Ride report: Vermont 6-Gaps

[JayBay]

I did this ride a few weeks ago on my trusty '95 Serotta TG. It's a must-do adventure for sure. Just thought I'd post my ride report up.

http://home.comcast.net/~jason.howes/site/?/page/Vermont_6-Gap_Ride/

Cheers,
Jason

[AngryScientist]

nice ride report jason, looks like you guys had a great day, though challenging. i'd like to get in on this one of these years. good work! :beer:

[BillG]

Nice ride report. God is Lincoln Gap awful. And I totally agree about Moretown Gap, on a hot day it's particularly brutal. I hate the descent of Roxbury Gap in the direction you went, but maybe the century floods cleared out some of the gravel around the turns.

[Karin Kirk]

Wow, that sounded hard. Nice work! Was this just a coordinated ride amongst a club or group of friends? Or was it something official? Having a sag wagon looked like a good plan.

Congratulations for completing that ride. I love climbing but doing hard climbs over and over sounds like a real battle. Impressive.

[MattTuck]

Nice report! Surprised you didn't have more issues with road closures. Looks like a perfect day.

[jr59]

It will be easier on your new Ti bike!

[JayBay]

Ha, that's right! Next year there will be one less pound to carry up those hills (the Ti actually weighs 15oz less than the TG!)!

It was a semi-organized ride. A big group of friends have been doing for years, and I got roped in this year through a few guys in my regular riding group. The sag wagon was definitely nice, being able to change layers as the temps changed, and grab cold water and bananas at the top of those climbs. I can't wait to do it again next year.

[572cv]

and it was tougher this year with all the flooding and the re-routing. Lets see, 120 miles on 6 climbs. When you finished did you relax by beating each other with switches? :) Seriously, this is in my neck of the woods and I've done all the climbs, if not consecutively on the same ride. Congrats to your whole group for the achievement. These are great climbs! Hope your nice piece encourages other cyclotouristas to pay a visit.

[Louis]

Sounds like a tough challenge and a great ride. Thanks for the report.

Louis

[tv_vt]

Nice job, Jason. Lincoln Gap both ways - wow! Once on a six gap is bad enough, but twice? Ouch. I've never done a six, have always had enough after 4 (LAMB, anyone?).

The roads are really in a sorry state in VT right now, especially after Irene. App Gap has some scary cracks these days. I don't think I'd go down the west side, not until the cracks are paved over. Too easy to catch a wheel...

Thanks again for sharing. I'm trying to figure if I know Eric. And is Ian the Ian of Fitwerx, by any chance?

Thom

[sailorboy]

I like this part; 'It feels good to know we made it this far, first century I’ve done in many years'....And you picked this one?!?!?

Well done man, hurculean effort to be sure. My old stomping grounds there in the mad river valley, and it was great to see those photos. VT never looked better, flood damage and all.

[JayBay]

Nope, different Ian. This one works for iRacer.

The roads were definitely a little beat up in spots, and Brandon Gap was still closed off, hence the re-route. And yeah, climbing back up Lincoln Gap again at the end of the ride was a serious kick in the crotch. Once is more than enough on that beast. It was an awesome ride though, I just hope next year I get a chance to do it again. Thanks all!

[wc1934]

Wow- that was a heck of a ride - thanks for sharing - pics and narrative were great - congrats

[nova]

A group of us (McGill Cycling) went down and did this ride last weekend, the weather was perfect (high of 24C) and the foliage made the ride beautiful. The portage sections even made the ride more fun (makeshift bridges, road sections missing etc). At the same time it was a showcase to how real hurricanes are.

Lincoln is the type of climb that you have an out of body experience on, especially after 175 kms. I feel that this ride is the ideal location for a rapha gentlemen's ride in the northeast, a beast of a ride. If you guys found this ride fun you should check out the charlevoix region outside of Quebec City, a lot of the same.