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Let the excitement begin!
"Today we finally get to ride a bucket list ride!" My energy this morning was so good. We had just raced for two days from North Carolina to Massachusetts with no other intent but to get our poker chips and get to our first "not-to-miss" ride.
Route 100 is the most celebrated road in Vermont for its beauty. Running along the eastern edge of the green mountains the views are extraordinary. Much of the ride follows the river and it is ruggedly beautiful. Along this route, you pass through many small towns with quaint stores and restaurants. Many seem to have been frozen in time with aged buildings and homes. This is one of those rides that you just wish you could film the whole thing but somehow, know watching it from a camera lens will not do it justice.
When we cranked up at 9 a.m. that morning, in no time we were on a two-lane road. Route 112 in Massachusetts was such a good precursor to Route 100. I felt so fortunate to already be enjoying so much beauty, well before we began our intended route. Route 112 continues into Vermont and eventually leads directly into Route 100. You hardly notice the transition. Two and a half hours into our ride we decided to stop for fuel and get a snack.
The Store That Saved My Husbands Back
We couldn't have asked for a better location. Rawsonville Marketplace in Rawsonville VT. The parking lot was huge with a large gas station with wonderful snack options on one side and an Outdoor adventure outfitter, Equipe Sports Ltd, on the other. Now, I failed to tell you about my husband's first night of camping. You see, we both have inflatable mattress pads. I had just ordered myself a new one but he's had his for many years. Unfortunately, we did not test his mattress to see if it was in good working order. Yes, my husband slept on the ground. In hindsight, this may have added to the Hangry attitude the next day. Ha! When we saw this outfitter we were so relieved. Knowing we needed to find him a solution this was going to be an easy fix. We headed right over and I have to say we made one of the best purchases for camping. They had a cot that folded small enough to fit in our gear. I was very skeptical about its comfort but ya'll, let's just say that after one night, it became my cot. Luckily, he liked the inflatable. FYI we later ordered a second one a touch cheaper on Amazon, and still so comfortable
Harley Davidson The True MVP!
As we finished our snack and enjoyed all the motorcycle traffic passing by, we decided it was time to put it back in the wind. We geared up and headed out. Our destination was Wilkinson Harley Davidson in Barre VT. It was two and half hours away and we were in no hurry, but we did need to be aware that of course, they close at 3 and well we would get there "within 1 hour of closing". I'm sure you can imagine the eye roll at this announcement from my GPS. The farther north we traveled the more sparse the cell signal was. Pretty quickly after leaving the gas station, I made the mistake of messing with my GPS and, well, that was the end of my navigation. Luckily, he was leading, so I just relaxed and followed him. When we made it to Rochester, he decided to pull over. His GPS was no longer navigating either. This was a problem because, y'all, I needed my Poker Chip. We must get some sort of navigation going and this town was a dead zone for cell service. I suddenly remembered my motorcycle has built-in navigation from Harley-Davidson! I had only used it once when we first bought the motorcycle and completely forgot I had it. Thank you, Harley-Davidson for saving the day. I pulled up the menu and could search by local Harley Dealerships; right at the top was my intended destination. I knew the route it was taking us was not our original plan, but I asked no questions. It was time for me to lead and I didn't mind as long as we got there before closing. So we picked up a road called Bethel Mountain. I had never heard of it and could not have anticipated the blessing of this route. Once again we were on a road that was simply breathtaking. We hit high elevations with incredible views overlooking the great distances of Vermont. I am telling you we are some of the most fortunate people in the world. I have to just give praise for the opportunity that just landed in our lap out of happenstance.
Thankful For Good Friends!
We successfully arrived at Wilkinson Harley at 2:15 with time to shop. I need a jacket or something from the only dealership in the state as far as I can tell. I also wanted to meet a friend of mine's brother who was a master technician who worked here. Dan was amazing. He was busy closing up shop and didn't mind at all taking a picture with me and topping off our tire pressure that had dropped due to temperature changes. Truly a wonderful experience at this location and highly recommend this team.
Now That's Some Interesting Decor!
It was time to feed this man a meal, we asked for a recommendation and we were told to go to Ladder 1 Grill. What a cool place. The food was delicious and the beer selection was very nice. We were entertained by the décor that very much was already in the Halloween spirit. We finished up and headed to our campsite at Rick Pond State Park.
So Thankful For Good People
I have to say this was the absolute friendliest state park we have ever experienced. They were staffed so well and they were so happy. The lady who checked us in was eager to deliver us wood so we would not have to face the challenge of hauling on a motorcycle. She explained she used to ride and understood. She was at the site with the wood before we could get the tent fully unloaded and ready to set up. After camp was set, we sat down and enjoyed our beverages by a nice fire and just reflected on the wonderful day.
Vol 4. You can look forward to hearing about the Kancamangus in NH.
Y'all thank you for letting us share our adventures with you. Living a life "Engineered4Adventure" is not complete, unless you can share your experiences with others. We hope you are dreaming of your next adventure.
Christy
P.S.
1. Check out the adventure we have in our home workshop by clicking here or in the menu "Shop Products and Services" and
2. Check out our Gear List Blog for our favorite gear
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