The ride from Lake Placid, NY to Burlington, VT was 48 miles with a gain of 2800 feet. The minute we left Lake Placid we were treated to 27 miles of some of the most picturesque rivers and valleys we have seen. The day stared looking like it would rain, but the sun came out for much of the ride. I took over 60 pictures in this section.

We then hit the 1-mile hill with a 20% climb. After that we rolled down hill to the picnic stop at Ausable Chasm. This was an impressive mini grand canyon with great falls. Then we went on to the ferry across Lake Champlain.

The ferry we went on was built for another location in 1930. After it was not needed it was moved up the Hudson River to Lake Champlain. To clear the bridges across the Hudson, the top of the ferry had to be removed. The engine on the ferry was built in 1928. It is a direct drive to the front and back. It has no gears or clutch. If the engine turns, both the front and back propellers turn. One pulls and one pushes. To go in the other direction, they stop the engine and start it backwards.

After the ferry ride we rode on a bike path for 2 miles to a state campground. It is green and nice but the ground is muddy in the tent section and there were only 3 showers for 100 people. The showers turned cold early and stayed that way until the end of the line. This was a low point as a place to stay. The good news is that dinner was great.

A rider from the 2000 coast-to-coast group, who lives in the area, came out to ride the route with us. He was full of interesting information about his trip.

We passed an old round church. It had 20 sides. It looked to be over 100 years old.

Along the route was the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory. They had tours of their factory and samples. We also saw the Vermont Teddy Bear factory and show room, a glass blowing factory and a chocolates factory.

We finished the day in the Gold Brook Campground. Stowe was 2 miles down the road.

My new changer had arrived. It was installed with a new chain and new stack. The cables to the changer were replaced with Campi cables and casings. All works well now.

About an hour into the ride, it started to rain. The rain lasted until after the lunch stop. Then the sun came out and the world looked much better.

The scenery was wonderful. There were lots of forests, rivers, and lakes. There were flowers along sides of the road.

The trip was on nice roads all day. We have now left the Green Mountains and are starting to enter the White Mountains. You can see the old stonewalls. It is nice.

The bike now runs perfectly. It is now a pleasure to ride. I have now relearned that Campi cables are not the same as generic. The generic ones fail to perform. What a hassle to find and resolve that problem – ongoing for about 4 weeks now!

Most of the older and some of the newer homes are the cap cod style. Some are very large. There were great views of rivers and mountains with lots of ski resorts. If you like antiques this is a good place to come. The roads are all well maintained.

We are staying at a fair grounds, but it is like a country club. The maintenance of the facility is impeccable. The sky is starting to overcast now. We may get rain over night.

I have been doing research on the preparations people are using to allow them to ride day after day. The most common products are bag balm, butt balm, butt butter, and chammie butter. Some people are using a preparation developed for diaper rash. Each user swears by his product. The consensus is that clean is critical. Many have horror stories of what not clean can do.

We traveled on country roads for the first 60 miles passing lakes and rivers. What a scenic and beautiful country we live in. There were colonial walls in evidence everywhere. The steams and lakes were pristine. The road passed many little cemeteries. A few looks at them showed that life was short in the good old days.

I left early today to beat the heat, but had to pass all the ice cream shops as they were closed. By the number of shops, ice cream must be a major food group. The roads were being worked on as it is summer. Some had no paving.

Durham is the home for the University of New Hampshire. The campus is very Ivy League.

One more day of riding. We go to the water (Atlantic Ocean) as a parade with the riders as the feature. Then it is regroup and pack and head for home. I will fly home with Cycle America packing and shipping my bicycle. What a great group!

Gloucester is a town of old people and young people with middle aged visitors. The setting is spectacular. It is built on a series of small hills that slope to the water. There are many inlets where each is its own little world. Nice boats are the order of the day here.

When we arrived in town we were a parade down the main street lead by 3 police cars with lights and sirens. They took us to the water where we dipped our tires to make certain the bicycles truly made it from coast to coast!

Many of the families joined their riders at the finish. It was a grand party. Any place you went in town you were the talk for the day. Some of the riders went on a sunset cruise of the harbor.

Tomorrow at 7AM we are transported to the airport in Boston unless we have another way to get home. Forty bikes are being packaged for shipment. The rest are being handled by the riders

Many do not look on this adventure as ending but just beginning. I hope for most of us it is true. This was more then a ride. It was the start of a bigger and education. Now the job is to keep the momentum going. In summary, the staff could not have done a better job of meeting our needs. The food was always good and part of the time it was spectacular. Staying at the schools was a great education for all and we end the trip only wanting to stay at school and continue the learning.