Day 30 - Little Falls NY to Bennington VT - 108 miles, 4000' cumulative climbing

Selfie at the Bennington Monument

The highlight for today was seeing Don and Linda at the end of the ride when we rolled into Bennington.  A long-planned get-together finally happened!  What a nice, nice time we had too.  Dinner, catching up on each other's news, just hanging out for a few hours.  I counted backwards in time and realized that Don and I became friends 45 years ago!  And to have him as my friend is one of the truly special things in life. We have experienced much together over the decades. There are very few people like Don, that will also put up with having me as a friend for so long.  Linda is no newcomer either; I count her as my friend for more than 20 years now and am much better off for it.

The ride today was considerably easier than yesterday, but still we cycled through rolling hills and beautiful countryside and even crossed the Hudson River.  As we move farther east everything seems to have an historic tinge to it, with lots of small blue signs marking spots of interest.  Our group of course doesn't have time to read all that stuff but I'd really like to come back to this area to do some more relaxed exploring.  Lunch was in Saratoga Springs, an exceptionally quaint town that still prospers even as nearby communities struggle with an uneven rural economy.  Having a world famous racetrack helps I suppose. It's what people call an "old money" town.
Cliff left our group after lunch today.  He had organized a group of friends to drive up from New Jersey and ride home with them, finishing also in three days.  Still counts as a Transcontinental, just a different shoreline.  So we said goodbye to him (thanks for pulling me up all those big hills!) and set off for Vermont and the Green Mountains.

Cliff and his Jersey Boys

Green Mountains far in the distance.  We get to them by end of day

Crossing the state line was uneventful (no sign but it's state #36 in my personal quest) but the uptick in elevation was noticeable.  The Green Mountains are as lovely as I remember from previous visits to Vermont, and the last part of today's ride was serene and very enjoyable. Maybe a little hard on my legs too, as the climbs were just a little bit steeper heading for Bennington.  After averaging almost 135 miles for the last 14 days, today's 108 seemed quite modest!

And now there are just 2 days to go.  The mood of the whole tour is shifting from what's ahead, to what we've already accomplished.  Still must stay focused but it's hard not to start throwing around the "atta boys".