Day 3 - 26 April (Center Harbor, NH to Middlebury, VT)

With a good nights sleep, we woke up fresh & rejuvenated. Thankfully, all the discomfort of last evening including the sore throat, body ache & other flu like symptoms had vanished fully. Looking out of our window it's a bright sunny day…ah what a perfect day for riding….With a full stomach breakfast of bagels, eggs, cheese and some hot piping tea, a small photo session to make use of the sun and we are all set to hit the road.

We back track on Rt 25, fuel up on the way and after Sandwich we turn left thru some wild backroads on Rt 113 that pass thru a lot of wooded areas where the quality of the tarmac is bad in many places, but the suspension of the GTL handles it exceptionally well. We then pass Chocorua and then onto Rt 16 thru the town of Albany arriving at Conway. Here we stop for an early food stop (lets call it lunch) at Dunkins. Tuna melt sandwich & Hash browns with coffee (did I say extra hot coffee please!)…..

I guess he was contemplating what we 2-legged nuts were up to!!

General view of our workplace for a week

From Conway, we enter the beautiful White Mountain National Forest and ride the spectacular Kancamagus Highway, which is a bikers delight with its twists, turns and long sweepers all on a nice sunny day. There is a fast flowing stream that accompanies us and there are a few scenic lookouts at one of which we stop to take in the scenery & some pics. If you wonder amidst all the English names, where does Kancamagus fit in? Well going back to history, Kancamagus (which in native means- The fearless One) was one of the most notable & feared leaders of the Pennacook Indians. He relentlessly fought the English settlers in the 1600s and this highway is named after him.

Small video of the Kancamagus Hwy ride

Back to the present, the Kancamagus highway terminates at Lincoln, but we continue on this Rt 112 passing the small towns of North Woodstock, Lost River & Swiftwater after which a nice white & green board welcomes us into the state of Vermont. As we ride deeper into Vermont, the beauty of this place starts captivating us. It reminds us of a milder version of the European interior parts with the abundant greenery, smooth rolling hills, meadows, streams, pine trees. We are on Rt 302 and the wells river is accompanying us on the right. We soon turn left southwards on the I-91 and head towards Bradford after which we turn right thru some inner roads towards the direction of Chelsea. However as we are enjoying the beauty of the place, the sunshine is long gone and the clouds above are getting darker and surely heavier….not a good sign as we are uncertain what mother nature has in store for us. A few more miles later as we are rumbling along, the sky opens up and we are riding in pouring rain. While our riding gear is waterproof, the chill is getting on our necks and thru openings in the arm near the wrist. We chug along slowly with intermittent heavy showers passing Chelsea, Tunbridge, Royalton and turning right briefly onto Rt 107 that takes us onto the scenic Rt 100 that runs along the edge of the Green Mountain National Park.

Along the way came across these 'hardcore easyriders'

That's a lot of mailboxes......

Always a friendly wave to road crews as our gratitude for maintaining our biking playground

After passing Rochester, we branch left at Hancock onto Rt 125 cutting thru the scenic Green Mountain National Park with wonderful scenery on either side. Few more miles and we arrive into the town of Middlebury. Here we decide to first refill our stomachs and Mr. GPS recommends the "Green Peppers restaurant".

Yummmmyyyyyy....

After a sumptuous dinner with great service, we start hunting for a room. Although its off season, surprisingly the small hotels & B&Bs in the downtown area are really expensive and nobody seems in a mood to come down on the price. So we again consult our GPS and he directs us away from downtown. We search in 4-5 places but all still expensive. Finally way out of town riding again in rain we come across the Tourterelle Restaurant & Inn that's a standalone building amidst farmland on all sides.

What on earth is that ferocious looking thing???

This Restaurant & Inn is run by a French lady and with some sweet talking I just cut a deal that's fair for both sides (presumably!) as we anyway were in no mood for more room hunting in the dark being already soaked in rain and with chilly weather. A few cups of homemade lovely chai from my wife, some internet browsing, some jokes & pulling each others leg, drying our riding gear near the room heater and we are off to sleep in this cozy traditional all-wood building.

Distance travelled 204 miles