Day-4 Sep-8-09

Today we traveled from Bennington VT to Rutland VT. We covered about 232 miles.

We spent a large portion of our ride on Vermont 100, from Whitingham to Killington VT. Most of Rt 100 was pretty nice, with large sweepers and a few tight climbs and drops. The scenery was nice as well, with many sections of the road being closed in on both sides with trees, then opening up to reveal some very small Victorian style towns. However, there were a number of sections of 100 where the road was in pretty rough condition, which really detracts from the ride, as it's no fun re-adjusting your line to avoid potholes, once you have the bike laid over in the turn. After 100 we ran a quick 80 mile loop up Rt 30 north of Rutland, and then back down Rt 7, returning to our hotel in Rutland. We ran into a lot of traffic in Rutland today, and discovered that the Vermont State Fair is in progress, and the fairgrounds are just a stones throw from our hotel. Maybe we'll wander around the fair tomorrow night, as we will be here in Rutland for 2 nights???

We also spent some time driving around the Killington Ski area.

Killington is the largest ski area in the East, with the most runs (191), the most vertical (3050 ft), and the longest season (starting in October, and running well into May, and some years even June). Killington is made up of 7 mountain peaks, which get a little over 20 feet of natural snowfall each year. They also have extensive snow making capability, covering more than 70% of their runs. To stay open so late into the season, they use that snow making ability to build a 20-30 ft deep base of packed snow on a couple of their runs, most notably the run named Superstar, which terminates at the main lodge. Here are a couple of shots from the main lodge area, including the very bottom of the Superstar run and the Superstar high speed detachable quad chair.

Here are a couple of snow making cannons ready to be moved out to the slopes for the season.

Killington also has the steepest bump run (moguls) in the east. This double black diamond run is named Outer Limits, and is consistently voted into the top 10 most difficult ski runs by skiernet and various ski magazines. For the last 30 years, a spectator favorite has occurred each April, as Killington hosts the Bear Mountain Mogul Competition on Outer Limits. Here is a shot of what Outer Limits looks like when covered with snow. This photo is looking down on the Bear Mountain base lodge from the top of Outer Limits.

The town of Killington is having a fall festival that runs from Labor day to Columbus Day. The event is known as the Killington Hay Festival. There are roughly 40 hay sculptures that have been built by various area businesses, and even a few by individual homeowners. Here are some shots of a few that we saw along the Killington Ski Area access road.

This one was in front of a spa, so they built a bear dressed in spa garb (bathrobe, and towel on its head).

This one was in front of one of the restaurants... cute.

You can't see the entire sign below, but this is supposed to be a penguin, and the sign says "Will work for fish". It was in front of a local seafood restaurant.

The dalmatian in front of the fire house was cute as well.

Here is one that a local homeowner made.

Here is what you get when Lennie gets bored near the end of the days ride.... :)

Tomorrow we will spend a little more time in the southern section of the Green Mountains of Vermont. For my sister Sue, our route tomorrow just happens to take us through Woodstock Vermont !! :)