The first fifty miles are never the easiest. Day one of EMS’s Vermont bikepacking expedition is complete after a delicious dinner and a couple brews at the von Trapp Brewery and Bierhall. Today by the numbers:
- 2 Breweries
- 50.2 miles
- 4,035 feet of gain
- 6 Little Free Libraries
- 0 Breakdowns (Mental or Mechanical)
As a team we decided we would each share our “rose, bud, thorn” for each day of the trip. Those represent a highlight from the day, something we’re looking forward to, and a lowlight. I’ll go first:
Ryan
Rose: “We passed six different Little Free Libraries today—something I can’t ever pass up. What gems.”
Bud: “Is it too early to look forward to food? Breakfast tomorrow somewhere in Stowe.”
Thorn: “My butt callouses have yet to fully develop.”
Lauren
Rose: “I think the mood of the group throughout the entire day was great, even on the hills.”
Bud: “I’m excited to sleep without the raccoons that we had harassing us last night in Burlington.”
Thorn: “My bike shorts…Just that they exist and I have to wear them every day.”
Ellen
Rose: “We loved getting to learn about the brewing process with Sam at the Von Trapp Bierhall.”
Bud: “Getting to know this group better.”
Thorn: “The hills getting to the aforementioned brewery.”
Mike
Rose: “The beautiful, bucolic Vermont gravel roads.”
Bud: “The bud is hard because I literally don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow.”
Thorn: “I was disappointed at how aggressively I sweat on the hills.”
Tomorrow is a big one. Stay tuned.
