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Cycling the Lake Champlain Bikeway

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T he setting sun suffuses Lake Champlain in a tangerine glow. A few islands trace the hori- zon like a dark brush stroke on canvas. Across the sparkling water, the high peaks of the Adirondacks rear on the west coast. On our right are the Green Mountains. The Abenecki Indian name for Lake Champlain is Bitawbagok, meaning “the lake between.” We’re cycling up an extremely narrow causeway that juts into the lake like a pointed finger. Spread your arms and you can nearly touch the ends of the causeway. We have the strange sensa- tion that we are not just pedaling in the lake, but in a painting of the lake. The Colchester Causeway is part of the 363-mile Lake Champlain Bikeway, a cycling route that circumnavigates Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York with a few side trips. The route is a combina- tion of gravel and asphalt bike trails, quiet dirt roads, rural roads, and a few highway stretches. 400 years ago, French explorer Samuel de Champlain and a fleet of 24 canoes entered the lake from the north and “discovered” it, profoundly impacting the entire world. This has something to do with the reason we are here. But the underlying history les- son is mainly an excuse for my family from Pennsylvania and the Pennel family from Michigan to go for a long ride together. With one child in college and two poised at the door, we parents know we have little quality time left with our children. A cycling adventure is one of the few things they will agree to. We’ll follow the princi- pal route and cover about 230 miles, aver- aging 40 miles a day. We’ll take our time to explore museums, beaches, and parks. We also plan to sample bakeries and roadside fruit stands. And we’ll tote our camping gear and will stay at the campgrounds located on the bikeway. We kick off our circumnavigation around this “sixth Great Lake,” bet- ter known as the “Jewel of New England,” from Burlington, Vermont. Burlington is one of those towns I have filed away in my mind as a place to move to should I ever need a new home. It sits on the shore of Lake Champlain in north- ern Vermont, and with many miles of bike trails to indulge in, it is a cyclist’s dream town. It also is home to ECHO, the world- class Lake Aquarium and Science Center, which showcases the incredible diversity of natural ecosystems, and the flora and fauna that live around the lake. Along the wooded shoreline in town, a sculptured fairyland was created using driftwood, lake stones, and pieces of metal. This outdoor art museum decorates the pebble beach and extends into the water. Passersby can leave their bikes and explore or spend hours designing their own pieces of art. Farther down the trail in Battery Park, artists took white chunks of marble and created detailed carvings of Neptune, mermaids, and other water-related beings. The intriguing artwork makes it hard to leave town. North of Burlington, the route sits on an elevated, abandoned railroad bed. This was the start of the Island Line, a rail line built in 1900 that connected Burlington to the chain of islands on the north- ern half of the lake. When it oper- ated, the 40-mile Island L i n e was one of the world’s m o s t Cycling the Lake Champlain Bikeway Story and photos by Cindy Ross SIERRA GLADFELTER
Transcript
Page 1: Cycling the Lake Champlain Bikeway

The setting sun suffuses Lake Champlain in a tangerine glow. A few islands trace the hori-zon like a dark brush stroke on

canvas. Across the sparkling water, the high peaks of the Adirondacks rear on the west coast. On our right are the Green Mountains. The Abenecki Indian name for Lake Champlain is Bitawbagok, meaning “the lake between.” We’re cycling up an extremely narrow causeway that juts into the lake like a pointed finger. Spread your arms and you can nearly touch the ends of the causeway. We have the strange sensa-tion that we are not just pedaling in the lake, but in a painting of the lake.

The Colchester Causeway is part of the 363-mile Lake Champlain Bikeway, a cycling route that circumnavigates Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York with a few side trips. The route is a combina-tion of gravel and asphalt bike trails, quiet dirt roads, rural roads, and a few highway stretches.

400 years ago, French explorer Samuel de Champlain and a fleet of 24 canoes entered the lake from the north and “discovered” it, profoundly impacting the entire world. This has something to do with the reason we are here. But the underlying history les-son is mainly an excuse for my family from Pennsylvania and the Pennel family from Michigan to go for a long ride together. With one child in college and two poised

at the door, we parents know we have little quality time left with our children. A cycling adventure is one of the few things they will agree to. We’ll follow the princi-pal route and cover about 230 miles, aver-aging 40 miles a day. We’ll take our time to explore museums, beaches, and parks. We also plan to sample bakeries and roadside fruit stands. And we’ll tote our camping gear and will stay at the campgrounds located on the bikeway.

We kick off our circumnavigation around this “sixth Great Lake,” bet-ter known as the “Jewel of New England,” from Burlington, Vermont. Burlington is one of those towns I have filed away in my mind as a place to move to should I ever need a new home. It sits on the shore of Lake Champlain in north-ern Vermont, and with many miles of bike trails to indulge in, it is a cyclist’s dream town. It also is home to ECHO, the world-class Lake Aquarium and Science Center, which showcases the incredible diversity of natural ecosystems, and the flora and fauna that live around the lake.

Along the wooded shoreline in town, a sculptured fairyland was created using driftwood, lake stones, and pieces of metal. This outdoor art museum decorates the pebble beach and extends into the water. Passersby can leave their bikes and explore or spend hours designing their own pieces of art. Farther down the trail in Battery Park, artists took white chunks of marble and created detailed carvings of Neptune, mermaids, and other water-related beings.

The intriguing artwork makes it hard to leave town.

North of Burlington, the route sits on an elevated, abandoned railroad bed. This was the start of the Island Line, a rail line built in 1900 that connected

Burlington to the chain of islands

on the north-ern half of the lake. When it oper-ated, the 4 0 - m i l e I s l a n d L i n e was one of the w o r l d ’s m o s t

Cycling the Lake Champlain

BikewayStory and photos by Cindy Ross

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Page 2: Cycling the Lake Champlain Bikeway

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spectacular railroad routes. It is just as stunning on a bicycle today.

After exploring the Colchester Causeway, we continue north on our ride up the Island Line. The Rutland Railroad Company undertook this extraordinary project in order to connect the New England coast to the Great Lakes and provide access for Rutland’s marble industry. Along with 41 miles of track, construction included six miles of marble causeways and trestles and four drawbridges. It was accomplished in one year’s time. The route along the chain of islands is often higher than the sur-rounding land, providing a grand view of the lake on both sides. The islands of Grand Isle, South Hero, and North Hero boast enjoyable cycling routes and scenic state parks.

On these islands, men sew canvas boat covers for a living, build handcrafted Adirondack chairs, and grow hay. The cut grass cooks in the sunshine, filling the air with sweetness that we drink in as we cycle by. When the hay is raked, disturbed insects attract hundreds of circling, div-ing seagulls. We watch them as we cycle past the verdant green farms, so lush they remind us of Ireland. Sweet corn is in sea-son, and roadside tables dot our route: $4 a dozen, paid on the honor system.

We take a break at a coffee shop on North Hero and notice an interesting craft parked at the dock. It appears to be a wanderer’s water home. When we see a half dozen young men with their pant legs rolled up, straw hats, and garbage bags full of wild apples that they obviously scavenged, we think we’ve found the free spirits who belong to the craft. A handful of graduates from Williams College cre-ated the wooden raft. A small outboard motor assists them on their voyage from Canada, across Lake Champlain, and down the Hudson River to New York City.

When we ask how far that is, they reply, “Between 2 and 400 miles, not sure.” Last night was their first on board.

“We take on a lot of water, even in calm seas,” they admit. However, their spirits are not dampened. Meeting fellow adventurers while long-distance cycling is half the fun of these trips. We can see our children’s faces light up. They seem to be filing the idea away for another adventure in life.

We take a detour out to Isle La Motte for a 12-mile circle, resulting in some of the prettiest scenery on our trip. This is the site where Champlain landed his canoe when he entered the lake on July 9, 1609. Nearby

is the Chazy Fossil Reef, the earliest known biologically diverse reef on earth. The reef is still teeming with fossils. Several island quarries also are located here, providing the famous black marble found in major national projects such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the National Gallery of Art.

Even though the mid-day August tem-peratures are sweltering hot, we can toler-ate it by taking every opportunity to flip down the kickstand and dive into the lake’s

cool water. Frequent mini-marts provide cold drinks, salty snacks, and ice cream, making even the sweatiest cyclist happy.

Our children cruise the food store aisles, turning over packages to read labels and find the food product with the most salt. Canned ham is a winner, followed by SpaghettiO’s. They jam the cans into their water-bottle holders “to warm them up” in the air so they can eat pasta right out of the can.

Restaurants offer free soft-drink refills and allow us to stuff our water bottles full of ice cubes to go. I fold ice into my rolled neck bandana, allowing the icy water to drip and soak my chest. When a frozen- food truck pulls up to the grocery store to make a delivery, the kids beg to climb inside. “I charge by the minute,” the driver teases.

You can’t travel into Canada on the bikeway for even a mile to photograph the French welcome sign without your passport, so plan accordingly. The route continues north along the Richelieu River to Champly, Quebec, for another 38 miles. Here the water becomes nearly a sliver of liquid, a strong contrast to its widest part near Burlington at 12 miles.

At the border, I shoot photos of the kids presenting their passports. An irate Canadian border police officer marches out and orders me to delete every single frame while he watches. I explain what I am doing (the kids give me the look … “Mom, don’t give him any lip!”), but he’s clearly not interested in my reasons. He moves his hand to the pistol on his hip and leaves it there until I finish. After experiencing

our neighboring country for a bit, we turn south and follow the west shore of the lake through New York.

The Adirondack Mountains practically fall into Lake Champlain. The west shore ride is hilly and strains our leg muscles, but the hills allow us wider views of the lake. The sunlight radiating on the water

is such a brilliant white that we can barely look at it. We wonder if we’d prefer to live on the lake for easy access or above it for a magnificent view.

There are rewards on this roller-coaster stretch that make up for the struggle. We cycle past giant cottonwood and locust trees and watch white sails drift on the

Cannonball! Johnny and Bryce take a dip along the Colchester Causeway near Burlington.

Michelangelo wasn’t here. Sierra checks out a sculpture in Burlington’s lakeside park.

Page 3: Cycling the Lake Champlain Bikeway

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Border, who’s been operating the ferry for 43 years, makes about 50 round trips a day from late April to late October. The ferry fits only a handful of cars but a lot of bicycles.

While crossing, the kids search the waters for a sighting of the shy but friendly lake monster, Champ, a local legend akin to the Loch Ness Monster. This serpentlike

creature is said to be between 20 to 50 feet long. It seeks refuge in the deepest part of the lake (400 feet under water). This sup-posed remnant of an aquatic dinosaur or a primitive whale has been spotted more than 200 times since its 19th-century dis-covery. As we roll our bikes off the ferry, we purchase a Vermont homegrown apple from a cardboard box — 50 cents apiece on

the honor system. It’s not as good a memory as a Champ sighting, but it’s worthwhile nonetheless.

Our last days up the east shore are a pleasant meandering ride through apple orchards on shady dirt roads. Many of the hills are so accommodating that the down-hills power us right up the next incline. Along the bushy roadsides, brilliant yellow finches hide in the foliage. As we speed by on our bikes, they surface and fly right alongside us. These flashes of sunshine keep up for many yards and add a bit more joy to our bike ride.

Our route dips into secluded bays and through covered bridges with majestic views of the sparkling lake. This ride has always been about the lake. We viewed it from all angles as we circled it and saw its many personalities in the little towns and communities we visited. We met the folks who call this lake their home and felt privileged to ride beside it as week-long companions.

Cindy Ross is a freelance writer and the author of Scraping Heaven: A Family’s Journey Along the Continental Divide. For more about Cindy, visit www.redmountainarts.net.

Rivendell’s Sam HillborneWorth a serious look before you buy your next bike. It might be just right for you.

The typical modern road bike is designedlike a racing bike. It must be. It won’t fittires larger than 28mm, so it’s good onlyfor light riders on smooth roads. It won’t fitfenders, so it’s bad in rain. It won’t fitracks, so it won’t carry gear. It puts thehandlebar low, so you have more weighton your arms and hands, and more strainon your back. And most of all, it’s made ofcarbon, a material known for catastrophicfailures. When the typical modern roadbike fails, you’ll be riding it. And then theruined frame is not recyclable.

The Sam Hillborne is the antithesis of thatbike. It fits tires up to 38mm, even withfenders, so you can ride comfortably —and swiftly too — on surfaces rough orsmooth, wet or dry. You can raise the baran inch or more higher than the saddle,so you ride relaxed, with little weight onyour arms. It’s frame is steel, a materialknown for its toughness & safety, so theSam you buy today will grow old with you.If you wreck it in a crash, it’s not junk, it’srepairable. If a car kills the steel frame,it’s recyclable — over and over again.

The Sam Hillborne frameset costs$1,000-1,250. A complete bike runs about$2,400 or so, and that’s with good partson it. Not a bunch of third choices.Nothing you’ll want to upgrade.

Visit our site (www.rivbike.com) and readmore about the Sam. Better yet, send usa postcard with your name, number &email and we’ll create a credit for $100 offa complete bike. Good for the Sam or anyof our models, through September 2010.

Our own fine investment-cast steel fittings and abutted CrMo frame make the Sam Hillborne tough andsafe for decades of riding.

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We believe a bicycle can lead you to adventure. Explore. Take a chance.Find out what’s down that road, over the hill, and around the bend.

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ADVENTURE BY BIKE

BELIEVEBELIEVE

lake. We’re treated to a ride through a beau-tiful stretch of dirt road lined with fragrant evergreens, then get to dunk our heads into a frigid mountain stream. We stop to indulge in wood-fired pizza. While our pie bakes, the hippie pizza maker entertains us with piano songs on the wooden front porch. We screech on our brakes when we pass a lemonade stand. The children sprint from the house, yelling to their siblings, “We’ve got customers!” Our purchase of cold drinks and popsicles will add to their vacation fund, they tell us. Every section of the bikeway has unique beauty and surprises.

Our favorite private campground is Monty Bay near the town of West Chazy. Popular with the French Canadians, the owners go all out on weekends to entertain their guests. Tonight is a potluck dinner banquet for everyone. There is a swim-ming pool for entertainment — the lake, of course — but our favorite attraction is the live, five-piece ’70s rock ’n’ roll band that plays all evening long. The uninhibited French Canadians dance wildly on the grass under the tent as they laugh and converse in their lyrical foreign tongue. We easily forget we are on American soil.

One half-day stop we’ve been antici-pating is a visit to the star-shaped Fort Ticonderoga. Back in the 1700s, the nation that controlled the water also controlled the land. This ribbon of water stretch-ing almost unbroken from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the mouth of the Hudson River was crucial in three wars.

About the same time Champlain was cruising his namesake lake, Great Britain’s Henry Hudson was making his own explo-

ration up the Hudson River and into Lake George, a short portage from this penin-sula. Fighting began over the water, and a massive fort was constructed on the bluff. Cannons rest in front of stone structures, and the costumed guides form a vivid story about U.S. history, making Fort Ticonderoga an excellent break from cycling. The kids take time out to dress up in period costumes and pretend to shoot one another with mus-kets for photos.

From here, the Bikeway continues south to Whitehall for another 26 miles, where the lake once again becomes a thin sliver of water, similar to its northernmost reaches. Our group, however, will cross the lake on the Ticonderoga Ferry and return to the Vermont side. We want to experience the ferry crossing, and a five-day ride will be enough of an adventure for the kids. Compromise is important when soliciting the company of teenagers.

Four ferry routes that cross the lake have been in place for more than 200 continu-ous years, making them the oldest existing ferries in the U.S. Ticonderoga’s ferry runs on a cable that is pulled by a tugboat. The cable guides us across the half-mile cross-ing in about seven minutes. Ferryman John

The Lake Champlain Region Road Map and Guide features the 363-mile Champlain Bikeway and its network of connecting theme loops as of 2004. It is available from Local Motion Trailside Center, (802) 652-2453, and the Vermont Department of Tourism, (800) VERMONT.

For more information, email [email protected]. For specifics on cycling in Vermont, contact Lou Bresee at [email protected]. For New York information, contact Doug Yu at [email protected].

For More Information

All aboard! Boarding the Ticonderoga Ferry on the New York side of Lake Champlain.


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