Vermont: 58 Mile Ride Starting at Bald Mountain Campground then 30/Windham Hill/121/100 to Apex Near Mt. Snow

The route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28072913

It was a picture perfect day for a climbfest in Vermont on Friday, July 13, 2018. I was staying at the Bald Mountain Campground in Townshend, VT. I've done quite a bit of cycling in the area over the years while staying at this campground.

I had done all the roads on this route before but never in this combination. There were three large climbs/descents - Windham Hill Road, 121, and route 100 going to the highest point heading towards Mt. Snow. Windham Hill Road has lots of climbing throughout but the initial section after leaving route 30 is the toughest. I was about 7 miles into the ride when starting this extended climb.

Two of the three descents are no-brake affairs (121 and 100) but Windham Hill is another story as the pavement is full of heaves and there are some blind corners. I did considerable braking and caution must be exercised at the end approach to route 30 as it's the steepest section and abruptly stops.

I had the wind behind me on the route 100 ascent towards Mt. Snow. Still, even with that, it's a significant climb - particularly the steeper second section. I had the wind against me on the descent and only topped out at 47. It was still a fun descent with excellent pavement and some turns.

At 87.02 feet per mile, this was my fourth hilliest ride. Just a fantastic area for cycling!

The captions detail more.

This is where the Townshend Dam is. I passed this early in the ride after the 3 mile gravel section in the beginning. I liked how the morning light lit up the area.

At the intersection where 121 to the left (as shown in the photo) soon becomes gravel. I went right which leads to route 11. Looking straight ahead here is where I came on Windham Hill Road.

About to plunge on the descent on 121. Good pavement with a couple of turns.

On the way back on Windham Hill Road. The area is very rural.

The Windham Hill descent approaching route 30 on my return. Insanity ensues after this point as this is the trickiest descent on the ride. Twisty with sketchy pavement.

Just starting on route 100 heading towards Mt. Snow. Route 100 is great for cycling with beautiful scenery, excellent pavement, and lots of vertical.

Getting to the steeper section on the ascent.

Just before turning around. This is the apex of the climb.

I turned around just a little bit later at this 10% sign. The first half of the descent from this point is fantastic. No braking is needed.

Farther down on the descent where it's not as steep.

Bow Lake (Strafford, NH) - 49 Mile Route with Fast Descents and Gravel Adventure

I did this ride on July 4, 2018.

Any time a ride has multiple 50+MPH descents, it's a truly special ride to savor. I did one of my favorite routes today up in Strafford, NH beginning and ending at Bow Lake. This is my favorite type of ride combining steep climbs for endorphins and steep descents for adrenaline.

I established a new high speed for the Berry descent of 50 and also touched that on the Parker Mountain descent on route 126. The route also contains about 8 miles of gravel and most of it was in pristine condition. I was actually surprised at how good it was given the generally dry conditions. Much of it was packed beautifully and rode similar to pavement. I did almost no braking on the gravel sections including the descents.

It was hot but it didn't seem quite as humid today. There was very little traffic on the roads - the least I've ever encountered on this route. I don't think more than 10 cars passed me on the whole 49 miles.

I've been craving a mountainous ride and this fit the bill at over 80 feet per mile.

The route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14860584

The captions tell more of the story.

Halfway up the Parker Mountain ascent on route 126. It's steeper than it looks. 50MPH is reached on this section when descending. You do need to pedal all out at the beginning to achieve this speed and then get in a low tuck.

This is just before a fantastic descent on Wingate. High 40s can be reached with two nice turns.

The beginning of the first gravel section coming up.

Beautiful views that kind of reminded me of Little House on the Prairie.

The other top descent on Berry Road is in the distance. You can already see the drop coming with a ridge in the distance.

Getting closer to the plummet.

Just before it really drops. The grade tops out at 10.1%.  It's almost a perfectly straight road with excellent sight-lines. I beat my previous high speed of 49 today topping out at 50. I think I had a slight tailwind.

This is the same hill on the way back and I'm about to do the ascent. You can see how straight and steep it is though the picture doesn't do it justice.

Another gravel section. Most was really smooth.

The turn just before the Parker Mountain descent. After that corner, it plummets.

And what better way to end a ride than to take a dip in Bow Lake!

58 Mile Ride to Conomo Point & Wingaersheek Beach & Back

I actually did this ride on 5/23/2018.

It was just a picture perfect day today, low humidity, light winds, and a very pleasant temperature. I took advantage and journeyed from Danvers to Conomo Point and then on to Wingaersheek Beach coming back through Topsfield Those areas have post-card views everywhere you look. From there I passed a llama farm and more quiet roads.

The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27590098

I added some hills at the end to get the elevation gain to about 50 feet per mile which isn’t bad considering roads near the ocean tend to be flat.

Atlantic Street going to Wingaersheek is a fun road to ride on so long as the traffic is minimal as it was today. It was a lot of twists and one down-hill slalom section.

More details can be found in the captions to the photos.

About 8 miles into the ride, I never tire of this view on Gardner Street.

Clammers' Beach on Conomo Point.

Idyllic conditions and surroundings...

There were plenty of benches and even a picnic table. It was hard to leave this area!

Low tide.

More Conomo Point. It's a different direction but has more beautiful views.

On Robbins Island road..

A llama farm on Concord Street.

The entrance to the beach.

The boardwalk to the beach.

A few people were on the beach.

It's hard to tell in the photo but in the distance is a hill with sharp twists that make it kind of a slalom run with nicely banked turns and it can be ridden at 35+MPH.

This is the corner before the slalom section. It's a sharp left and then it plunges with pretty sharp turns.