It's December and here in Maryland the days when we can get out and ride are getting fewer and fewer. We're in for months of cold, dreary, dark, windy, wet, freezing weather and there's not much we can do about it...nothing except to re-live the beautiful tour my wife and I took this summer around Lake Champlain. We started and ended in Burlington, Vt, made our way as far north as Montreal, and for the most part had beautiful weather the whole way. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking.

The first photo shows the back of our Xterra packed with bikes and gear, ready to go. The shot was actually taken on the car ferry from Plattsburg to the eastern shore of Lake Champlain.

The second photos shows us at our first stop on the bike trail out of Burlington. Its a crowded but beautiful ride along the lake.

The third photo is a bridge on the trail.

Photo #4 shows the old rail causeway that's been converted to bike trail. It saves many miles and lots of traffic. Only open on weekends.

Photo #5 shows the line waiting for the bike ferry that bridges the small gap in the causeway.

We made it across the ferrry and after a 55 mile first day made camp at North Hero State Park on North Hero Island in the middle of Lake Champlain.

More to follow in part 2.

Beautiful! Thank you for the reminder of what summer looked like :)

It's December and here in Maryland the days when we can get out and ride are getting fewer and fewer. We're in for months of cold, dreary, dark, windy, wet, freezing weather and there's not much we can do about it..........

We get in far more miles in December, January and February than any other months of the year. Good riding this time of year.

BTW looking forward to part #2 and many more reports to come. We did pretty much the same ride a few years ago on our fixtes and it remains a high light-loved the food in Montreal.

We get in far more miles in December, January and February than any other months of the year. Good riding this time of year.

BTW looking forward to part #2 and many more reports to come. We did pretty much the same ride a few years ago on our fixtes and it remains a high light-loved the food in Montreal.
Yes, but where have you been on your bike that you didn't love the food?

Nice pictures by the way. Looks like the two of you are having a good time.

MB1,

December, January and February are excellent months for riding...in Florida, Puerto Rico and Southern California. My wife and I will make a trip South soon.

Winter riding in D.C., touring on a fixie? Can you say masochist? Were you neglected as a child?

........ Were you neglected as a child?

No, I grew up in the tropics and never had fun weather to play in. Anytime it gets cold, snowy or wet I'm all about bike riding.

Now; it may be true that my wife is nuts..............

BTW we too are heading to Florida for the holidays, gonna do another 1,000 miles on the fixtes. I hope to get snow when we get back, so far this winter has been a disappointment.

After a night of camping, we loaded up our gear and headed out from North Hero on a crisp clear morning bound for Auberge Harris in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada.

The first two photos show views of Lake Champlain, the last we would see for a few days.

The next photo shows our crossing into Canada. Going in was easy. A nice lady at the border said howdy and waved us by. Getting out was altogether different. More on that later.

In the coffee shop at Auberge Harris. What a nice place and definitely bike friendly. We made about 45 miles that day into a gentle headwind. We both took a long nap that afternoon. Make Auberge Harris a stop on any Champlain tour.

The next day we made Montreal for a quick in and out visit. It's about a 50 mile round trip from Auberge Harris where we left our gear for the night. Bikes and bike trails everywhere, but bring your bike locks. The last photos are Montreal scenes. We have lots more, but they're all touristy, not too cycling related.

[QUOTE=MB1]No, I grew up in the tropics and never had fun weather to play in. Anytime it gets cold, snowy or wet I'm all about bike riding.
QUOTE]

I grew up in the same area and I was wondering why I like the crappy weather now too. Yesterday it was cloudy, breezy and hovering around freezing and I was loving it. Maybe I just like the challenge of riding in adverse conditions and the empty trails.

Nothing is "Too Touristy" for us.

Man, this post makes me want to go back there sometime soon.

Did you have any problems with the language in Canada? Seemed like everyone in the countryside spoke a French we had never heard before.

From the ferry in Plattsburgh, you were three minutes from the house I grew up in and about a 15 second drive from where my sister now lives.

These pictures make me homesick for the North Country. I hope everyone treated you well.

Thanks for posting them!

The only problem we had was at a Subway sandwich shop in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. It was our lunch stop in Canada and we were starved after a hard morning of pedaling. They wanted Canadian money and wouldn't take credit cards and our debit card wouldn't work in their machine. They finally agreed to take dollars but at a one for one exchange rate. We ended up paying about $28 for a Subway lunch.

Love those pic's! Keep'em coming.

Joe

Looks like a nice ride. What sort of total mileage is involved in a trip like that? I've never done multiday touring and it seems very interesting.

With side trips included, the total distance was about 300 miles.

Self-contained touring really gives a sense of independence and freedom you can get no other way. You can make your own schedule, stop where you want, see what you want and it gives a chance to really get outside the walls of the cell most of us live in day-to-day.