Plattsburgh to Stowe August 16, 2022

Plattsburgh to Stowe

August 16, 2022

Today’s ride was the last of the big climbs. We were routed over Smuggler’s Notch.  While not the big climbs of out west it was eight miles of some pretty steep climb.

From our very nice dorm in Suny University we headed over to breakfast in the university cafeteria.  There I feasted on French toast with strawberries and whipped cream with a bunch of nice crispy bacon.  From there I rolled off towards Stowe.

It wasn’t far before I was at the ferry which took us across Lake Champlain.  As I approached the ferry I could see a bunch of cars headed towards us, so I knew the ferry was unloading, so I jumped on the pedals.  I was the last to load.  The ferry ride was about 20 minutes. It was a beautiful ride as the sun was just coming up and glinting off the water.  The lake is surrounded by huge estate homes.

First water came up at mile 19 and from there things started to get really hilly.  There was no way that you could power down the one side and fly up the next hill.  It was drop it into the lowest gear and grind it out.  The morning had started out quite cool so I had on leggings and arm warmers, but now that the sun was out it was getting hot.

Picnic was at the 43 mile mark and from there we had the 8 mile climb to the summit of Smugglers Notch.  At picnic Bob reminded me that in 2018 it was pouring rain and freezing and we sagged.  However today was sunny and warm, almost perfect conditions.   No excuses for sagging today.

The first part of the climb wasn’t too bad with no more than 8% pitches and even a few level spots to catch your breath. Once I got to within about 3 miles of the summit the road became much narrower and steeper.  It was also in a very dense forest, which meant no great views of how far you had climbed but I was very glad of the shade.  The sun was full on and it was close to 85F. The last 3 miles actually only took about 30 minutes as I was able to maintain a speed of about 6 mph even though the road was around 12% thanks to the 1:1 drive on my Look bike. 

The summit was kind of a disappointment as there was no sign or anything else the road just suddenly drops away from you and then there is a sign saying that the next ½ mile is 16% down.   In fact from there all the way to Stowe is downhill.   Once on the Stowe side of the notch the sky changed from bright blue sky to nasty threatening clouds.

When I was about a mile out I caught the first few drops of a cloud burst.   Fortuitously there was an ice cream shop right there.  I whipped in and had an ice cream and waited out the rain.  By the time the rain was over the ice cream was gone as well.

Tonight I am in the Commodore Hotel sharing a room with Ed W.  It is really great! Thanks Ed.

Terry