Mansfield/Biking/Etc.

tMail came up to VT for few days of fun on the tail end of a huge couple of weeks for me. In addition to a semi-pemi, Carrigain w/ Maddog, Pemi, bushwack w/ the PM, etc., tmail & I crammed in a ton of stuff in the last three days.

Full gallery of Mansfield pics from Mutha here.

tMail's Report: HigH Times:

What a weekend...

I left Friday morning for Muthaville, USA. A fantastic ride up on the Labor Day wknd with no traffic at all. Views going through the Franconia Notch were incredible. Once I arrived I was received by Mutha, Spanky and Jake. We unloaded the vehicle and took a trip to the St. J Co Op to get some trail food for Sunday. The Co Op rocks, Lauren rocks, Chocolate Covered Ginger rocks.

We headed back to the house and got ready for our 45ish mile ride. It was a great ride no traffic great roads, some dirt sections that we managed and some nice climbs. Once we returned to the house...we cooked up some vegtables, out of this world corn, salsa, beans all kinds of things.

Saturday morning we checked out of Muthaville, USA and headed for PMville, USA. Northfield, Vt my first time there and to the house that the PM hatched from. What view up on a hill looks over awesome foothills of Vermont. We headed down to the Flying Pig 5k...and Raven, Uncle Pete, PM and Mutha rocked like Kenyans.

Once the race was over we headed back to Muthaville, USA and stopped for a quick sandwich. We hung around the house for a about 45 minutes and then headed out for our ride. This ride was one of the most scenic rides I have ever been on in my life. Vt is a beautiful state and to me best taken in by bike. Corn fields, cow farms, horses, sheep, healthy green forests and fields. The roads are awesome and the climbing and descending is great. Turning on Rt 14 North and going through Craftsbury Common and the stretch to Irasburg Vt was awesome. The ride south on Rt 16 was like Colorado through Barton and Glover and East Greensboro. I spent more time in Hardwick than one could imagine.

Dinner was rice and vegtables, nice glass of vino and off to bed.

Next morning up early and off to Mansfield via Stevenson Rd and Maple Ridge Trail. Views of the Dacks where incredible. Once on the forehead humanity invaded. French fashion was in full swing.

We hit the Forehead, Nose and Chin and on the way down hit the Butler Cabin, I think, awesome day. We did a drive by casa de MadDog and saw his big dump truck in the driveway.

Dinner that night was awesome, Nick handled the grill, Sue was all over the bean salad it was awesome. Pre dinner was Long Trail Belgian White in the hot tube!

What a weekend:
100+ miles of cycling
Vt High Point
Great Food
Great Friendship
Great Hospitality

Special thanks to Mutha and Sue for letting me stay at their house...Spanky for letting me know she eats cat shit and Jake for being a girl.

Cobalt good luck getting your balls removed, ask Jake what is like!

Mutha's Report:
Friday afternoon tMail and I took at 45-ish mile bike ride that weaved around the VT/NH border, crossing the Connecticut River and hitting Monroe (NH) & Lower Waterford (VT). The route included a number of dirt-road sections which was a challenge on road bikes, but we persevered nonetheless.

Saturday morning was a return to the Flying Pig 5K - in which The PM (lead by treadmill), Uncle Pete and I burned our lungs. The initial launch up the hill featured the PM passing me in long leaps like I had stopped running. (Race results .pdf here.)

Saturday afternoon tMail and I rode 60+/- miles through the most scenic, beautiful countryside in the northeast kingdom, from Hardwick through Craftsbury Common to Barton and back.

Then on Sunday, tMail, Spanky & I hit Mansfield in the clearest air I've ever seen. We could see the slides on Mt. Whiteface in the Adirondacks, the water tower in Burlington, the Champlain Islands, The Presidential Range, etc. It was incredible. Even from Danville on the ride home we could clearly see treeline on Mt. Washington. The summit crowds were huge - hundreds of people milling around all over the place, most of whom had driven up the Auto Road. There were very few backpacks to be seen.