Vermont -- Tour de Kingdom
By Gary Gilbert
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
I rode the two-day Tour de Kingdom in Derby Vermont. www.tourdekingdom.org
The Tour de Kingdom is a one or two day competitive and recreational cycling event that takes you through one of the most scenic areas of Vermont, the Northeast Kingdom - one of ten geotourism areas in the world specially designated by National Geographic. The ride is a fund-raiser for IROC, an indoor recreation center in northern Vermont.
I choose the 50 mile route on Saturday and the 20 mile route on Sunday. It was beautiful countryside and a well-run ride. I recommend the ride if you find yourself in northern Vermont. Rather than bringing my own bike, I purchased an inexpensive bike from Target stores and used that bike for the two days of riding as well as a ride a week later in Vermont. After riding, I donated the bike to Bikes Not Bombs www.bikesnotbombs.org in Boston.
The first day's route took me from Derby to Derby Line (on the border with Quebec), to Morgan Center, Island Pond, East Charleston, West Charleston, and back to Derby. the first 16 miles were quite hilly for a flat-lander like me. Altitude ranged from 1000 feet to 1450 feet.
The second day's route took me from Derby to Newport to Newport Center and back to Derby. It too was hilly but I chose a much shorter route that day. Altitude ranged from 700 feet to 1000 feet.
Statistics from Phil White (organizer) : 185 participants, from 12 states and Quebec, rode in one or both days of the Third Annual Tour de Kingdom. This was well over double the 77 riders who participated in last year’s Tour
In Derby, a monument to the Civil War.
Typical New England church.
For a minute, I thought I was in Idaho.
Beautiful views
There was not much traffic on the roads. There were a few dump trucks in the first 10 miles --- not all of which gave us enough room. One in particular buzzed several riders. Fortunately most of the road was in good shape and had a wide shoulder.
The owner suggested that this horse didn't eat much but attracted much attention. He was more proud of his car (in the next photo).
Church in East Charleston
Local wildflowers
Typical barn color in this part of the country is this deep red.
I stayed overnight in Newport. In town I came across this garden overlooking Lake Memphremagog.
Day two was another beautiful day. Saturday was around 70 degrees and Sunday was around 65. Perfect riding temperatures.
Lake Memphremagog in the background.
Return to Cycling Tour Page Return to Home Page
