On Christmas Day in 2006 I rolled Bonnie out of the Castle at noon. With 36F showing on the Bonnie Castle outdoor thermometer, I pushed off and negotiated the gravel municipal road out to Route 141 and asphalt. The gravel road was pretty sloppy and Bonnie sustained a fair amount of collateral spatter.
I rolled through the very quiet village of Ayer's Cliff and headed up to Burroughs Falls, where I tanked up with high-test.
Nearly delirious with joy at being out on Bonnie on the twenty- fifth of December, I settled into the vibrations and enjoyed the vistas to the south and west from Route 143 South to the border.
Ok. I needed a route and itinerary. First, I decided I needed a witness to this winter excursion! I decided to crash in on Kevin, so after crossing the border I headed up Nelson Hill.
Nelson Hill is one of the high points around the Derby Vermont area and Nelson Hill Road is alternately pavement and gravel surfaces. I figured I was headed for some interesting road conditions and I wasn't wrong!
Passing a trailer just before the first 90 degree turn, I exchanged waves with three guys outside in shirt sleeves. They're each holding a bottle of beer and the one with a big white beard is wearing a Santa Claus hat.
I make the turn and hit a flat stretch that runs through a desolate little hollow. I'm zipping along at about 40 mph when I suddenly realize that the road is covered with solid ice and a veneer of slush on the surface. No sand. No gravel. Just ice and slush.
Whoooooeee! I held my breath and tried to be perfectly still for what seemed like an eternity. I made it over the ice and down shifted onto a short stretch of clear asphalt just in time to make the next 90 degree turn.
It was so exhilarating that I decided to circle back over the ice to Santa's to get a photo with the jolly old elf himself, but he and the other two guys were already driving off in a pick-up truck. Rudolf and the other reindeer were nowhere to be seen.
When I pulled up to Kevin's, he was out in his driveway. I tried to entice him into joining me for a jaunt around Lake Memphremagog, but he reminded me of that quaint tradition known as the family Christmas Dinner.
Jeeze! In my euphoria I had somehow managed to forget about that little detail. But it did explain why I had been smelling cooked turkey everywhere since I left home!
Obtaining a rain check from Kevin (not to mention a reality check) I continued on my way, now slightly apprehensive about the possibility of missing the family Christmas dinner.
The thought of spending the next two hours circumventing Lake Memphremagog suddenly seemed like it might not be my best idea of the day, so I pointed Bonnie towards Seymour Lake instead.
Not too surprisingly the beach around Lake Seymour was deserted, not even a seagull to be seen. After touring around the head of the Lake I made a U-turn at Toad Pond Hill.
I did at least take the long way back to the border - Morgan, West Charleston, Derby Center, then down Darling Hill Road to Beebe Plain and back to Derby Line.
After crossing the border I jumped on Autoroute 55 and blew the carbon out all the way home, making it back just as the broccoli was being put on the kitchen stove.
After the family dinner, Bonnie got a double hot shampoo and rinse at the Newhouse before being led back to the Castle, where I performed the ritual end-of-season saddle removal and hoisted her up on her winter throne.
That year's last ride was so satisfying that it banished all thoughts of "Shucks, if I'd only been able to get in a couple more rides"!
To this date, though, notwithstanding global warming that season's ending has yet to be replicated!
