Taking the Good with the Bad

The ride to Rochester, VT was full of ups and downs, both literally and figuratively. The weather couldn't have been any nicer. We couldn't have asked for a better day to bike through the beautiful mountains of Vermont, unfortunately we could have asked for an easier ride. The trip was mostly rolling hills, capped with two 6 mile ascends. The first being roughly 700 vertical feet, and the second a steep 2100 feet. Everyone made up the first "hill" and gathered for lunch under the sunny skies soon thereafter. As midday was approaching and the weather was at its hotest, we had to face the unbareably steep climb. About half way up, I ran out of water and gatorade. I was becoming dehydrated, but we found a house with a hose and filled up our camelbaks and bottle. After hydrating and having a snack we attempted to make the trek up the hill. It was full of many stops and rests along the side of the road to catch our breaths. Others walked up with the bikes beside them. I was too stubborn to do that. From the top the veiw was breathtaking and you could see for miles. We took some photos and rolled down the long awaited downhill into town, where we stopped at a cafe and got another late lunch. Afterwards we went down to the river for a relaxing and cool swim. That was followed up by dinner cooked by the Bowman Family (where we are spending the night), a group meeting, and an early bed time as we were all exhausted.