A Beloved Band of Misfits: Cycling Around Lake Champlain, from New York to Vermont and into Canada

When seven cyclists, of different backgrounds, occupations, travel experiences, training levels, and dietary preferences come together on a ride through New York state, Vermont, and into Quebec you see the landscape, culture, and opportunities through seven different lenses. I love bringing my friends, from distinct areas of my life, together to experience and share life!

One traveler picks tiny flowers from the roadside that she will preserve in her flower press while another pulls out her binoculars to identify bird species. A childless bibliophile stops at every Little Free Library she sees (that’s me!) and another cyclist reaches in to pull out a book about homeschooling, which she participated in for many years.

We’re blessed with a highly capable and experienced navigator, with stronger legs and more capable lungs than most. You should see his calves! Really, ride behind him and check them out! He can’t do it alone, and has co-conspirators in the planning and along the way. The rest of us (i.e. me, myself, and I) do our best to help – but is it really help? We enrich the experience, at a minimum!

When we stop at a gourmet cheese shop just inside the Canadian border, one cyclist is thinking about the strong odor of blue cheese and the glass of red wine that would so perfectly accompany it. Others hold out to see what the Canadian grocery might have in store for dinner and they are not disappointed.

We all come prepared for rain, but we’re pleasantly surprised when we made it to our rustic (not at all rustic) lodging for the night before the soft drizzle began. It was our shortest rising day, so we spent the afternoon at our floating cabins, napping, reading, listening to the raindrops on the marina, quietly sipping beer and wine.

“We rode around Lake Champlain,” you might say. It would be impossible (for me) to truly ride the entire shoreline of this lake in 5 days, but you get the idea. A ferry took us from New York to Vermont at one point – taking bikes over water, to extend the excitement and adventure of a trip, is a bit of a microadventure that we recommend. (Microadventures)

We had an uneventful crossing into Canada, after I quickly and cheerfully ate the pint of farmstand cherry tomatoes I’d bought on the way, not thinking about the restrictions against bring produce across international boarders. It was a total of about 125 miles over 5 days of laughter, exploration, new friendships, and deepening relationships.

Quick Facts – Lake Champlain

Location: Border of New York and Vermont, extending into Quebec
Length: 125 miles
Maximum Depth: 400 feet
Surface Area: 490 square miles (Wikipedia)

Geography and Wildlife – Lake Champlain

Islands: Includes major islands like Grand Isle, North Hero, and Valcour Island.
Fish Species: Popular for fishing sport fish like lake trout, smallmouth bass, and Atlantic salmon.
Outflow: Drains north via the Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence River. (Wikipedia)

I’ve been on trips like this before – each and every one is its own ride, with a unique character. I’ll go on trips like this again – open to what each new adventure will bring. Here’s a look at a bit more of the fun, starting with sunset on the lake!

There’s something wonderful about taking advantage of the contributions of the locals, as you vacation through the places they call home. I’ve already mentioned the Little Free Libraries, and it takes great control not to fill every bit of free space in my bags with free books. There are also opportunities, especially in more rural areas, to take advantage of organically-grown produce. The ‘honesty boxes’ allow you to help yourself and leave a payment. I make sure I carry cash for such occasions, but on this trip I did see Venmo and Paypal options.

It’s the stories behind the goods that are touching, so I love it when the farmers – big and small – leave you a bit of their story. This is Heidi’s garden! What a fun way to spend the summer, grandparents supporting the growth and flourishing of the ones they love and sharing the fruits of their labor with us!

The ‘wildlife’ we encountered along the way came in all forms. Some of us (not me) were keeping a running mental list of the bird species we heard, saw, and met on our journey. I used the ‘Seek’ app to identify as many plants and flowers as I could, keeping a record of my travels and being delighted when the app reminded me that I’d seen a particular species of bloom, in June 2024 or August 2021 or May 2020. When given the option of keeping my original photo of the plant or replacing it with the newer one, just taken, I choose the most artistic and well-photographed one, of course. I’ll caution you that the ‘Seek’ app loves to identify plants from an entirely out-of-focus image. Puzzling.

Some animals were more domesticated. Some were made of rusted tools, chains, and kitchen cutlery. Some were in the style of Wallace and Gromet. All had an incredible amount of personality!

Somewhere along the way – outside The Main Stop’ coffee house and bakery – our group became ‘internet famous’. A small group of grown adults, performing a traditional ‘100 Mile Dance’ tends to draw some attention, from the cafe owners AND from trucks laying on the horn as they pass by. I invite you to step away from this blog to witness the dancing. I’ll see you back here in a moment, for more fun.

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On trips like these, the BEST, most memorable meals are often often the ones that are cobbled together from the delicious finds that each traveler makes along the way. Each of us contributes to the meal and we gather in the evening to indulge. Our taste preferences reveal themselves in so much local cheese and delicious sweets. It’s a very European way of eating, less giant portions of ‘meat & potatoes’ and more nibbling on this and that, trying new things, and extending the meal, chatting into the sunset.

When you arrive at your lodging and the first place the owner recommends that you check out was the last stop you made on the way there, you’re doing something right! If your adventures take you to Quebec, definitely try the cheese: “Our artisanal cheeses, ripened for weeks—even months on pine boards, combine the great taste of Quebec-made cheese with the renowned know-how of Switzerland!” (Kaiser)

It won’t surprise you to hear that we stop for the roadside attractions on our route. Okay, to be honest we plan our route and go ever so slightly out of our way to find these oddities, including the ‘Tallest Filing Cabinet on Earth’ in Burlington, Vermont. Local artist Bren Alvarez built the structure, made up of 38 drawers, in 2002. Each drawer represents a year of paperwork that the artist accumulated while working on a local street project.

“Alvarez built the tower—titled “File Under File Under So. Co., Waiting for…”—as a comment on bureaucratic delays building the “Southern Connector,” a roadway intended to connect Interstate 89 to downtown Burlington. Officials originally proposed the road spur in 1965, but was delayed due to bureaucracy and legal battles.

In 2020, the filing cabinet was moved a few hundred feet West to make way for construction on the Southern Connector. It now sits in the parking lot at 208 Flynn Ave.” (Atlas Obscura)

Our group was a sight to see, as we made lunch stops. With seven bikes, each packed and packaged in its own unique way, colorful and full of its own life, we made ourselves ‘at home’ wherever we could. We’d often lock the bikes to each other, because – well, good luck making off with these beasts.

Traveling like this is an art, even when it’s a ‘credit card’ bike trip with a bed to climb into each night. That means we weren’t lugging tents, sleeping pads, and camp stoves with us, but we did have a quite modest week’s worth of cycling clothes, bike tools / tubes, and various pain relievers. We’re in our 50s and 60s, after all. We learn from each other, borrow each other’s gear, and do things just a bit more efficiently and perhaps economically (or not) the next time. What away to travel! What a way to build friendships! What a way to experience life!

These were our floating cabins in Canada, where the napping, reading, listening to the raindrops on the marina, and quietly sipping beer and wine took place. The air conditioning, well-appointed kitchen, and space to spread out (and air out) were appreciated.

I’ll say another word about the food – make it delightful, make it flavorful, make it something to write about. Stop at the little girl’s (quite successful) lemonade stand, bring business your to support the locally owned coffee shop, eat all the snacks, fruit, and pastries at your Airbnb, and eat seasonally – the strawberries were just right!

Pro Tip: Understanding that not everyone is going to be hungry (i.e. need essential fuel to keep cycling) at the same time is essential to a successful group trip. The best advice I can give is to eat when you’re hungry. Don’t let yourself get hangry. Enjoy the cuisine, enjoy the company, and enjoy the ride!

There’s no way to capture the entirety of a trip like this in one blog. I haven’t even mentioned the hills on day one, which qualify as Type 2 Fun for most of us – painful in the moment, but enjoyable when we look back on it and can say “I did that!” Trips like this are exhilarating and exhausting at the same time! I’ll leave it at that!