Vermont bound today to tour The Green Mountains by motorcycle. We’ll once again be making the trip aboard my BMW F800GT sport touring motorcycle. Thanks for riding along.
Roads Less Traveled
Loyal followers of the Roadcraft USA blog know that I avoid using major roads or interstates in my travels. At this point in my life I’m not in a great hurry to get to any particular destination. As a photographer I like to take the most scenic routes and as a motorcyclist I like to ride the most technically challenging.
The night before departure I went online and asked Google Maps for directions to get to my destination. It mapped out an extremely boring interstate burn from my Long Island, NY home to my destination in The Green Mountains of Vermont. It came in at about 240 miles in under 5 hours duration.
After rejecting Google’s suggested route I went to the web site of my favorite navigation resource: Kurviger.de. You’ve heard me say it before…Kurviger is hands down the finest navigation app for motorcyclists, by motorcyclists.
The boring Google Maps-suggested route -vs- the exciting Kurviger-generated route
I plugged in my preferences for curvy roads and scenic opportunities. Within seconds Kurviger returned an outstanding looking 360 mile route that would involve 8 hours of saddle time. That’s what I’m talking about! Let’s hit the road.
The Early Bird
My friends and followers know by now that I despise getting stuck in metro New York traffic. I wheeled out of my driveway at first light, blasted through Suffolk and Nassau counties and crossed the bridge off Long Island before sunrise. Leaving the concrete jungle of NY City behind, I made a quick burn up I-684 to Brewster, NY. It would be nothing but rural backroads from hereon out.
Apologies for the inferior quality smartphone image. I was on a mission to get through NYC before rush hour.
In my book Road Work: Images and Insights of a Modern Day Explorer I discuss NY Route 22 on more than one occasion. Route 22 has earned a spot as one of my favorite motorcycle roads of all time. This north-south byway runs from its origination point just outside New York City all the way to the Canadian Border.
It is a motorcyclist’s delight. Long sweeping curves, beautiful, scenic vistas and just enough small towns along the way to “keep you honest”. These towns all have their own lower speed limits, so put on your brakes. You’ve probably been traveling well over the posted 55MPH limit because…well, it’s just the kind of road that encourages that sort of behavior on two wheels.
200 Miles Before Breakfast
I like to get a couple of hours of saddle time in before I stop for breakfast. Today would be no exception. About 200 miles into the day’s journey I spotted Gardner’s Coffee Shop on NY Route 22 in Stephentown, New York. I recall stopping at this establishment and having a great breakfast a few years back. I had been on a return trip from The Adirondack Mountains. Sadly, I can no longer recommend this eatery. My reward for this morning’s ride was quite the sub-par meal.
Continuing north and east I rode into The Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts for a while. Turning back west I returned to The Hudson Valley of New York. By day’s end I will have traveled through the New York counties of Suffolk, Nassau, Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Duchess, Columbia, Rensselaer and Washington!
Back Country Roads
The few travelers that use Route 22 (instead of the parkways and interstates) rarely go off the main road to explore. I chose to do a little of that today. I had left before dawn and didn’t really have to be in Vermont at any specific time.
I made a few random departures from Route 22 and explored some of the local farmland. A word of caution: a lot of these detours I took were on unpaved, gravel roads. If you’re comfortable with this, you’ll be rewarded with some incredibly scenic views of the Hudson Valley countryside
Along an unpaved gravel road in The Hudson Valley
The Granite State
In the small town of Cambridge, NY I turned east towards the Vermont Border. I crossed into “The Granite State”; aptly named for its abundance of this dense mineral. Heading towards Manchester, VT on my tour of the Green Mountains by motorcycle, I came across a number of Vermont’s many covered bridges.
The Green Mountains run north to south from Canada to Vermont’s border with Massachusetts. The same range continues south through Massachusetts and Connecticut where it is known as the Berkshires. Mount Mansfield is the highest peak in The Green Mountains at 4,395 feet.
In the town of Manchester I turned south heading towards the day’s ultimate destination of West Dover, VT. Along the way I would pass Stratton Mountain and couldn’t fight off the urge to ride up the mountain to the famous ski resort at the peak. No trip to the Green Mountains by motorcycle would be complete without a photograph of the impressive mountain range. To get an even better feel for this region I sent my drone up into the air for a bird’s eye view of The Green Mountains.
Biker-Friendly Community
Leaving Stratton Mountain Resort it was just a short 20 mile run down to West Dover, VT and The Kitzhof Inn. This great little establishment would be my home away from home tonight. The inn is owned and operated by Simon and Alison, who are bikers themselves. This wonderful British couple appropriately ride Triumph motorcycles.
The biker-friendly Kitzhof Inn
This modest couple knows that they are not the only motorcycle-friendly venue in the region, but unhesitatingly state that they are the best. The bed and breakfast style inn served up one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had with the included morning meal. After breakfast Simon and Alison would close up the inn for a couple of days and join us on the next day’s ride of the Green Mountains by motorcycle into The White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Summer Sojourn
Why West Dover, Vermont you might ask? I rode here to be part of the Backroads Magazine “Summer Sojourn” (formerly known as the “Summer Squeeze”). This annual event is hosted by Brian Rathjen and Shira Kamil, the publishers of this monthly motorcycle magazine, devoted to bikers riding all brands of motorcycles. I had only communicated with Brian and Shira by email up until this point, but made it a priority to attend this event and meet this wonderful couple in person.
The magazine did a feature on my Amazon #1 best seller motorcycle travel book back in their March 2022 issue. As an added bonus a picture of my motorcycle graced the cover of that issue.
The “Summer Sojourn” group was spread out between two local inns: The Kitzhof and The Gray Ghost Inn just 1/4 mile away. I stopped at The Gray Ghost on my way back to The Kitzhof after dinner and had the pleasure of finally meeting Brian and Shira in person. It would be the last I saw of them all weekend. The format of this event is very laid back. There are no organized group rides as part of this get-together. All of the riders pretty much ride their own rides all weekend; then rendezvous at night at the inn(s).
Speaking of dinner I have to send a shout out to The Valley View Saloon of West Dover. They served up one of the most delicious hamburgers I think I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. HUGE. Cooked perfectly rare the way I like it. I couldn’t finish it! They are located just minutes from The Kitzhof and The Gray Ghost.
Green Mountains By Motorcycle • Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this short recap of my trip into the Green Mountains by motorcycle. In a post to follow I will recap the rest of this trip into The White Mountains of New Hampshire. Be sure to subscribe to Roadcraft USA to receive notifications about new features hitting the blog. As always we welcome your comments below. Ride safe, everyone!
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RT.22 have always been my favorite route traveling up north out of L.I. Great article and thanks for sharing. (PS) New Hampshire is the ‘Granite State’ and it is one of the most scenic places to ride and visit. Waterville Valley in NH. is my choice for base camp with plenty of options to ride and discover around the State.
It’s our pleasure to share with the motorcycling community, John. Vermont and New Hampshire have fought over the nickname “The Granite State” forever. While New Hampshire holds fast to their claim to the title, The Library of Congress states:
“The U.S. state of Vermont is sometimes called “The Granite State.” Its world-class, widespread lodes of the hard mineral are turned into exceptional architectural elements as well as unusual works of art”.
As New Hampshire’s hold on the title seemed to grow stronger, Vermont adopted the nickname “The Green Mountain State”. New Hampshire, incidentally, has one of the coolest state slogans ever: “Live Free or Die”. Thanks for commenting. We really appreciate your joining the conversation on the Roadcraft USA website.