Triking Lake Champlain: Days Two and Three

Day Two: 48 miles from Isle La Motte, Vermont, to Point Au Roche, New York, by way of Quebec. If you look at a map, you'll see that Isle La Motte and Point Au Roche are probably 10 miles apart as the proverbial crow flies. It's just that there's a lake between them. After exploring the Island a bit, poking around at an old limestone quarry and admiring various stone buildings, we rode north into Quebec, flying on a south wind. I'm lucky; on my trike tailwinds make me faster, but for the most part headwinds aren't a big deal; I scoot under them. We crossed the Lake by bridge and headed south down the other side, faces into the wind. I grew up biking on the Oregon coast, which is windy country, but I had forgotten how loud a headwind is and how quiet a tailwind. Of course it started to rain. We rode to the border in pelting warm rain. Clearly the way to handle US border guards on the US-Canadian border is to be white, English speaking, drenched, and riding a bike or a trike. The guard didn't even ask for ID. He just waved us through. The rain eventually stopped, and the wind moderated. The last miles to Point Au Roche were lovely, the roads empty and flat. The hot shower, pizza, and bed all felt so good.

Day Three: 36 miles from Point Au Roche to Port Kent and the ferry to Burlington. I don't know how much more there is to write beyond how much I adored the rhythm and pace of pedalling, the way my mind quieted, slowed, and opened. It reminded me some of the Peace Walk, the days curling around the miles, although the pace of walking makes triking feel speedy. The sun appeared, and the Lake sparkled. I wasn't ready to stop when the ferry dock appeared, and the car felt all wrong driving home. We're already plotting possible places for our next trike and bike adventure.