Clean body, clean flannel sheets. Life is good.

Rained during the night adding more water the the already saturated trails. I read an article that said something to the effect that this part of country received 27″ of rain over the summer.

I stopped at a bike shop in Waterbury where the guy told me the trails were unofficially closed but then he wanted to describe them to me. I would have been trusted to honor his closure. He is a builder of them.

I saw on the map that Ben & Jerry’s plant is in town. I asked directions. Big parking lot, lots of cars & people going in & people coming out eating all sorts of their ice cream products. It cost & to go on a tour so I bought a small size vanilla, warm VT maple syrup, whipped cream, & walnuts. Sin. Plus 2 pints to go.

Drove US 2, Steven’s Pass, hwy East.

Colors are the background color. Rolling hills w/ a valley in between. Some canyons are so narrow that the house is built almost on the road. Probably built in horse days. Saw beaver dams along hwy 100.

Drove onto East Burke for Kindgom trails. Visited at LBS asking about dirt bag info: quiet place to park & shower. No real positive vibes about their leads. Trails take off right from town to the Darling Hill XC side. The mountain trails are closed because permit ran out.

Bought ticket $10 & the woman host there laid out a route for me. She has been instructed to tell people that there is camping up on the mountain pay XG. She thought she indicated the IMBA epic ride. Looks to me like she colored all the black diamond trails. That’s tomorrow to find out. Glowing reports of trail excellence, almost that the roots & rocks have been removed.

Try my crashing in Burke which presents more options & might not be so sensitive to dirt bag mtn bikers.

At a local Brew pub, Trout Rive(?). Ate a store bought green salad,

Think these new glasses and my eyes don’t agree. Eyes ache.

But first, the drive.

Showers off & on. Clouds lowered colors muted lacking blue sky color.

The colors. Yes, they are each the same color but how the color is mixed on the country side. Lots of steep rolling hills covered w/ trees. All most all broadleaf, not all turning because it isn’t their time or they won’t like the oak.

Drove back road 7 until it became a people mover. Even back in the time people had big houses. And maybe even bigger. Some old estates tucked off the road. Seems bigger house have been turned into a business to sustain. Imagine the heating when it was wood or coal and the lack of insulation.

The guy that talked with me last night, Vince, said that if the house had a dirt  floor the moisture from the earth permeated the house and as a result rotted it from the inside. Big houses.

Enjoyed the new windshield wipers I installed yesterday in the dry.

Stopped in Manchester trying to deposit my checks. Banks continue to refuse saying that I have to deposit them at the originating bank, not going to happen. Boeing cut me a check for $0.34. Called BECU & learned that I can find local banks willing to accept checks from the BECU web site. One more problem solved.

Stopped @ Battenkill Sports bicycle shop asking about ride ideas. They sent me to Pine Hill in Rutland as their local trails were local secrets. Said that Pine Hill trails dry out fast.

Made Rutland, found park. Mapped out system of trails, all trails intermediate level. Some places the trail was covered in fallen leaves( well, … yeah)

New trails were cut in. Lots of water bars to attempt to control runoff. Annoying & harsh. New trails are wider than older used ones. Judging from the rocks & boulders that lined the new trails that they removed these from the trail, taming it and lessening it’s fun.

Built this turning banking rising descending feature over a wet land. Boards were synthetic and not slippery when wet.

Trails mapped & labeled well. Muddy ride but the mud was more like muddy water with dirt in it. Rocks are slippery to my shoes which comes as a surprise but informs me of what to expect.

Finished ride covered in muddy water mud.

Drove back into Rutland seeking a shower, laundromat, & water to wash off bike.

Found visiter center that is an open building with all kinds of info and a red phone with a card that said to cal if you needed more info. I called & queried the operator for a shower. She gave me a health club nearby. I called them & received the student rate of $10 for a shower. It was my choice.

Did laundry in a coinless environment. You put in either cash or a credit card and the machine spit out a card with a mag strip with the amount of $. I inserted the card into the machine which debited the machine amount from the card.

Struck up a conversation with the owner. He was quite the professional in DC before he was riffed by Reagan and he bought this laundromat. He told me to stop by on my next visit. i told him this was last because of expense. He said I would find a way. He also said that I will find something from this trip to earn an income, it will come to me. Good coaching.

Drove out of town headed for another bike shop in Rochester just up the road for tomorrow’s ride and then to East Burke for Kingdom Trails, another IMBA epic.

Drove past Pico ski area outside of Killington. The slope went way above the road. Wonder how much tree sking there is and what it is like skiing in a broadleaf forest.

Camping intent was to find a spot in Green Mtn USDA Forest. Found state XG & gave up my search. The weather broke with the cliouds breaking up for blue sky, cooler temps, & wind. Learned that VT parks have showers also. Dirtbag bites back: pay &10 for a health club shower that could have been had for $0.50 in the XG.

Colors, Colors, COLORS.

Hunkered down in van with heater on. Quite toasty. Put on wool sweater.

Washed bike at laundromat.

Over.