“The only way round is through.” – Robert Frost
What is there to do on a Saturday afternoon in Vermont? Do you sit down at a diner for a delicious lunch with fascinating people, hang out on a lake enjoying a crisp Long Trail, perhaps a refreshing hike?
Of course not, it's much more fun to attempt to ride your bike up a mountain (??!!!). I planned the hardest route that I thought I could survive; starting near Rochester (800 ft) traveling west on route 73 through Brandon Gap (2170 ft), north near route 7 along Lake Dunmore (450 ft), turning back east on route 125 through Middlebury gap (2149 ft), and finally back south on route 100 -- a 47 mile ride:
Here's the elevation profile:
Bike all shiny, as well as my finger 
It's such a beautiful area, better represented in pictures than my yappin'. This is the beginning of the ride on route 73 heading west.
The top of the Brandon Gap. The sign on the left says 'elevation 2170 ft', and on the right '12% grade next 4 miles'. This is the only point in the ride that I could have turned back, and I seriously considered it for a few seconds. Luckily it is very hard to resist the opportunity to go down a 12% grade for 4 miles.
Next I rode along Lake Dunmore and then north on Route 7 towards the next challenge. I wanted to take a dip but decided I would rather try to make it back to Boston before it got too late.
Route 125 east (southish?) towards the Middlebury gap. Along the road there are magnificent streams and spectacular mountain views that help trick the mind away from the brutal climb.
Top of the Middlebury Gap, 2149 ft; a great feeling knowing it's all downhill and only 11 more miles to go.
Sun setting and my finger again -- except for the top of the gap I took these pics while pedaling. My fingers are notorious attention hogs.
Now most importantly, how long did this all take?! Garmin has a great new website that you can see the whole ride and lots of nerdy graphs and statistics.
Here are the basics:
Distance: 47.26
Time: 3 hours, 11 minutes
Average Speed: 14.8 Mph
Max Speed: 44 Mph (should be more but I get scared)
Elevation Gain: 4,196 ft
Fingers in pictures: 4
Flat Tires: 0
Meese Seen: 0 