After working around the house all morning and big storm moved through the area with tornado warnings across the spectrum going out and I slept through it all during a midday nap. A tornado actually struck in Woodstock, VT and caused quite a bit of damage. I awoke to blue skies and sunshine and went out for a ride on the single speed.
It's been awhile since I have ridden Just Good Beer, probably 2 years, when I tried aero bars on it and rode it on the rail trail. I didn't like it so I removed the aero bars and then retaped and brought the bike up to Rutland thinking I would use it for our weekly ride to Wallingford. For this ride I tried to stay flat and bucolic as possible, so drew up a loop to Proctor, VT.
On Whipper Hollow Road is definitely bucolic with some really great views of the Green Mountains. Today in particular you could see a storm cell that probably crossed way north of here. Ironically, the forecasters were saying the highest possibility for a tornado would be in the Vergennes area, north of here by about 45 minutes, when it was probably the storm that dumped a few inches of rain on Rutland that wound up producing the tornado that whacked Woodstock earlier.
The first climb on Whipple Hollow was just past Bristol Road where I rode last week on my Hubbardton Battlefield Roubaix only having one gear to make the climb was a little daunting (and slow), but I made it.
After a 2 mile, 3% average climb came a big descent that past by a cow farm and flat stretch that went over some railroad tracks and by a small rail yard for the two the nearby quarries.
Further down the road I crossed over more tracks and found another railroad yard off the main line between Rutland and Burlington. There were two locomotives at the bottom of a siding that you can see in the picture above having a noticeable grade. You don't see that very often.
On the other side of the tracks was the first of three covered bridges on today's route. Hammond Covered Bridge, a 139' town lattice truss bridge built in 1842.
Here is a marker for the Crown Point Road indicating a river ford. I guess this is how the town of Pittsford came to be known.
Leaving the Otter Creek river valley I got to Route 7, the top of the route, and the clouds were rolling in again. I checked the weather radar and it didn't show any more precipitation coming so I didn't think I would get rained on during my ride back to Rutland. The route was on Rt 7 for a little bit and then cut east to get off Rt 7 for a bit and then I made my way back to the river valley again.
I rode through two more covered bridges
In Proctor I passed by Franklin's which is supposed to have to great wings, rode by the defunct Marble Museum and then over Otter Creek. Between two marble posts on the bridge I took this shot looking at the top Sutherland Falls.
Cool MG on the outskirts of Proctor
Heading back to Rutland I rode Rt 3 and what a wonderful road.
Wide shoulders and really flat and nice views of Otter Creek
Looks like this farm is the source of the Redfield Trail system next to Pine Hill Park. I rode some of these trails the other day and they are nothing special. Just dual track. They would be great for XC Skiing.
Rutland has some really great murals painted on buildings
Merchant Row
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