The trip staff switched things up on us this morning, we loaded luggage before breakfast, as the Holiday Inn didn't start serving until 7:00 am. The Hotel staff seemed to handle our crowd pretty well, they were restocking items before things ran out. I rode alone today, we were doing about five thousand foot of climbing and I wanted to set my own pace. I rode without my usual bag in back to lighten the load a bit. We had about five miles to warm up before the first climb as we crossed the Hudson River and started climbing out of the river valley. At the thirty-two mile mark, we entered the state of Vermont (home of the Vermont Dairy Association, the makers of Bag Balm, an essential component of providing seat comfort to most of the riders on the trip). We passed through several small towns today such as Bennington, Wilmington and Brattleboro. In Bennington we passed the Burlington Battle Memorial which looks similar to the Washington Monument, as well as a collection of colorful moose statues. We passed the Big Moose Deli outside Hoosick Falls. I was also surprised to see a lake at the top of one of our climbs at "Big Pond". After summiting Hogback Mountain, it was almost all downhill to the hotel. As we approached Brattleboro, we stopped at a covered bridge for some pictures. We also stopped at a couple bike shops looking for jerseys to commemorate are arrival in Vermont. My bike performed well today after yesterdays mechanical problems. Climbing seemed easier than those first big climbs back in Oregon. I think both me and the bike are in better shape at the end of the trip.
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