I'm sunburned. My butt is bruised. And I think I pulled a muscle in my leg.

But oh man, it was worth it!

For our end of the week bang before the boys return, we decided to take a couple of days to explore beautiful Vermont. Yesterday, we rented bikes and headed out to bike the trail along Lake Chamberlain in and around Burlington, Vermont.

Mind you, I haven't ridden a bike in a long, long time (I'm talking years... and I've never ridden a bike with gears...).

But I was geared up and ready to go!



























It was an absolutely gorgeous ride. Breathtaking. The lake on one side. Surrounded by trees and grass and wildflowers along the path.

A brief thunderstorm popped up, but we waited it out in this crazy little store/bait shop/boat dock - a kind of creepy/kind of kitchy time-warp of a place. We shared a water and a payday candy bar and chatted with the old lady behind the counter... great fun!

Then we hit the trail again!



After passing out of Burlington, the bike trail is no longer paved. It's just a gravel path along a causeway out in the middle of nowhere.


It was an amazing little strip of an oasis. A tiny little path in the middle of the water. Some trees and plants along the side - replete with raucus, dive-bombing birds whizzing past our heads and the constant drone of wheels on loose gravel.



















And then we hit the end.

Seriously.

The path stops suddenly just a little way from another island in the middle of the lake. A local organization is working to have a ferry running regularly so that bikers can cross back and forth, but, alas... no ferry that day.

It was kind of wierd.

But I was happy. And exhilerated. And proud of myself (and Jason) for riding that far (10.5 miles from our starting point, 3 miles on gravel road).

And very, very tired.













But so ready to do it all again!