Day 87: Middlebury , VT to Rochester, VT

Sep 2 blog

34 miles

3,787

As we had changed our route from the Middlebury Gap mountain pass to the Brandon Gap, we first had to head south. The first leg was 18.7 miles from Middlebury to Forest Dale junction where we rejoined the new route. There we stopped at a deli store and had breakfast sandwiches and coffee to get ready for the climb over Brandon Gap.

The climb was about 5 miles to the top of the gap and was very steep with grades registering well over 10%.

After the summit we had a beautiful 4 mile descent - so nice! The terrain then leveled out for the remaining 7 miles into Rochester. It turned out to be a short but challenging day; we were finished by lunchtime!

We found the laundromat where we started our laundry, perused the bookstore next door, and then found the porch of the Rochester Country Store & Cafe for lunch and a celebratory root beer float.

We then found the shade of the town park where we rested until we could check in to the Huntington House Inn, a nice B&B.

We were so disappointed to learn that the highly rated farm to table restaurant, the Maple Soul Restaurant, was closed. Instead, We had dinner at Doc’s Tavern which was located at our B&B.

Scenic ride down to Forest Dale Junction