Our day started with delicious wood fired Vermont bagels that Chloe’s mom delivered to us at our campground. Then we set off to bike across the Lake Champlain Causeway on our way to Plattsburgh, NY.
We had one major obstacle to overcome though. There is a short gap in the causeway for boats to get through the lake, and normally a bike ferry will take bikers across this gap… however, we just so happened to need this ferry at a time when the ferry boat was closed for maintenance. There really wasn’t any practical alternative routes, so Katie and Chloe brainstormed and decided to trust in the bike adventure gods to save the day. And sure enough, they provided. Trekker Ben L. flagged down a couple out cruising on their private boat and asked for a ride. They were reluctant at first when they heard there were 11 bikers, but once they saw it was a bunch of teenagers and we were desperate, they agreed to shuttle us across the gap. They loaded our bikes on the stern of their boat and took four trips back and forth to gather more humans and bikes. We ended up making friends with the couple and expressed our gratitude for their kindness, which they encouraged us to pass forward to the next person!
We were all gleeful from the experience of complete strangers helping us out and for the challenge to be behind us, and we zipped on about 6 miles until we found ice cream! Or “cremees,” which is a Vermont type of custard ice cream that is extra thick. But before we made it to ice cream, we saw a little petting farm with sheep and goats and the girls stopped to hang out with the goats for a bit, feeding them grass and apples from a nearby apple tree. They couldn’t get enough of the apples! We pulled ourselves away from the cuteness and biked on, stopping at an outdoor ice cream place that had lots of yard games. We enjoyed kicking back and playing cornhole and even slipping in some afternoon grass naps!
We biked on to a grocery store for lunch items and groceries for our next few meals. The bike ride today was extremely flat and on a bike path most of the day. It was such a breeze, refreshingly scenic and all the stops along the way made the ride super enjoyable.
After a ferry ride from Gordon Landing to Cumberland Head, we biked the last few miles to our campsite where we immediately set up tents and a tarp to get ready for a rainy night. We cooked chicken tacos underneath the tarp and Leo made us a Chipotle-like taco bar and served us delicious tacos.
With a rainy and windy day ahead of us tomorrow, we decided it was best we shelter in a hotel in Plattsburgh for tomorrow. It also happens to be Trekker Jaron’s birthday tomorrow so we’re planning on taking the day off and doing some indoor activities in town to make the day special! Until then, goodnight!