Vermont Gravel Growler
Welp, it had to happen at some point. My housemate, Matt, and I pulled the trigger on our first bikepacking adventure.
Throughout the spring and early summer months of 2019, the two of us had slowly been accumulating all the pieces that we thought we’d need for a multi-day bikepacking trip. We planned to take on the top half of the Vermont Gravel Growler loop, a route planned by Williams College professor and bikepacking legend, Joe Cruz, and posted publicly on bikepacking.com. Friends of ours had done this full loop the previous summer in 2018, so while we had some insider information, it would be our first foray into the world of bikepacking, so everything felt new and rather intimidating.
Matt and I had each purchased handlebar and seat post bags from Ortlieb that we’d fit on our mountain bikes - mine an entry level Trek Fuel, and Matt’s the now discontinued Trek Stache. We’d seen the bags used by bikepackers in the various bits of research that we’d done, and just had to cross our fingers that all our clothes, food, and sleeping gear would fit in what we’d purchased. As we had just wrapped up an exhaustive summer of work planning and managing outdoor adventure trips for kids and finally had some personal time to enjoy, it felt good to fly by the seat of our pants a bit.
We were giddy that entire mid August morning, packing our bags to the best of our inexperienced ability and giving the bikes a final once over before the 3 hour drive northward to our starting point. We were pushing forward despite the fact that a few unanswered logistical questions still loomed over us: Could we leave Matt’s car at Hill Farmstead Brewery for a few days like we planned? Can we actually ride the ~90 miles in two days to our friend Jeff’s house in Burlington? Where will we sleep? We also hadn’t confirmed if Jeff would be able to drive us and our bikes the two hours back to Hill Farmstead where the car would be waiting. Eh. All things we figured we’d solve on the fly. Probably.
We arrived at our campsite with plenty of light to spare, and the three of us (our friend Lauren joined by car for a day before a planned flight out of Burlington) enjoyed burgers and Vermont craft beers by a campfire. Bikes were as packed as they could be; we were ready to roll first thing in the morning.
Campsite staging area before a morning departure.
Morning Brew
Morning came quickly, and it was time to ride. We started off strong with a 9am beer at the legendary Hill Farmstead Brewery (they were closed...we’d purchased the beers the night prior in anticipation of this momentous occasion). We then rode straight into 25 blissful miles on the beautiful dirt roads of Vermont. Perfect blue sky, quiet roads, rolling hills, expansive views of the Vermont countryside...it was serene.
First stop was lunch at Lost Nation brewery. After some delicious food and a couple beers, we hopped back on the saddles for a much slower (but much sillier) 17 afternoon miles to our destination of Stowe. There, we sampled beer from the Alchemist...most famous for their exceedingly rare Heady Topper IPA. We found a campsite in Stowe to settle in for the night (thanks, google maps!), where we set up the tent and then rode into town to find dinner. We we over 40 miles in, and feeling great.
Our first time ever repacking our bikes in camp led to a slower than anticipated morning. We were learning the new routine...slowly. Twenty riding miles brought us to Prohibition Pig in Waterbury, where we tasted more delicious craft brews and enjoyed lunch. We saddled back up for our final push of a 35 mile afternoon, which included a few miles of some spectacular flowing forest single and double track enroute to Burlington. Countless stops to take pictures, and an elongated stop to swim at a lake we passed drew out the afternoon. Sun and spirits were high, and Matt and I were having the time of our lives.
VT Greenery.
As we entered the final stretch into Burlington, we experienced our first bout of unfortunate weather - the skies opened up and drenched us as we pushed onward toward Vermont’s largest city. Compounding our unfortunate situation was that Matt was experiencing his first ever ‘bonk’ - the feeling of having nothing left to give after your body has burned through the vast majority of its energy sources. With just a handful of miles remaining in our journey, Matt gritted his teeth and we powered through. Finally rolling into Jeff’s place around dusk, he greeted us with a huge smile and two pints of Focal Banger IPA from the Alchemist to make everything perfect once again.
We took the next day to goof around with Jeff in Burlington, and spent that evening pub crawling around town. The following morning, he drove us back to Hill Farmstead, where we’d left the car (thanks, Jeff!). We all let our a collective sigh of relief to see Matt’s jeep waiting just where we’d left it.
The first bikepacking trip...success! Something I’d been dreaming about doing for over a year had finally happened. Matt and I had powered through the nerves of embarking on a new kind of adventure and talked one another into pulling the trigger, and I’d thoroughly loved the entire experience. Bikepacking had stripped away all the noise of my everyday life and, at its core, is oh so simple - pack the bike with some food, water, and clothes, and then, just ride. Riding a bike forces one to be immersed and engaged in the present moment - with the place and people around you - in an incredibly intentional way. It’s a feeling I don’t ever want to forget, and one I hope to prioritize moving forward.
Sometimes, you just have to get out there and do it!
Curious to see the rides on Strava?
