Day 89: Gorgeous Mountains in VT and MA

The morning was pretty standard and soon I was on the road for Massachusetts, home of the Berkshire mountain range. There's also the massive Quabbin Reservoir in the middle of the state so I could either take the northern or southern route. Despite Google Maps suggestion of the latter, it seemed straighter for me to try the former so that was my goal.

Once I got onto NY-7 I saw Romano again! I pushed to catch up with him and we ended up riding the next 10-15 miles together. He is an inspirational guy and is raising money for their organization FRANK.org for a couple of leukemia patients. He's been touring since '89 so we talked bikes, adventures, and philosophy while rising and falling in the foothills. He was the first bike tourer to see games at all 30 MLB baseball stadiums and has done several tours in areas I covered on this trip. We finally parted as he was headed for Montpelier and I needed to track east, but I hope to connect with him on the east coast or in Monterrey next year when he starts rowing to Hawaii.

Vermont wasn't on the original plan but it was the best way around the first range in MA so I spent a wonderful 30 minutes cruising through the SE corner. By the way Massachusetts, you have the lamest welcome sign of the trip so I tried to spice it up. Now in MA I stopped along the Hoosic River to eat my snacks and enjoyed the cool water. The scenery here, pretty much the entire day, has been truly beautiful. There are mountains covered in vivid green trees and bushes and everything is lush and wild countryside.

As I left the area I came across my first real mountain since South Dakota. I was pretty nervous that my legs might have atrophied a little but I started and was happy to find I could complete the entire 1200 vertical foot climb without stopping. Once at the top I took in the view but quickly started to descend. Without a climb like that there's no equivalent descent so I haven't had a good downhill for about a month either. Pretty soon I saw a sign cautioning steep grade and turns, and along with the fresh pavement that my tires were rolling on, caused me to let out a whoop, pull on a smile, and lean down on the bike. I took the turns sans brakes and it caused memory flashes of similar descents in the great states of the West.

Down at the bottom I came to a state park I had seen on the map. My goal was to keep going to the next commercial campground since it was farther and now only 4:30 but the park was just too beautiful. I could deal with a little bit longer day tomorrow so I stopped, paid the $14 instead of $26 at the next campground, and set up camp. I took a dip in the cool waters of the river running through the forest and prepared the basic meal that I had thankfully stocked up on just in case I couldn't find a store. The past few days and especially today have brought me back to the wonder and glory of the beginning of this trip. Riding through breathtaking mountain scenery, climbing until my knees are covered in drops of chin sweat then descending in a rush of wind, and camping in simple but beautiful state parks. A week ago I was ready to be done but now I'm really going to miss it but it's okay knowing the fun I'll have in the next few weeks and touring again in the future.