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Dirt Roads Of Vermont Epic Sojourn
DROVES
Memorial Day Weekend, 2010
GPS file
Day 1 PDF
(reverse for those starting
in Waterbury)
Day 1 excel (reverse)
Day 2 PDF
Day 2 excel
Lincoln Gap and Granville Falls are optional extensions to this
loop
Day 3 PDF
(reverse for those returning
to Waterbury)
Day 3 excel (reverse)
The Vermont Gazetteer is a great resource. Bring
the pages you need. Vermont County Maps
can also be purchased from JIMAPCO. Rutland, Addison, Windsor
and Washington Counties cover most of where we will be. Another
great map is the Northern Cartographic - Lake Champlain bikeways
map.
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For fans of D2R2 and other long hilly dirt road
rides, we present the 2nd annual Dirt Roads Of Vermont Epic Sojourn.
Over many years of doing TOSRV-East and other rides in Vermont,
John and Pamela have strayed from the official routes and discovered
some fabulous hard pack dirt roads in Vermont. In 2008 on Day
1 of TOSRV-East, we managed to completely avoid the official route,
ride about 70% dirt roads, while crisscrossing the official route
a few times and gaining over 15,000 feet of climbing in the 100
miles. We had some great descents, magnificent views, and fabulously
quiet back roads. TOSRV pix can be found here.
We've also done a few other tours in Vermont and have explored
many other dirt road options and now have a two great routes between
Ludlow and Waterbury. See shots from our last two tours in Vermont
in 2007 and 2008,
to give an idea of the types of roads we love. Here
are some shots from the first DROVES in 2009.
Our plan is to drive up to Ludlow on Friday. We will have breakfast
on Saturday morning at the Hatchery, at the corner or Rt 100 and
103 in Ludlow. We will plan to start riding around 8AM Saturday.
We will ride north along mostly dirt roads on the west
side of Rt 100, making our way to Waterbury for Saturday night,
taking in lots of breathe-taking sights and descending lots of
hills. We will take it easy on Sunday, doing a shorter loop that
has the option of climbing Lincoln Gap. Then Monday, we will head
back south along the ridge and down more descents to the east
of Rt 100 returning to Ludlow, before we drive home, exhausted.
We have *reserved* the Grunberg Haus in Waterbury for Saturday
and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend this year. We have a reservation
for ourselves and tentative reservation for the rest of the inn
under John's name. There are many rooms with different amenities
and rates. Look here for
information Then call them and tell them you want one of the rooms
blocked off for John Bayley (for Saturday and Sunday). We will
let the unused reservations go in mid-May. Book early, and let
us know you are joining us - so we can put together a list for
dinner logistics.
If you like to get off the beaten track, love dirt climbs and
descents, have a sense of humor when things don't go according
to plan and are fully capable of doing the ride *unsupported*,
please join us. This will just be a bunch of friends out for a
ride. There is no SAG. You gotta get there and back on your own.
We are not running this as an official trip this year. (insert
all necessary legal disclaimers here). Folks are also welcome
to come out an join us for part of any ride. The routes are linked
at the top of this page.
Grunberg Haus does a full breakfast, but not dinner. We are arranging
for Saturday and Sunday dinners to be catered. Cost will be around
$25 per person per meal. We need to know what you won't eat. We
are looking at a bar-b-q with veggie burger options, and penne
with chicken and veggies for the two nights. The Inn is about
7 miles from civilization and down a whopper of a hill. Having
dinner delivered seems like a good idea. So we do need to know
how many will want dinner, and we need a commitment from you to
cover costs if you are having dinner.
There may be someone driving, who is willing to carry a SMALL
bag. I will send out email to confirm if this is the case. Vermont
weather at this time of year is still quite changeable. Carry
rain jacket and arm/leg warmers, gloves etc with you at all times.
If someone does drive and takes bags, it is NOT A sag or support
service. This MUST be a really SMALL bag with your toiletries
and off bike clothing, and it would go straight to the inn - you
won't see it during the day.
You may or may not know that Vermont dirt roads are a hidden
secret that we dare not share with the world. The surface is treated
in such a way that the dirt packs down and water runs off, making
these roads a delight. The roads are re-graded annually are usually
in far better condition than most paved roads in Massachusetts.
It is now grading season however, and we encountered some very
freshly graded roads last weekend. I followed the darn de-grader
up Moretown Gap! It doesn't take long after the road is graded
for cars to pack it back down. John guarantees we will encounter
some loose surfaces. Please pack your spirit of adventure and
sense of humor with your patch kit. ;-)
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