Cyclesnack: Some dead ends go through and some do not

Originally I had planned to head out when Ann left for work and I had my smoothie for breakfast but for once I actually fell back to sleep. I wanted to ride the CAADX again but discovered a broken spoke so I waited until the bike shop opened and dropped it off to get it fixed. I finally got out around 12:30 and while it was sunny the temperature was in the low 70s and in the shade it was downright chilly.

Took the shortest way to Quarterline Road (the first dirt road) by way of Campbell Road and there is this really nice view of Rutland.

From Dorr Drive, according to RWGPS, it's a 2.1 mile, CAT 3 climb to the start of the dirt road but the climb continues into the dirt road for another mile.

First Dirt on starts around house number 1189 and a couple of hundred yards up the road there's a sign saying that it's a Class 4 Road.

Right after School House Road there is a nice view of the Taconic Range, which by the way, Quarterline Road is also in the Taconics. Quarternline doesn't show up on any maps as dirt but it is indeed dirt. In fact, after this ride I updated open source maps to include this road and neighboring Creek Road, from the intersection with Walker Mountain to show them both as dirt.

This is one of the best views on Quarterline Road, looking due south, the mountain in the middle could be Tinmouth Mountain. The dirt road ends by the schoolhouse and the intersection with Firehouse Road in Chippenhook, VT, a small, rural Vermont neighborhood within Clarendon, VT.

After a quick jog on Walker Mountain Road I turned onto East Tinmouth Road which is dirt from the get go.

East Tinmouth Road is another CAT 3 climb with some fun, steep ramps to keep you on your pedals

and it's a wonderful dirt road to ride.

Here's a shot of the steepest section but it doesn't do it justice.

On the backside of the climb is this wonderful view looking south

Further down the road you see down the valley towards West Dorset Peak.

Now you are pointed directly at Dorset Peak.

Turning onto VT RT 140 there's a half mile, 8% climb to Table Rock

The attraction was created by a life long resident of Tinmouth as a kind of War in Iraq protest.

Descending further is a great view of White Rocks

The Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984 created the White Rocks National Recreation Area. It lies within the Green Mountain National Forest. White Rocks Mountain rises 2600 feet in the center of this park. During the Ice Age, glaciers exposed the white cliffs on the mountainside. Over time erosion caused rockslides, resulting in large piles of Quartzite boulders in the valley. This valley of talus piles is Chaos Canyon. This subterranean maze acts as a natural icebox, trapping winter ice and snow well into the summer months, creating a microclimate that cools the surrounding air by 15-20°F.

From this vantage there is also good view of Killington Peak, second from the left.

10 miles into the ride and see my first cow. Curious fellow, eyeballed me for a few minutes then ran down to his buddy or mother.

I turned south again onto West Hill Road. A dirt road that discovered two years ago by riding down Route 7 on my road bike following a route that I created on Garmin Connect in which I thought the route was completely paved only to discover that it wasn't.

It starts out with a half mile, 2% average climb, a small descent, and then another half mile, 10% average grade, with a 23% section that had me wishing for more climbing gears. Then came a really nice descent down to Dugway Road and then I started climbing again.

RWGPS said the route went through but this sign said otherwise. You just never know. My feeling is that is intended for drivers so that they don't try to venture down a primitive road and get stuck.

Going past the sign I started climbing again. It was a 7% grade for 2/3 of a mile.

As I neared the top of the climb a friendly guy on side by side came out to the end of his driveway to chat, telling me that the road doesn't really go through, in fact it's just gully.

Thinking back to my adventure last week on Horton Road I heeded his advice and turned around.

Riding down Dugway Road was a white knuckle experience. It too is just a gully but a little smoother with twists and blind corners that I didn't want to go too fast for fear of crashing into a car coming up the road.

I rode 100 yards and then turned onto Hartsboro Road. It crosses over Otter Creek and looking south I think I found a real good place to go fishing.

North also looks good, too.

The road crosses over the Rail Road tracks and then breaks out into a great view of the front range of the Green Mountains

and you can just make out White Rocks at the end of the ridge.

It's a wonderful dirt road with lots of rollers

Turning onto Ice Bed road I found another foreboding sign of another adventure yet to come.

But first there's 2,000 feet of dirt with an average grade of 7%

The fun begins when the road turns primitive

and it's rideable for almost 1000 ft

and then the proverbial Napoleon's Death March begins.

some parts are just an open stream

and others you can ride for a bit

my spirit never faltered as I slogged up another rocky hill

and I was able to ride out on the last section. In this case, the Dead End went through!

The ride out of White Rocks was a nice dirt road descent.

From the Entrance of White Rocks I rode down VT RT 140 and then took a right onto East Street in Wallingford only to be met with an insane 30% climb for a 100 ft. At least that's what RWGPS shows it as. I had noticed earlier while riding down RT 140 there was a dirt road called Van Wyck Road so when I got to the top of East Street I turned onto Roaring Brook Lane only to find out it ended as someone's driveway.