Bos/treal Day 2: The Unexpected Magic of Vermont

61 miles, 3,446 feet of elevation

Today our route took us through more of Western Mass and then into Vermont, passing through Royalston, Warwick, Northfield, into Vermont at Vernon, then Brattleboro, and finally to our camp in Townshend.

While overall today's ride was beautiful, one of our riders had a fall when he made a sharp right turn on some gravel--he skidded and suffered abrasions on his knee and hand. I was just ahead of him, and heard the skid and the fall. Another rider and I quickly ran down to start assessing and helping out. I had learned from a similar accident during one of our training rides a few weeks ago that it's important to always carry some basic first aid equipment on your bike. We were able to clean his wounds, spread antibacterial ointment, and tape him up with some gauze. Later, the support van came and did a more thorough job. Luckily he didn't break any bones, and after first aid, he was back on his bike for the rest of the day, which was very impressive to me.

After that mishap, we went on a beautiful ride on a road in Northfield, and crossed the border to Vermont in Vernon. Literally at the Vermont crossing, the landscape transformed from forested land to magical and expansive vistas of dairy farms, red barns, and views of the Green Mountains. I'm not entirely sure why Vermont has retained its pastoral beauty, but one factor was the passage of Act 250 in 1970, which still requires that all major development decisions throughout the state receive approval from a district environmental board prioritizing perservation of the state's rural character.

We had lunch in Brattleboro, then rode on the West River trail (a tributary of the Connecticut river), and were rewarded by a swim in the surprisingly warm water of the river.