Ride 6: Peacham, Groton, Ryegate, Barnet & Danville

For the next 251 ride the pendulum swung back to the group-ride side of things, and swung pretty far that way. Thanks to some amazing biking friends I was encouraged to sign up for the Peacham Fall Fondo which was due to happen this autumn. More on the details of that later, but unfortunately the event had to be cancelled. However the gorgeous roads of Peacham are still available, so a date was set aside and we decided to meet up and ride anyway. The truly amazing part was that some friends know the organizers so we got to ride a pseudo version of the course with the folks who began the whole thing! Ian and Gretchen Boswell started the Fondo in 2018 as a way to support local organizations and their town of Peacham. Ian has been cycling professionally since 2010 and has ridden for many big name teams and in well-known events. He’s known as a climbing specialist, so needless to say this would be a casual ride for him.

Our crew of nine consisted of: me, Ian and Gretchen, their friend Ethan, Tom, Kevin and Brad (of Ride 2 fame) and my friends from down the road: Tyler and Rachel. We met up early at the Peacham Elementary School and set out, hitting dirt almost immediately. Maple Tree Lane and Green Bay Loop afforded us sweeping southeastern views. We took up a (somewhat) casual pace and settled in. Though we weren’t all going steadily: Kevin made a quick pitstop at his cousin’s house which we were riding by to meet the newest member of their family! The roads were in great shape and having so many folks, it was nice to be able to jump from person to person having short chats as we mixed and mingled in our relaxed peloton. Eventually we worked our way to Country Road which became North Country road and was some light Class IV. It apparently isn’t maintained in the winter, but there were certainly some substantial looking houses there. Maybe they’re all summer homes? Or potentially accessed by snow-machine? Who knows. We then began to loop back north and the real highlight of this part of the trip was Ethan producing a full slice of pizza from his jersey pocket. It had been chilling back there wrapped in a towel and everyone was quickly very jealous. We wound north towards Mosquitoville, a section of Barnet Vermont. It gained that nickname (the bane of any local real estate agent I’d assume) due to the swampy landscape that surrounds Harvey’s Lake. Fun fact about the lake: Jacques Cousteau had his first experiences underwater diving there while attending a nearby summer camp!

The morning fog holding on in the valley.

**YOU** try selling a house on Mosquitoville Road.

We continued north on similarly stunning gravel roads. I described them at one point in the ride as the roads that give you a view where you think, “This is the view of the ride!” then it’s superseded within a mile or two. There’s a proliferation of rolling hills, overlaid by farmland and forest and intersected by in incredible density of dirt roads. Check it out for yourself: Peacham and the surrounding towns are one of the most intensely documented rural towns I’ve ever seen on Google Street View. Things were going swimmingly until I began having front derailleur problems. This has happened before but not this badly. Luckily, after dropping a chain for the third time in less than a mile, I figured out how to adapt to the problem and was able to work through it. I caught up to the group and we continued together. One of the best stretches was up Roy Mountain Road and down Garland Hill Road into West Barnet: stunning views looking back towards Harvey Mountain. We stopped briefly next to an old building with the sign reading “Ritchie and Warden” which, according to this book was a garment manufacturer in the 19-teens. We took the steep climb up Old West Road to get another view of Harvey Mountain and pass back into Peacham. We then climbed back up to the Elementary School via Bayley-Hazen Road to complete the bottom of our figure-8 route. Also- does that road name sound familiar? It’s the same one as from Ride 4. It stretches all the way down here. Once back at the school, Gretchen and Ethan peeled off, but before they did we all shared some bubbly refreshment and a blueberry buckle and dilly beans that Gretchen and Ian provided. So generous and so delicious.

Not sure what the caution tape is all about…

One of the many views of Harvey Mountain we got that day.

Texas can keep its big buckles. New England’s are much tastier.

After the refuel stop, we began the northern portion of our figure-8, jumping back into Barnet and hitting Danville as well. There were some good downs, punctuated by some sunny, steeper climbs, but the occasional stunning view helped keep it interesting. The descent down Warden Road and Barnet Center Road were made especially thrilling by some fun rollers and brand new pavement on the second half. After passing the Joe’s Brook Farmstand and its picturesque little valley, we made a left onto Rake Factory Road. This narrow Class IV road is a steady climb up and over towards Danville. According to the 1875 Beers Map, there was a saw mill and rake factory called Warren and Batchelder on the upper portion of the road, but I didn’t see much evidence of that. Mostly it was remote hunting camps and a few stone walls and old hayfields/pastures that had been marginally maintained over the years. I slowly got dropped by the group, but it was perfect: I rode at my pace and we all rendezvoused at the top to enjoy heading down Thaddeus Stevens (yes THAT Thaddeus Stevens) Road. We ended up at a “Forgotten Village” settlement called Greenbank’s Hollow. It’s now mainly marked by a covered bridge whose open and airy interior is painted white, giving it an almost summer beach home vibe. We gradually climbed on, passing Keiser and Ewell ponds gaining more elevation as well as more fancy houses and long green tunnels of trees. We rolled back into Peacham village down Macks Mountain Road, one that I’d love to ride more of.

If you look really closely, you can see “Peacham / Danville and Rake Factory Rd.”

Some of the day’s more modern stone work.

Once back at the elementary school, we gorged on more treats, including a peach pie baked by Tyler, that was even adorned with a fork-pricked bicycle wheel! We made a quick change into bathing suits and beelined towards Harvey’s Lake to unwind. As always, finishing a ride with a swim was the best way to end. Plus having more time to chat with folks continued to drive home how nice riding with others is. Who knows if the pendulum will swing back to me going solo for the next one, but it’s great to have these different types of rides existing within this project.