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Six Gaps 2011

Written by Jim

Monday, 12 September 2011

Six Gaps Fall 2011
Well... one hearty soul signed on to join me for a gap ride - Steve Power. He last did six gaps with my brother and me in 2007.   This trip report is not a blow by blow. (I could not get the photo's to load, but I will try again later) It is a handful of pictures from lesser known parts of the ride. I hope it will stir up stronger interest for the future as it would be fun to tackle a 4-gap or 6-gap ride with a group of 6 or so riders. There are plenty of comprehensive trip reports and pictures, including one from our 2007 assault, at http://www.northeastcycling.com/six_gaps.html .

In the interest of our Sunday morning sleep we opted for 4 gaps. Steve Power met me at 9:30 in Rochester.   The weather was perfect and the trees well on their way.

Oops. Bridge out. We took the well reported bike bridge walk around.
Steve on the final pitches of Brandon Gap, under the haunts of hawks and falcons.
Steve descending Brandon.
Climbing Middlebury Gap with a view, I think, to Mount Ellen and Mount Abraham, two of Vermont's five 4,000+' peaks in the background. This is characteristic of this ride - big vistas, long site lines into the Greens and Adirondacks, sparsely populated and long stretches in seeming wilderness.
The climb up Lincoln, the steepest paved mile in the U.S., begins when the road changes from dirt to asphalt and you start to smell burning car brakes.
Barely climbing Lincoln, Jim is balancing on his bike at very slow speeds. Steve thought with my 34F x 36R gearing I should be able to do the whole thing seated. He was disappointed. I thought he couldn't put his foot down for pictures and get started again. I was surprised. As you ascend off to the right through the tress are spectacular views up the route 100 valley. Check the view behind me as I crest. The steep part of the descent is newly paved. If you ever wanted to measure the terminal velocity of a man on a bike, this would be the spot.
Starting the descent of Appalachian Gap. Be careful, some of the curves are sharp!

Here is a section of the descent; just at the bottom of this view is the base of Mad River Glen ski area. Steve says my photos of the descent are terrible. These are the best two photos and I won't argue with him.   The part of the descent not shown is beautiful and thrilling.
Even with only four gaps this ride is an exhausting 114 miles. But it is inspiring and rewarding. It just doesn't get any better than this!

As a warm up for the next gap ride think about the timed 170 Km Great River Road Ride - October 9 - http://newhorizonsbikes.com/articles/great-river-ride-2011-pg161.htm

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 September 2011 )

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