Here are some of the recommended rides that some of us come to know as the “long” way home or just a chance to be free along the open road. Members feel free to email me your favorite rides.

Submitted by Roy H. - Lake Willoughby Ride.

From Burlington, take Rt. 7 north into St. Albans. At the South end
of town, turn right like you are going to get on I-89…..you are actually
not.
Turn left onto rt. 105 at the 4 way light. ……..Go to the next
light and turn right onto RT. 36. Take this all the way to Bakersfield.There
are some nice turns to be had, and it was paved a few years ago.
In Bakersfield,take a right onto 108, and take this all the way to
Jeffersonville. While there, you can eat at Yanna’s and get fuel if needed.
Get onto Rt. 15 East into Johnson. Take a left onto Rt. 100 c.
Take a left onto rt. 100 north.
Stay on rt. 100 for about 13 miles . Take a right onto Rt. 58
east. This road has some of Vermonts great views and country riding. You
will stay on rt. 58 through, Irasburg, And Orleans untill you hit Rt.5a.
Take a right for about 2-3 miles, and you will come around a bend and see
Lake Willoughby nestled betwwen two peaks. There is a public parking area at
the north end of the lake for a break and good views with a beach.
Continue on 5a south untill it merges with rt.5 south. Take this
into St. Johnsbury untill you come to rt. 2.
Take rt. 2 west into Danville to rt 15.
Take rt. 15 west al the way back into Essex Jct. or to whatever
Destination you desire.
The whole trip is about 230 miles depending on where you leave
from . It takes about 4 1/2 - 5 hours, and is an awsome ride for those who
are interested.

Burlington Stowe Loop

Another ride is only about 125 miles, and is every bit as nice.
From Burlington, Take rt. 7 north, or I 89 to St. Albans and get
off at Exit 19.
Take a right at the light onto rt. 105 north/east.
Stay on rt. 105 into Enosburg Falls. (along the way is a nice
restraunt called the Abbey with great food and an excellent view)
In Enosburg,take a right onto 108 south. Take this all the way to
Jeffersonville. Again, Yanna\’s and fuel if you need it.
Continue on 108 south up over Smuggler\’s Notch where at the top is
good for a break and breath taking scenery, (parking is tight at times)
Carefully continue through the notch and down into Stowe to Rt.
100.
Take RT. 100 south to Waterbury.
In Waterbury, take a right onto rt. 2 north back into Burlington.

This is a nice little ride that I have been known to do on my home
after work.
Submitted by Tim L. - Northern Lake Route.

Get to Exit 17 of Interstate 89 and go west on Route 2. This will lead you through the Champlain Islands. In the heat of summer you will be constantly refreshed crossing the lake several times as you hop the Islands up Route 2. There are also many shops and little restaurants along the way.

The first Causeway you come to will be what is called the Sand Bar, with Sand Bar State Park on your right and Mallets Bay on your left.

Look across the lake on the left and you will see the Rail Road Causeway from the old Rutland Railroad Line. Once the largest, man made Causeway in the world it was built in 1900.

Next you come to South Hero then Grand Isle and North Hero. Here you could if wanted take any number of side roads and do a little back road exploring without finding your way back to Route 2 without much difficulty.

Soon you come to Alburgh and Route 78 will be on your right. Stop at the Mobil station on the left for a drink.

Take 78 to Swanton, crossing the lake one more time and then Route 7 back through St. Albans and Georgia and Milton and eventually you will end up where you started at Exit 17 in Milton.

Whole trip is about 70 miles and makes a great afternoon or early evening summer ride.

Submitted by Dave C.- “Green Mountain Central Loop” Hinesburg, East Middlebury, Hancock, Warren, Huntington, Hinesburg. about 90 to 100 miles, about 2-1/2 hours.

Start out in lovely downtown Hinesburg, and instead of using Route 116 south, turn south instead by the elementary school, onto Silver Street, aka the Monkton Road. This will take you down across Lewis Creek and up into Monkton. In the village of Monkton Ridge, keep straight on the Monkton-Bristol road. You\’ll roll south on this beautiful back road with little traffic through farms and swampland, with the Hogback Mountains to your left. After the boat access to Lake Winnona and just after passing a very big farm, the road swings left towards Bristol but you can continue straight off the corner and use Burpee Road to by-pass Bristol village. Continue straight through when you come to the crossroads, and you\’ll be on route 116 headed south. If you miss this and go into Bristol, you\’ll still hit 116: just head south.

Continue south on 116 until you meet route 125 at East Middlebury; there\’s a corner quick stop here with gas. A left turn here will have you headed east on 125 up into the Green Mountains. There are some beautiful mountain twisties here as the road follows the Middlebury River up to Ripton. The Ripton General Store is a possible snack stop, but no gas or rest rooms. Continuing east on 125 takes you up past the Middlebury College Snow Bowl, the Middlebury Breadloaf Campus, the Robert Frost Memorial Forest, and the trail to Texas Falls. Great riding. After cresting at Middlebury Gap, the road descends gradually down into Hancock village and Route 100. The Hancock general store is another great snack stop, this time with gas pumps, and rest rooms at the little restaurant across the road.

Turn left in Hancock onto route 100 north, following the White River up through Granville town and then through Granville Gulf, one of the prettiest sections of route 100. There is a parking lot to pull off by the waterfall. Route 100 is a popular motorcycle route running the length of Vermont, and you\’ll encounter other bikers along this stretch. From Granville stay on 100 north to Warren. Follow the signs for the village of Warren which sits just off 100 to the right. The Warren General Store is a mandatory stop on this route. No gas here, but the super deli in the back of the store is an excellent place for lunch. There are tables outside by the river, rest rooms, and a unique gift shop upstairs, not to be missed.

>From Warren, head north back up onto route 100. From here you can head into Waitsfield and turn left onto Route 17. But a more scenic route is to turn left just north of Warren onto the Sugarbush Ski Area Access Road and head up the mountain. Just before entering the Sugarbush Ski Area, a right turn onto German Flats Road will take you north to Route 17. Take a left onto 17 and climb the switchbacks up to the top of the Appalachian Gap. This is another mandatory stop, with a good parking area at the top where you can look out over the beaver pond below you and across the Champlain Valley to the Adirondacks. Then it\’s all switchbacks and a steep descent on the other side. Just as the switchbacks end, hang a right onto the Huntington Road and cruise on up through Hanksville and Huntington Center. This road has some blind and reverse-camber curves, to take it easy here. In the village of Huntington Center there is an absurdly low speed limit of 25, and the Staties sit at the Fire Dept. and hammer you if you\’re doing 35, so chug through the village slowly. It\’s just a short stretch, and as you pass the big white barn at the north edge of town you can get back up to speed.

North of Huntington Center, you can continue straight, down through Huntington Village and on into Richmond to pick up route 2 or the interstate. Or, turn left just north of the Center onto the Hinesburg Hollow Road: it\’ll bring you out onto Route 116 in South Hinesburg, where you can turn right and follow 116 north through Hinesburg and up into South Burlington.

Submitted by Dave C. - “Southern Lake Loop” Charlotte, Vergennes, Crown Point, Westport, Essex, Charlotte. about 65 miles, about 2 hours (including 1/2 hour on the ferry). (This loop includes riding in NY State: new bikers with motorcycle learning permits cannot legally ride in NY.)

Head down Route 7 from Burlington and Charlotte to Vergennes. This is a main highway and truck route, but there isn’t really any better way to get to Vergennes. Turn off Route 7 onto 22A at Vergennes. Visiting the antique shops in the Kennedy Brothers building as you enter Vergennes makes an interesting stop. Follow 22A (Main Street in Vergennes) through town and across the main street bridge over Otter Creek. As you start up the hill after the bridge, take your first right, onto the Panton Road. Keep straight on Panton Road as it heads west towards the lake, crossing Dead Creek. In the village of Panton, the general store is a good place for snacks, homemade bread and donuts, and ice cream. Turn left in Panton to head south; just south of the village the road takes a sharp right turn and heads for the lake, then swings left and becomes “Lake Street”, and runs down along the lake with great views of the lake and the Adirondacks on the New York side.

Where Lake Street meets route 17 in West Addison, there’s a place for a pit stop at a convenience store with gas pumps and rest rooms. Continue south on 17 to the Crown Point Bridge. Some landmarks along this section are Jodie\’s, a local creamie stand /burger joint/ snack bar (it\’s owned by the dairy farm next door and has probably the best creamies anywhere); the entrance to the DAR State Park; and the Bridge Marina. Just as you get to the bridge is the Bridge Restaurant, a great diner and breakfast spot and a hangout for motorcyclists of all descriptions.

The ride over the Bridge is a thrill, with million dollar views up and down the lake. Once you are on New York soil, you head inland a bit until you hit NY Route 22. From here it\’s easy, you just head north on 22 all the way up the New York side. For much of the way, the road runs along the lakeshore and you get the benefit of great vistas and the cool air off the lake. Route 22 is a good road beautifully made to New York State specs with long sweeping curves and wide shoulders. You can pretty much haul ass up some long sweet open stretches of this road.

Port Henry is a busy little town, with gas stations. The road from Port Henry to Westport runs mostly right along the water. On the right hand side of the main street in Westport, just after the entrance to the Westport Yacht Club Marina, there is a great little diner. Westport also has gas stations. Heading north once again from Westport, be sure to bear right and continue on route 22: Route 9N veers off to the left and heads west to Lake Placid. After Westport, route 22 runs inland away from the lake, but it\’s pretty country in the foothills of the Adirondacks. The villages of Wadhams and Wallonsburg don\’t have much in the way of services.

When you come down the hill into the village of Essex, you do a left turn and then a quick right into the ferry dock. Motorcycle and rider is $4 one way. The ferry leaves every half hour, on the hour and the half hour; and it takes about a half hour to cross. If you get to the ferry and have to wait, you can feed the ducks; or walk around to the Old Dock Restaurant which has great burgers, a good bar, and rest rooms, and you can sit and watch the boat people come and go. In fact you might plan to spend an hour in Essex; on the way between the ferry dock and the Old Dock, there are several unique antique and craft shops that are worth a look. But if you are going to leave your bikes for more than a few minutes, move them out of the ferry parking lanes and consider parking up in the village, as the ferry parking area is very small and congested.

Back on the Vermont side, the ferry road takes you back to Charlotte village and Route 7.

Submitted by Dave C. - “Tail O’ The Pup/ Heart of the Adirondacks” Charlotte, Essex, Elizabethtown, Keene, Lake Placid, Ray Brook: return via Plattsburgh and Grand Isle to Burlington. about 150 miles, (Charlotte to Burlington); about 4-1/2 hours (including 3 hours of biking, 1 hour on ferries and 1/2 hour for lunch). (This trip includes riding in NY State: new bikers with motorcycle learning permits cannot legally ride in NY.) (This trip includes some long stretches through unpopulated areas. Be sure your bike is in good mechanical condition and top up with gas when you can.)

>From Route 7 and Charlotte village, head west down the ferry road to the ferry dock. Purchase a round-trip ticket (motorcycle and rider, $7.50): the return portion can be used on either the Charlotte or the Grand Isle ferry. The ferry leaves every half hour, on the hour and the half hour; and it takes about a half hour to cross. (When the ferry reaches the dock on the other side, stand by your bike to support it: when the ferry hits the pilings, there can be a bounce that could knock your bike off its kickstand.)

On the New York side, turn left out of the dock, then immediately right, to follow route 22 west and south. Go through the small village of Whallonsburg. In Wadhams, take it slow: route 22 drops down a small hill and turns to the left: you will want to go straight off the corner instead, onto a small back road, following the small sign to Interstate 87. Just as you go up the hill, there will be a left turn which again is marked with a sign to I-87. Take this road and head south through open farmland. This back road ends up coming down a pretty steep hill and stops abruptly at route 9N. Turn right onto 9N and head west under the Interstate, and on into Elizabethtown. Coming into Elizabethtown there are some sharp twisties marked 15mph, and they mean it. Turn left in Elizabethtown onto Route 9. Immediately on your right will be The Arsenal diner, one excellent breakfast spot. There are also gas stations in E\’town. Past The Arsenal, Route 9 will continue south but 9N will turn off to the right, with signs pointing west towards Keene and Lake Placid. Take this right turn onto 9N, head up past the golf course, and cruise for about 10 miles through some great Adirondack scenery.

9N comes down a long steep hill and hits Route 73. Turn right on 73 and go into Keene. 9N will then split off to the right, but you follow 73 west, headed for Lake Placid. This is a long beautiful stretch of good road with wide shoulders and a truck lane. 73 heads up through a gorge with steep slopes on both sides covered with white birches, past the Cascade Lakes. Between Upper and Lower Cascade Lakes there is a State picnic area; a steep little access road leads down to parking areas with picnic tables, access to the lakes, and even a hiking trail to the waterfall. Heading back up onto the road from the picnic area, be careful: it\’s a steep gravel drive, and the traffic is flying by fast on the highway with poor sight distances.

73 continues west through unspoiled Adirondack Park wilderness until you pretty suddenly emerge at Lake Placid. The first thing you see are the towers of the ski jumps built for the 1984 winter Olympics. These are open to the public and you can ride an elevator to the top. If you want to go into the city of Lake Placid for food, gas, or to visit the Olympic Center, just follow the main road into and through town. If you want to skip Lake Placid, just after the ski jumps there is a large field on the right, often used for fairs, horse events, and the like. The main road will swing slightly to the right to go into town: you can signal left and go straight off the corner here (be careful, oncoming traffic is hard to see); signs will be pointing towards Saranac and Tupper Lakes. This is a back road bypass through a light residential area; it isn\’t particularly fast, but it avoids the traffic in downtown Lake Placid. It comes out onto the main road, which is now Route 86, just west of Lake Placid. If you need gas or a pit stop, you can turn right here and head back towards Lake Placid; there are gas stations, a McDonald\’s, etc., on the strip before you get into town.

Otherwise, turn left when you hit 86, and head west. The next little town is Ray Brook, and it\’s the home of \”Tail O\’ The Pup\”, the infamous burger/ hot dog/ BBQ/ rib house and roadside attraction which is our destination. Excellent charbroiled ribs. Bon apetit! It\’s 50 miles from the Essex/Charlotte ferry to \”Tail O\’ The Pup\”. There\’s lots of indoor and outdoor eating area, but if you\’re going with a large group you may want to call ahead because they do get busy in high season. (518-891-0777). This is a popular motorcycle stop, especially during Americade, and the staff is very biker friendly and always happy to see HOGS!

The quickest way back is to double back and return the way you came, to the Essex/Charlotte ferry. But since you\’ve come this far, why not continue the adventure on a return route that is only slightly longer.

Return eastward on Route 86 as far as Lake Placid, but this time follow 86 into town, and then continue north from Lake Placid on 86 rather than east on 73. 86 north runs deep through the Adirondacks, following the Ausable river past High Falls Gorge (buy a ticket to walk paths and walkways through \”700 feet of waterfalls\” - good way to cool off on a hot day), and Whiteface Mountain. The turnoff for the North Pole and Santa\’s Workshop is well marked. (No kidding, there really is a North Pole at North Pole. Go and see!) 86 then crosses over and joins route 9N at the village of Jay. Turn left onto 9N and follow it up to Au Sable Forks, where you continue on 9N following the Ausable River until you join up with Interstate 87. There is a Sunoco station at the interstate.

This route is a back road through some beautiful territory, and you may encounter some tourist traffic. The potentially slower time you may make through the mountains is balanced once you connect with I-87 and head north. The interstate takes you conveniently around Plattsburgh. After you pass all the exits for Plattsburgh, take exit 39 for Route 314, Cumberland Head, and the Ferry to Vermont. Follow Route 314 east, following the signs for the ferry.

As at Charlotte, the Grand Isle ferry leaves every half hour, on the hour and the half hour; and it takes about a half hour to cross. Your return ticket from the Charlotte ferry is good here. On the Vermont side, follow route 2 south through South Hero and across the causeway to Interstate 89. Take 89 south to the Burlington area.