't get as much post-GMSR leisure riding as planned, but had lots of fun nonetheless. We visited Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory, scrambled nasty cuts on the Long Trail, rode the gondola and hiked Mount Mansfield at Stowe, mountain biked XC ski trails and single track, lunched at Trapp Family Lodge (Maria!), and more. A lot of quiet time playing games, talking, reading, dog walks, and meals with friends was a great refresher. Mad River helped to make us un-mad ...






More pics -- GMSR and Mad River, FB with notes.

Favorites:

Lareau Farm Inn / American Flatbread ... awesome ... Vermont local produce, organic, great beer ... classic !

Our wonderful cottage -- convenient to GMSR, biking, hiking, dining ... someone should grab it for next year (we'll probably be in Steamboat ...) ...

Trapp Family Lodge -- a great place to mountain bike, dine, pub, amble ...

Long Trail -- many great hikes, shelters ... legendary ...

Stowe ... great hiking, shopping about town, skiing in winter, biking ... full-on nature ....