Charging The Canadian Border
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Let’s just start off this post by saying that Lake Champlain is a bad-ass place to visit. Awesome lake flanked by the Green Mountains on one side and the Adirondacks on the other. I’m in love.
The biking routes are pretty sweet too. Just about all the country roads are framed with TONS of these blue and yellow wildflowers. I’ve gotta snap some good pics of some of the wildflower fields up here later this week to post here. I’ve been having too much fun riding to stop and take too many pictures, but there will be plenty of time for lollygagging later on.
See those mountains WAAAAAAAY off in the distance there? They are calling my name. I want to go ride over there later this week and conquer a few.
But enough rambling, lets get to the story behind the title to this blog post.
Yesterday a bunch of my friends I’m vacationing with went off to play 18 holes of golf, so I figured it was a perfect time to knock off one of my epic adventures for the week: head North to the Canadian border. I didn’t have my passport so I couldn’t go too far into Canada, but even if I could just roll across the border and turn around to head back home, I’d be a happy camper.
I loaded up my water bottles, pointed North and started pedaling. It was hot, but most of the route followed the lake shore so the breeze coming off the water was a huge gift.
Half way to the border. Stopped for 2L of water and inhaled a chocolate chip muffin at the Hero, VT general store.
As I started to get closer to the border, my phone started buzzing. I got a message from AT&T warning me about extra charges for international data rates, I knew I was close! I rolled past the “Vermont Welcome Center” building and there she was, the ultimate destination of the ride. Welcome to Canada: the land of maple syrup, hockey, God knows whatever else those crazy Canucks do up there.
The border patrol was about a quarter mile past the border sign. I didn’t bother trying to go through since I didn’t have my passport and the map didn’t seem to show anything worthwhile across the border for at least another 10 or 15 miles. Not wanting to deal with over zealous border patrol or adding another 20-30 miles to an already 80- or 90 mile ride, I did an about face and headed home.
On my way back, I was riding along and kept hearing this crow squacking right over my head. I didn’t think anything of it until I realized he was following me. Actually, it was more like he was chasing after me and dive bombing me, as if he was trying to shoo me out of his territory. This went on for a solid mile or two, no joke. Once I realized that he wasn’t going to stop, I just yelled “SHUT UP BIRD!” and he disappeared off into the distance. Pretty bizarre. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them?
And did I mention that it was hella hot?! This thermometer was in the SHADE at the VT welcome center. 90 degrees and barely any shade for the entire 88 miles. It was a really good test of my Rev3 Cedar Point hydration plan though. Nutritionally, everything went really well. I couldn’t have been happier.
Next up: exploring Burlington, running and whatever other adventures I can manage to think up while floating out in the lake and staring at the clouds…
Tags: burlington vermont, canada, Cycling, lake champlain | Posted in Cycling, Ironman, Nutrition, Training Log, Triathlon, Videos | 5 Comments »
