Mastodon
top of page

Vermont Tour de Cheese Day Six, the End.



The Danville Tavern and Inn was a very comfortable spot for the night - especially since at around 4 pm, I was awoken by heavy rain. But the soft pillow under my head reminded me that I didn't need to worry about the tent leaking or the bike getting wet.


Good call, good call.


I was the only resident of the inn for the night, so I was surprised to hear voices downstairs when I went down to investigate breakfast. On the other side of a window, an elderly couple were discussing something local. I couldn't tell exactly, but when I stuck my masked head through the door to find the owner, they were surprised to see me.


The Tavern & Inn seemed to be the only restaurant open in Danville, and was a spot for regulars, who were chatting away about the business of the town. As I sat and had my French Toast with a bottle of Maple syrup, watching the grey skies clear a bit, I could hear an intelligent discussion and analysis of mask wearing, and its denialists. This reassured my feeling of Vermonters as people with just good common sense.


Attaching my bags to the bike, in a slight drizzle, I rolled onto the road, heading towards another rail trail.


There was no cheese makers on the list today - it was just a day to cross from the Green Mountains to the White Mountains in NH, or as the day unfolded, 126 km under overcast skies, the Gray Mountains, VT to the Gray Mountains, NH.


The rail trail carried me from Danville to St Johnsbury was fantastic. Not only were the views typical Vermont, with the Green/Grey hills rolling around the horizon like waves on a gentle sea, but the close up scenery was a stunning contrast.



The trail had been hewn through the rocks for the railways, and now on a bicycle you could see these rock faces leaning in from each side. A passenger on a train, would have missed this detail, but on a bike, you could see every twinkle of moisture as it ran down the nose of the cliffs.


Now the rain had stopped, but the world, including the air, my gloves, my legs and my bags, were wet. These w