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Yankee Pedaling |
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Some of the world's best cycling is right here at your front
door, America. |
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by Rod Lopez-Fabrega & Mary Ashcraft |
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| The old expression, "Yankee
Peddler" takes on a new meaning and a new spelling
when one considers that the best organized and most
extensive bicycling network in North America exists
in New England around Lake Champlain in Vermont, New
York and into Canada. It includes a fully developed
bicycling infrastructure, spectacular scenery, fine
accommodations, history, history, history, and a
fascinating, friendly and much underrated foreign
country where almost everyone speaks English. On
September 28, 1999, an unbroken cycling link was
inaugurated between Lake Champlain Bikeways and La
Route Verte, officially connecting superlative
cycling pathways in Vermont, New York and Quebec
province of Canada. Avid cyclists know all about the
well organized bicycling opportunities that exist in
Western Europe, but those are an ocean away. |
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"The old
expression,
'Yankee Peddler'
takes on a new
meaning and
a new spelling..."
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"...the American
portion of this
extensive network
of cycling pathways,
is around Lake
Champlain and
is centered in the
splendid lakeside
city of Burlington
in Vermont."
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Lake Champlain Bikeways, the
American portion of this extensive network of
cycling pathways, is around Lake Champlain and is
centered in the splendid lakeside city of Burlington
in Vermont. This is a city so committed to pedal
power as an ecologically sound alternative to the
gasoline engine that Mayor Peter Clavelle has been
known to bicycle to work; and most of the young
people responsible for organizing the Lake Champlain
Bikeways Clearinghouse are volunteers. This group of
committed young people is responsible, in large
part, for the enormous task of creating and
organizing hundreds of miles of bikeways.
Lake Champlain itself is 120 miles long, 12
miles wide, has a 580-mile-long shoreline and is
breathtakingly framed east to west by the Adirondack
Mountains and the Green Mountains and north to south
by the Richelieu River and the Taconic Mountains.
This lake has been described as the most historic
body of fresh water in North America. Once home of
the Mohawk and the Abenaki Native Americans, its
strategic importance as a transport waterway led to
a struggle (a.k.a. the French and Indian War) for
control by colonial European powers and their Indian
allies. The area also figured prominently in the
American Revolutionary War, and historic sites,
museums, reconstructions, and still-lived-in homes
and bed & breakfasts of those early periods are
everywhere.
La Route Verte, the Canadian portion of the
network, is in Quebec Province and is centered in
the lovely city of Montreal, the cycling capital of
Canada. Linked to the U.S. by a newly inaugurated
pathway from Plattsburgh, NY to Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu,
Chambly, and on to Montreal itself, La Route Verte
eventually will provide cyclists access to 2,500
miles of linked bikeways extending all the way along
the Saint Lawrence Seaway to the end of the Gaspé
peninsula.
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"La Route Verte,
the Canadian
portion of the
network, is in
Quebec Province
and is centered
in the lovely city
of Montreal..."
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The pathways
Cycling pathways have been
planned to take full advantage of the scenic
attractions, following lake shores, along
rivers, green belts and historic towns. Most
pathways are on level ground, and the few gently
rolling hills that are inevitable are quite
manageable. Some pathways are dedicated lanes on
the shoulders of low-density highways. Others
are paved, totally dedicated cycling pathways.
Many pathways are specially paved in
Wolllastinite, a surfacing material that
provides excellent drainage and a good cycling
surface.
Lake Champlain Bikeway Circuits
In addition to the 350-mile Champlain Bikeway
around the entire lake , there are 24 shorter
connecting theme loops ranging from five to 60
miles in length, with others under development.
To name just a few: "Cycle the City" of
Burlington, 10.5 miles; "Stone Castles," 13.4
miles; "Woman Suffrage Way," 30.8 miles; "Joe's
Random Scoot," 38.1 miles; and so many more.
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"In addition to the
350-mile Champlain
Bikeway around the
entire lake , there
are 24 shorter
connecting theme
loops ranging from
five to 60 miles
in length..."
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Circuit for a long weekend
Beginning in Burlington, Vermont, a sampling of
the entire network is possible during a long
weekend. "Cycle the City" of Burlington is 10.5
level miles in length. Accommodations in Burlington
are plentiful, and they include a choice of hotels
and B&Bs at all price ranges. The best positioned is
the Radisson Hotel Burlington, located lakefront in
the center of town. It offers spectacular views of
Lake Champlain and all the amenities of a major
four-star hotel chain. Splurge and go for the corner
rooms. The two out-facing corner walls of each of
these rooms are huge glass windows, providing what
very well may be the best views anywhere of the
lake.
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"The SkiRack's
co-owner
J. Zandy Wheeler
will match cycling
skill and head size
to the proper cycle
and helmet for
each cyclist."
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Begin the cycling adventure
with breakfast at Leunig's, a very European
pub/coffee house and gathering place located in
Burlington's charming pedestrian mall of boutiques
and eateries. Then, walk to the nearby "SKIRACK" to
be fitted for your bicycle. Co-owner J. Zandy
Wheeler will match cycling skill and head size to
the proper cycle and helmet for each cyclist. This
shop also outfits for all sorts of outdoor
adventures for all seasons.
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"The
"Cycle the City"
loop itself is a
short ride along
the lake, passing
six parks, three
colleges and
countless historic
and cultural sites..."
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The "Cycle the City" loop
itself is a short ride along the lake, passing six
parks, three colleges and countless historic and
cultural sites, including the interesting Ethan
Allen homestead and museum.
Ethan Allen was a soldier and frontiersman and
leader of the Green Mountain Boys, famed for
capturing British Fort Ticonderoga during the U.S.
War of Independence. It is unlikely that Mr. Allen
could have foreseen that his homestead--a typical
gentleman's farm of the period--would one day be
invaded by bicyclists.
Essex, New York
From Burlington, it's a pleasant ferry ride
across the lake to the port village of Essex in New
York state. Cyclists too often bypass this
picturesque colonial town on the way to Lake Placid.
Essex has the distinction of being New York's most
historic hamlet, with the largest intact collection
of pre-Civil War architecture in America. It is on
the National Register of Historic Places and is well
worth exploring. A few steps away from the ferry
landing in Essex is outdoor adventure planner, Brian
Delaney's High Peaks Cyclery. After being outfitted
for a bicycle and helmet, the ride continues from
Essex and is an 18.5-mile loop called the "Coon
Mountain Circuit." There are just enough gently
rolling hills to make this trek a challenge.
Half-way is a parking area (where it's safe to leave
your bicycle) and a hiking trailhead that leads to a
lookout on Coon Mountain, with a splendid view of
Lake Champlain.
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"Accommodations
are in B&Bs, and
one that can
be highly
recommended is
"Champlain Vistas."
This handsome
house sits on the Old
Owens Farm, dating
back to 1784."
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Accommodations are in B&Bs,
and one that can be highly recommended is "Champlain
Vistas." This handsome house sits on the Old Owens
Farm, dating back to 1784. Current owners, Barbara
and Bob Hatch have converted their 12-room
farmhouse, rebuilt during the Victorian era, into a
comfortable and imaginatively furnished bed and
breakfast that can accommodate as many as ten
guests. Bob takes special pride in his mini-golf
course and in his pocket-sized workout room
installed in a shed next to the grape arbor.
Barbara's creative touches are everywhere. Guests
will appreciate preparing for a strenuous day of
cycling or shopping fortified by Barbara's homemade
jams and jellies, freshly baked breads and all the
fixings of a hearty New England breakfast. Tired
cyclists in need of a little country pampering are
especially welcome.
Plattsburgh, New York
Moving on from Essex to Plattsburgh, cyclists
will find gently undulating roadways and
cycle-friendly motorists. The 20th Century seems to
have by-passed this historic area with its apple
orchards and rolling farm land, though it figured
prominently in American history. The battle of
Plattsburgh in 1814 may have been the final blow to
England in the loss of its American colonies. The
city is the site of a former military base, now
being partially converted into exclusive condos,
though it still serves as a key station in the Early
Warning radar system. For touring cyclists,
"Monuments, Mills and Music" is the most scenic loop
in this area and is 48 miles in length, though
shorter sections may be cycled easily. It departs
from the Cumberland Head ferry dock in Plattsburgh
and follows the lake and is recommended for
intermediate cyclists. |
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"Bicycles may be
rented from Edison
and Maureen
Gardner's
"Wooden Ski &
Wheel."
This excellently
well equipped sport
shop has everything
for your cycling
needs as well as
for cross
country skiing..."
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Bicycles may be rented from
Edison and Maureen Gardner's "Wooden Ski & Wheel."
This excellently well equipped sport shop has
everything for your cycling needs as well as for
cross country skiing, snow boarding, snowshoeing,
kayaking and camping. While warming your hands in
front of the shop's big, black, wood-burning stove,
Ed may treat you to stories and history of the area.
There is a geological
attraction in the Plattsburgh area that is worth
a visit, and that is Ausable Chasm, a
spectacular, 150-foot deep gorge hundreds of
millions of years old. It contains a series of
impressive cataracts that may be viewed from the
roadway bridge that crosses the chasm or from
lookouts all around the surrounding cliffs.
Flume trips on 12-person inflateable river rafts
are available in summer for cruising the Ausable
River, and individual tubing also is a
possibility for the adventurous.
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" This area is
interesting for its
farms and vineyards,
the outdoor activities
it offers, and its
historic sites
including Fort
Chambly, once an
Indian trading post
for the fur trade."
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La Route Verte
Just into Canada is the Richelieu River Valley
and Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu. This area is
interesting for its farms and vineyards, the outdoor
activities it offers, and its historic sites
including Fort Chambly, once an Indian trading post
for the fur trade. When visiting the Fort, you must
not miss time out for lunch at Fourquet Fourchette,
a unique tavern constructed to recall a monastic
brewery. It features period furniture, costumed
waitresses, music and entertainment from a time when
the first beers were brewed in New France, and very
special cuisine that includes Native American dishes
such as their delicious Iroquois corn soup and
smoked game. Best of all, they specialize in a
marvelous variety of French Canadian beers, among
them Blanche de Chambly, Maudite, La Fin Du Monde,
Trois Pistoles, and many others.
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"Another
interesting
activity is to
visit the wineries
in the area."
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Another interesting activity
is to visit the wineries in the area. One of
particular interest is the small, family-owned
Vignoble Le Royer St. Pierre in St. Cyprien de
Napierville. Vintner, Robert Le Royer and his family
will regale you with all the information you can
absorb about their excellent wines--along with a
generous offering of blancs and rouges (with bread
and cheese to neutralize your taste buds between
wines.) Ask about the Le Zambortois red. It's dry
but gentle without that rawness of some reds. A
special event much appreciated locally is the Autumn
harvest celebration when locals and visitors gather
the crop and celebrate "big-time" à la Française.
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" ...the bicycle
path is a narrow
causeway
actually in the river
and just wide
enough for a
bicycle..."
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Cycling loops in the
Richelieu Valley are well developed, and one
particularly fascinating and unique section along
the Richelieu River is a narrow causeway actually in
the river and just wide enough for a bicycle path
that is exclusively reserved for cyclists (and an
occasional jogger.) With easy access to this path, a
riverfront inn that can be highly recommended is the
Auberge Harris, with 48 rooms and 29 suites, Sauna,
exercise room, billiard room, swimming pool, bicycle
rentals in-house, and the attentive care of inn
keeper, Madame Françoise Boucher-Boutin who likes to
fuss over her guests and has an eye on every detail.
Cyclists and families are very welcome here and are
guaranteed Madame's warm and personal attention. In
summer, Auberge Harris is the site of a great
balloon festival when as many as 100 hot-air
balloons take flight from the hotel's ample grounds.
Montreal
The handsome city of Montreal is, without
question, eastern Canada's cycling center--so much
so that architectural codes for new buildings
require bicycle parking and bicycle racks. If you
don't already know about cycling in Montreal, you
will discover that it has gone BIKE CRAZY with cycle
paths on an equal par with pedestrian and motor
thoroughfares. The bike lanes are not just paved
road shoulders, but many are dedicated paths
protected by concrete barriers. The city has 174
miles of bike paths and lanes and 58 more are funded
for construction. Montreal's commitment to cycling
may have its base in the makeup of much of its
population with roots in France, Italy and Belgium
where cycling is considered a natural and convenient
mode of transportation and recreation.
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"The handsome
city of Montreal is,
without question,
eastern Canada's
cycling center--
so much so that
architectural codes
for new buildings
require bicycle
parking and
bicycle racks."
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On the first of June, during
Montreal's week-long Bike Fest, the city hosts Le
Tour de L'Île, the largest organized bicycle ride in
the world. Last year the Fest began with the Tour
des Enfants (Children's Tour). Ten thousand
youngsters between the ages of six and twelve years
pedaled the 24-kilometer race, with encouraging
parents at the finish line to gather them up for a
giant barbecue. The amazing ending of the Fest was
when more than 45,000 cyclists met for Le Tour de
L'Île to take part in the 66 kilometer spin around
the isle. With so many cyclists doing the 40-mile
loop through city streets, automobile traffic shuts
down and all of the city is invited to join in the
fun. Decorations are put up in neighborhoods and on
store fronts and houses so that everyone
participates in a paint-the-town contest to cheer on
the cyclists. Bicycling magazine has called Montreal
the best place to cycle in North America.
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Those looking for a more
leisurely ride can connect to the Route Verte and
its 1,800 miles of paths and lanes. The place to
plan trips and negotiate packages is the
multi-service Les Voyages du Tour de L'Île based in
La Maison des Cyclistes, an agency, centrally
located in Montreal, that rents cycles and plans
cycling adventures in Canada and overseas.
Finally, all of you cycling enthusiasts out
there, southerners, mid-westerners, westerners, and
even "down-Easters," it's time to become a Yankee
Pedaler and visit the best bicycling area in North
America.
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"Finally, all of you
cycling enthusiasts
out there,
southerners,
mid-westerners,
westerners,
and even
'down-Easters,'
it's time to become
a Yankee Pedaler
and visit the best
bicycling area in
North America."
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Getting there
U.S. Airlines that fly into Burlington's
international airport are:
USAir, United, Continental Express and Delta
Connection.
U.S. connecting cities are: Boston, New York,
Philadelphia,
Washington D.C. and Chicago.
Burlington also is served by Amtrak (Amtrak's
Adirondack, Ethan
Allen & Vermonter offer specially fitted bicycle
racks. For bicycle
service, reservations are required.)
Amtrak:
800-USA-RAIL;
Web,
http://www.amtrak.com.
Cycling Information
Lake Champlain Bikeways Clearinghouse; Fax,
518-597-4648;
E-mail,
lcvisit@capital.net; Web,
http://www.lakeplacid.com/bikeways
VÉLO QUÉBEC;
1251 Rachel Street East;
Montreal (Quebec) H2J 2J9;
800 567-8356;
514-521-8356;
Fax: (514) 521-5711;
E-mail,
route_verte@velo.qc.ca
Cycling packages
Bike Vermont, Inc.:
P.O.Box 207; Woodstock,
VT 05091;
800-257-2226;
Fax, 802-457-1236;
E-mail,
bikevt@bikevt.com;
Web,
http://www.bikevt.com
High Peaks Cyclery: 331 Main St.; Lake Placid,
NY 12946;
518-523-3764;
Fax, 518-523-2368;
E-mail,
info@hpmac.com;
Web,
http://www.hpmac.com
Bicycle Holidays:
1394 Munger Street;
Middlebury, VT 05753;
800-CYCLE-VT; Fax,
802-388-3299;
E-mail,
bikefedvt@aol.com
Les Voyages du Tour de L'Île:
1251 Rue Rachel Est;
Montreal (Quebec) H2J219; 888-899-1111;
Fax, 514-521-5711;
E-mail,
tour@velo.qc.ca;
Web,
http://www.velo.qc.ca
Accommodations
Radisson Hotel Burlington,
802-658-6500; Fax,
802-658-4659;
E-mail,
radisson@together.net;
Web,
http://www.radisson.com/burlingtonvt
Auberge Harris,
800-668-3821;
450-348-3821;
Fax, 450-348-7725;
E-mail,
info@aubergeharris.com
Champlain Vistas B&B,
518-963-8029;
Web,
http://www.virtualcities.com/ons/ny/z/nyz5701.htm
PHOTO CREDITS: Rod Lopez-Fabrega, Mary Ashcraft,
Gary Randorf, Alden Pellett, Carolyn Bates, VT
Tourism
TRAVELLADY DESTINATIONS: United States, Vermont,
New York,
Canada, Quebec
TRAVELLADY SPECIAL INTEREST ARCHIVES: Bed &
Breakfast, Heritage Travel, Inns, Outdoors, Wines
and Vines |
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