As the saying goes, “Vermont Ain’t Flat”. I quickly found out how true that is on the first day of my four day bike tour around Central Vermont with Ciclismo Classico. Living at sea level, I ride on mostly flat roads with a few small hills mixed in, so I was a bit nervous about how I would do with four straight days on the back roads of Vermont. What I found was that it was a nice change of pace for me, and the spectacular scenery did a great job of distracting me from the hills.
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Fall Foliage
In September the days started getting shorter and cooler, and I felt inspired to get out of town to explore what else New England had to offer. I decided to head to Vermont in October to see the colorful fall foliage. I also wanted to ride my bike, so I combined the two by joining the Classic Vermont Tour from Ciclismo Classico. It would give me the opportunity to visit a few towns, see the rolling Vermont farmland and see the fall foliage Vermont is famous for.
Opting for a bike tour is a fantastic alternative to exploring by car. It’s great exercise and you can avoid the crowded roads with traffic that is often stop and go on the busiest weekends.
Vermont Bike Tour Operators
There are many options for bike touring- everything from a one day tour, multi-day self guided tours and full service guided tours. I’ve done one day bike tours in San Francisco and London, but this was my first multi-day guided tour. It’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for a couple of years. I could either keep thinking about it, or I could jump in and go for it.
I like to use local tour operators, if possible, in order to support local, small businesses, so that’s where I started looking. Ciclismo Classico is located near Boston in my home state of Massachusetts, so they made my short list of potential tour companies. The company specializes in trips in Italy, but have been doing more tours in the Northeast since the pandemic hit. The guides know the local area, the Vermont tour date fit in my schedule, and they still had an opening for me. That was that- I was Vermont bound!
Central Vermont
Our tour was based in Brandon, Vermont, a town I wasn’t familiar with. But I guess that’s not saying much since the most amount of time I spent in Vermont prior to this was a weekend skiing at Killington. I met my tour group and guides in front of the Brandon Inn to kick off the trip. As I mentioned, this was my first bike tour so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was surprised that the others in my group were from such distant places in the country. Three were from Idaho and two were from Houston, with another from Massachusetts. I guess I sometimes take for granted that I live in a beautiful part of the country and others travel here for vacation.
Brandon, VT 
St. Dominic Church, Proctor
We hopped on our bikes and set off with one guide while the second guide trailed us in the support van. The destination was the former marble capital of Vermont, Proctor. Ever seen a marble firehouse or sidewalk? If not, head to Proctor. For years, they mined marble from the local quarries and used it extensively to build the town.
Although the marble industry in Vermont dried up, there are still plenty of farms. In fact, I’ve never seen so many farms in New England. And the cows! I’ve definitely never seen as many cows as I saw in central Vermont. The farmland made for beautiful scenery and served as the foreground for the spectacular foliage that was at peak by the end of the week.
The farms are gorgeous but don’t forget that Vermont has a few beautiful lakes. There is of course Lake Champlain, which we saw on a couple of our rides. Unfortunately, the ferry running across the lake to NY wasn’t running so we couldn’t take the ride across the lake. Aside from Lake Champlain, on the last day our bike tour the final leg of the ride took us along the peaceful shores of Lake Dunmore. The foliage around the lake was beautiful!
What I loved about all the towns we visited was all the locally owned shops, galleries, restaurants and general stores that also seemed to serve as town centers that give each town its character. Our two wheeled travels took us to hearty meals at Two Brothers Tavern in the college town of Middlebury; fabulous chocolates made without soy, corn syrup or white sugar at Daily Chocolate in Vergennes; lunch at Buxton’s Store in Orwell; modern outdoor art at Lemon Fair Sculpture Park and truly unique wood carvings at Norton’s Gallery of Woodcarvings in Shoreham.
Norton’s Gallery 
Buxton’s Store 
Lemon Fair Sculpture Park
Bikes and Beers
After a long ride and hydrating with water and energy drinks (I like Precision Hydration) it’s nice to kick back with a good beer. Vermont is the craft beer heaven of the northeast, especially if you’re looking for juicy New England IPA’s. Even a small town like Brandon gets in on the fun. Foley Brothers and Red Clover Ale are based there. While I was sad to see that both these establishments were closed for tastings until my last day, I did get the opportunity to pick up a few four packs to enjoy back home. IPA’s might get most of the attention in Vermont, but I urge you to try the Foley Brothers oatmeal stout for a change of pace. So delicious on a cool fall day!
The Brandon breweries might have been closed, but that didn’t stop our group from partaking in the bike and beer tradition. One afternoon we picked up a few beers from the grocery store across the street from the Brandon Inn and enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine on the inn’s back patio. FYI, the Zero Gravity Little Wolf is a session pale ale that’s hoppy and refreshing- perfect for a post ride beer. We had more luck in Middlebury and were able to enjoy a pint at Otter Creek Brewing. Their outdoor patio provided a fun spot for a post-ride beer.
My first bike tour through Vermont was a fantastic experience and I would love to go back to explore more country roads. If you’ve never taken a bike tour, I highly recommend it. They’re great for all cyclists, regardless of skill level and experience. You’ll meet great people, see unique attractions and get your daily dose of exercise! Don’t worry about the hills, either. I definitely got used to them and improved my climbing skills during the this trip.
