This past July-August 2018 I was joined by my friend Allison from Raleigh, NC for a 6 day bike tour in the Champlain Valley of Vermont. This was our first excursion with Sojourn, the company that organized the tour. Allison flew up to PEI, then we drove to the Burlington, VT area to meet up with the group and two leaders, Al and Wayne. En route we spent the night in Maine with my dear friends Gina and Jonathan Gutman, their daughter Ruth and her family. Also home to sheep, goats, horses, geese, guinea fowl, cats and dogs and a few snapping turtles (in their pond).
The second night was spent at a country B&B (more sheep and dogs) close to our launching point for the trip. We’d decided to use the bikes they provided, and I hoped that would work for me, used to a cushy comfort seat on my recumbent bike. We were assured the seats on the Fuji bikes were comfortable, but that was not our experience after the first few days. Next time we bike with an organized tour we’ll bring our own seats! But we managed to finish the rides each day and recovered by the next morning to ride again.
We had fabulous tour leaders, fascinating fellow riders from as far away as Sydney, Australia, our luggage was delivered to the wonderful accommodations and meals were excellent. This was not a DYO trip by any means, but we all worked hard to earn our meals. One newlywed couple rode a tandem, another couple had motor-assist bikes (oh how I envied them at times, especially taking on those long uphill rides). One of them would pass us as we huffed and puffed, saying ‘sorry’ each time, which made us laugh and more out of breath!
Over the six days we covered about 200 miles or 320 kilometers, many hills, several bridges including covered ones and one crossing Lake Champlain into New York state. We visited a Morgan horse farm, historic sites, local breweries and craft shops. We spent the last two nights at the Basin Harbor Club right on the lake with options to engage in water sports, tennis and golf. Alas, who had the energy to do much more than relax on the comfy outdoor chairs sipping on a cold drink after the cycling workouts. But I’m not complaining, it was a wonderful trip.
Orysia Dawydiak 