Ride 11: Milton, Georgia, St. Albans Town, St. Albans City, Swanton, Alburgh, Isle La Motte, North Hero, Grand Isle & South Hero

Riding a “Century” AKA 100 miles in one go, had been a goal of mine for some time. With all the riding I’ve done this summer and all the more riding I had to do for this project, it appeared that I had both the fitness and ample opportunity to do just that. However, it being my first one, I didn’t want to go too crazy, so I chose the flattest section of Vermont: Grand Isle County and the Northern Champlain shore. On the day, we’d cover only 3,500 feet of climbing, far short of the average 1,000 feet per 10 miles I normally shoot for. But still, it would be a daunting task, so I called in reinforcements. It ended up being an all star squad: Brad (of many previous rides), Dan (who has been a steadfast riding partner of Brad’s and a guy I’ve wished I’d been able to ride with more), Cameron (who’s ridden from Patagonia to Vermont with an amazing project he dubbed Mundo Pequeño) Alex (Cameron’s fiancée and quite the adventurer in her own right) and Maddie (rockstar/wife). We gathered near Sand Bar State Park early on a picture perfect Saturday in September, the leaves starting to peak up high in the mountains and the wind mercifully calm by the lake. After seeing a bald eagle and all agreeing it was a good omen, we geared up and started out.

Mile 0.1.
(Photo credit to Cameron. Thanks for the great pictures!)

Right away it was apparent that unfortunately Maddie’s bike was giving her fits. After navigating the fast stretch of Route 2 connecting the sand bar/causeway area to the mainland, we stopped to assess. We was having to tire rub and needing to exert much more effort than needed. After a few attempted fixes, a tip from Cameron seemed to help. Maddie’s plan all along was to ride her own ride at her own pace so she assured us all she’d be fine and to ride on ahead. She’d be in touch if she needed help and would turn back when she felt like it. We rode together for a bit more, but soon drifted apart. She had her book and paints with her too and she’d surely have a lovely day no mater how many miles she covered (but don’t fret, this isn’t the last we’ll hear of Maddie). For all of us, getting off Route 2 and into the back roads of Milton and Georgia was a good change of pace. In between some an area of nature preserves that mix with private roads with (presumably) fancy houses on the coastline and the central area of more exurban/agricultural town center, Milton has some beautiful rolling gravel roads. We eventually dropped down onto the mellow Georgia Shore Road which placed us right next to many small seasonal camps along the water. We had light traffic and the first of many fantastic shoreline stretches. Eventually, we reached Saint Albans town but needed to also tick off Saint Albans City. Vermont has nine cities and many of them came about because villages within towns incorporated as cities throughout the years. This was the case for Saint Albans as the city broke away from the town in 1902. The city is only 2 square miles which made finding some dirt to ride tricky. But after a brief stop at Hoss’s Dogg House, home of what some argue is the largest and cheapest creemee in the state, we found a strip of gravel in Houghton Park where we took our first full rest.

After your creemee, don’t forget to swing by Dogg’s Wine Arsenal.

To get back towards the lake and continue on our way, we meandered the streets of Saint Albans City, quickly crossing back into the Town. At one point Dan saw a sign advertising Farm Fresh Butt Nuggets. I wasn’t fast enough to get a picture, but that’s possibly the best euphemism for an egg I’ve ever heard. Northwest of the city it’s all pretty much a sweep of plains all the way up to Montreal. We we lucky enough to have a bit of a tailwind, so we were pushed along Country Road until we reached the Missisquoi River and the town of Swanton. The river drains much of Northwest Vermont and boasts both a Wild and Scenic Designation (a distinction it shares with its tributary the Trout River making them the only two Wild and Scenic rivers in the state) as well as the long distance Northern Forest Canoe Trail which stretches from Old Forge NY to Fort Kent ME. We also rode through the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, again the only Refuge located entirely in the state. Unfortunately to truly appreciate the Wildlife refuge you should be on a boat, or at least off of Route 78, but we didn’t have time for side trips, so we stuck to the main road, lined up closely with one another and sandwiched on the shoulder. We took another break at the West Swanton Orchard, then made one more push over the bridge into Alburgh and onto the quieter roads of Grand Isle county. Here we were able to chat a bit and other than a bee stinging Cameron, it was perfectly uneventful. But soon, we’d be making a break for the border and I was getting nervous.

The western terminus of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.

It sounds more epic than it was. The “gravel” section was actually quite smooth and literally only 10 feet long.

Alex and (some of) some of the area’s typical buildings.

Once we took a right onto Border Road, we were headed due north, straight for the Canadian customs house. I had a mini bout of worry about this section because we’d be riding right up to the border, then skirting west on Line Road which IS the border. When you map it out on Google, it’s not promising, given the tight restrictions on leaving the country. However, Google directions aren’t gospel and you can easily skirt around the buildings. Once on Line Road we couldn’t help imagining the how easily we could slip into the cornfield to our right and make a break for it. However there were some obvious cameras and I’m certain some less obvious motion and thermal sensors. So we never did more than speculate. We passed Borderview Farm which is a research farm associated with UVM. It’s been quiet up in that area as of late, but they do a ton there with all sorts of agricultural practices. It was a bit funny to spell the hemp growing within 100 yards of Quebec where cannabis is now legal. The other fun thing about Line Road is it’s where Cameron and Alex recently got engaged! Alex is Canadian and Cameron American and they were in separate countries when they decided to get married. Cameron actually rode his bike up and they sat on either end of a log that crosses the border when they decided to take the leap. Apparently that spot is popular for folks to hang out, becoming more so during COVID. The neighbors don’t seem to mind. Now Alex is on this side of the border and they could visit the spot together. It was fun to see and surely a very romantic story. But needless to say we pushed on! After a pitstop at a gas station where we made a 50-something guy’s day by ogling his bike, we zigged east on a rail trail, only to zag back to the west along the shore. We eventually made it down to a short causeway where we’d get a new town: Isle La Motte!

I wanted to get a shot of both sides, but thought better of it.

The engagement spot (see log in lower right).

Isle La Motte is the spot where Samuel de Champlain landed on his 1609 voyage of “discovery”. Today it’s a sleepy island community known mainly for its ancient fossilized reef and Catholic shrine. It boasts some fantastic views and even some dirt roads! East Shore Road is a must ride if you’re there. We ended up doing a short loop, but if you can explore more, do it. Oh and for sure stop at Happy Bird Poultry Farm and pick up a smoked chicken. You won’t be disappointed. After tracking back north we then rode down the other side of the bay we’d just skirted, this time on the Alburgh side. Alburgh is a peninsula that spits out from Canada and the southern tip of it is called the tongue, for somewhat obvious reasons. We rode into Alburgh Dunes State Park, closed for the season- so free to enter, but still busy with beach-goers. It’s recently been redone and the main welcome center and tiny changing houses/bathroom sprinkled along the path we rode gave it a very European vibe. You could easily camp there off-season and have a great night. We then crossed another bridge onto North Hero. This stretch of road was quite busy, so we made a little peloton and put the hammer down to reach the Hero’s Welcome General Store. A small grocery, deli and tourist trap gift shop, they are certainly one of those “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it” type of stores. We ordered sandwiches and I set about looking for Maddie. She’d decided to continue north, following a streamlined version of our route. She said she’d stopped at a store but I couldn’t find her. After filling my belly and water bottles, I took one more look and found her! She’d been on the grass out back taking a break and reading! We were able to catch up and make a plan: she’d continue down the straight shot of Route 2 while we curved more back and forth. If all went well we’d finish at the same time.

Isle La Motte church in typical stone construction you find along the lake.

By this point in the ride (mile 76) I was in uncharted territory when it comes to distance. We had almost a quarter to go, but some fantastic scenery lay ahead. After crossing over a temporary drawbridge (I didn’t even know you could do that), we entered Grand Isle. Instead of sticking to Route 2, we headed out onto East Shore Road. We enjoyed sweeping views back towards Milton, Georgia and Burton Island that continued as we curved south and back west. You really do stick right to the water and there were a number of spots where I was tempted to jump in. Despite the date there were a few folks posted up in the bay just east of the Grand Isle Lake House. I’ve been lucky enough to attend some end of year work dinners and a wedding there. We actually rode right by or within a mile of four different venues where I’ve attended weddings on this ride. Grand Isle county certainly is beautiful and has plenty of placed to get hitched.

After this semi-circle we made a beeline back to the west shore which would allow us to complete the fishhook of our route back to our cars. We enjoyed some great preliminary sunset views, peeks at old barns, a sea of birdhouses and a vineyard or two. Sadly many of the roads in South Hero that until recently had been dirt are now freshly paved and cars seemed to want to go faster. Towards the end of the ride I pushed on through a rest break to get some extra time visiting with my friends Phelan and Kelsey who own Pigasus Meats and stunning property and operation in South Hero. They’re an AWESOME power couple who rock it as hard at the farmer’s market as they do on the dance floor. I really enjoyed getting to see them (as well as Phelan’s sweet new Crust bike). Soon the rest of the crew caught up and were restless to push on. So we joined back up with Route 2 and made our way across the causeway. There’s a lot of history to that pile of stones and I tend to prefer the old railroad causeway which is now part of a world-class bike path. But at this point in the ride, we were just hungry for our planned dinner of pizza. Amazingly the timing had worked out quite well and Maddie was there to meet us. We all had a toast to a solid day of riding and took a moment to drink in the sunset and reflect on a full day’s adventure and another 10 towns in the book!