To use the GPS files we offer, you can download the free Garmin BaseCap software (available for Mac or Windows). If you don't own a Garmin GPS unit, you may have to purchase maps from Garmin to be able to use files.
Note that GPS routes are just a series of waypoints. Your GPS unit will calculate the roads that you take between them. The maps you have installed and the routing preferences that you have selected on your device or within BaseCamp will have an effect on how the route looks to you. All our GPS files are created in BaseCamp using Automotive routing mode and Shortest Distance calculation mode with no Avoidances selected. If you have a Garmin device with the latest maps and use these settings, you should be on the right track. If you, say, try to load the Puppy Dog route and have Unpaved Roads checked off under Avoidances, you're going to get some interesting results.
Within BaseCap, you can import routes from the GPX files that you download, by choosing "Import..." from the File menu. A new list named "Recently Imported from *file name*.GPX" will appear in the column on the left side of the BaseCamp window.
Once you've imported the routes, you can transfer them to your connected GPS device by selecting a list an choosing "Send to Device..." from the Transfer menu.
If you want a paper route sheet (or want to make one for your luddite friends), you can still print turn-by-turn directions from BaseCamp.
Just double click on the route you wish to print to bring up the Info window, click on the Print Setup button at the top right and then click the Print Directions button.
Vermont Rides
Notes On GPS Files Puppy Dog
Our annual Puppy Dog Ride is a nearly all dirt road ride from the Quebec border to the Massachusetts border (or vice versa).
In 2009, the central point was changed from Allis State Park to Silver Lake State Park. The last-minute change added some unecessary time on paved roads. The 2010 route incorporates more dirt roads around Silver Lake and omits a section that turned out to be a little too rough for some riders in 2009.
Significant changes have been made to the southern route for 2012. Partially in an effort to keep the northbounders from getting first crack at Saturday night's food, partially just to add more dirt to the southern section, the route has been increased from 130 to 165 miles. Paved sections between Townshend and Windham and around Cavendish have been mostly eliminated and lots of new dirt has been added.
Baley-Hazen Revolutionary War Road
In 2009, the central point was changed from Allis State Park to Silver Lake State Park. The last-minute change added some unecessary time on paved roads. The 2010 route incorporates more dirt roads around Silver Lake and omits a section that turned out to be a little too rough for some riders in 2009.
Significant changes have been made to the southern route for 2012. Partially in an effort to keep the northbounders from getting first crack at Saturday night's food, partially just to add more dirt to the southern section, the route has been increased from 130 to 165 miles. Paved sections between Townshend and Windham and around Cavendish have been mostly eliminated and lots of new dirt has been added.
Show/Hide GPS Downloads
2012 GPS Files
2010 GPS Files
2009 GPS Files
- Greenfield, MA to Silver Lake
- Silver Lake to Troy (long)
- Silver Lake to Troy (short)
- Troy to Silver Lake (long)
- Troy to Silver Lake (short)
- Silver Lake to Greenfield, MA
2008 GPS Files
- Greenfield Ma to Allis State Park
- Allis State Park to Troy (long)
- Allis State Park to Troy (short)
- Troy to Allis State Park (Long)
- Troy to Allis State Park (short)
- Allis State Park to Greenfield MA
Show/Hide Route Sheet Downloads
2010 Route Sheets
- Greenfield, MA to Silver Lake
- Silver Lake to Troy (long)
- Silver Lake to Troy (short)
- Troy to Silver Lake (long)
- Troy to Silver Lake (short)
- Silver Lake to Greenfield, MA
2009 Route Sheets
- Greenfield, MA to Silver Lake
- Silver Lake to Troy (long)
- Silver Lake to Troy (short)
- Troy to Silver Lake (long)
- Troy to Silver Lake (short)
- Silver Lake to Greenfield, MA
2008 Route Sheets
The Bayley–Hazen Military Road was a military road that was originally planned to run from Newbury, Vermont to St. John's, Quebec, not far from Montreal. 54 miles, running from Newbury to Hazens Notch near the Canadian border, were constructed between 1776 and 1779 during the American Revolutionary War. Portions of the road's route are used by modern roads today. See the Wikipedia page for more details.
The "Big Bike" route follows current public roads, while the "Hero" tracks incorporate sections of trail that are not considered roads by today's map-makers.
Big Bike Route & Hero Tracks (single GPX file)
Magical Mystery Tour
The "Big Bike" route follows current public roads, while the "Hero" tracks incorporate sections of trail that are not considered roads by today's map-makers.
Big Bike Route & Hero Tracks (single GPX file)
Here is the Magical Mystery Tour route without the BMW signs leading your way on the dirt roads and no BBQ feast at the end.
Riding on the Edge
Just a fun ride around central Vermont. If you follow your trip meters, you will do just fine. But we have also given you Town names and Route numbers to follow. There is no getting lost now. The only mystery is where you will stop to get some grub along the way.
VP Suggestions:
Eaton's in Royalton for the best breakfast (Rte 107) awesome breakfasts
Messiers in East Randolph for lunch (Rte 14) huge sandwiches and homemade pizza
Show/Hide Ride Details
- Mile 0 Zero your trip meter. Make 2 Left Turns to exit Randolph Center Park-N-Ride and access main paved road. Go Left and Continue Uphill. Route 66
- Mile 0.8 At the Point of Knowledge, Turn Right - to East Bethel Road south
- Mile 3.0 Pavement Ends Continue forward - on East Bethel Road
- Mile 5.0 At Y go Left ..dirt - Randolph Center Road - dirt will end
- Mile 6.2 Make a Left on Factory Road
- Mile 6.3 At T make a Right and get back onto the tarmac Route 14 south
- Mile 10.2 At the best place for Eaton turn Right Route 107 west, Bethel
- Mile 14.0 Turn Left over the New Bridge where the Flags Fly Route 12 north, Bethel
- Mile 21.6 After passing through the Town of Hanging Flower Baskets Make a Left. At this intersection to take the A Ride Route12-A north, Randolph
- Mile 41.5 Make a Right onto Lovers Lane - youll find a bit of dirt on this portion of the ride.. Both are over quick. Northfield
- Mile 42.1 At the 4-Way intersection continue forward and head uphill. Cross over Route 12 and ride Route 64 east
- Mile 48.8 After the closed bridge by-pass and at the T, make a Right turn. Route 14 South
- Mile 63.0 Take a Left at the corner where the Blue Tractors are sold in the East Side of Town Just after Messiers General Store in East Randolph, Take the Chelsea Mountain Road east to Tunbridge
- Mile 69.7 At the Y make a Right Route 110 south, Chelsea
- Mile 80.7 At the 4-way intersection, turn Right Route 14 north, South Royalton Ending Option Two: Back to the Park-N-Ride, with estimated mileage: Instead of at the host's home & BBQ
- Mile 92 Just beyond Messiers General Store in East Randolph Village, make a Left onto Route 66 towards Randolph Center.
- Mile 96 At stop sign, make a Right Turn, continue on Route 66. Interstate and Park-N-Ride will be about 1 mile ahead.
Ride total, about 97 miles.
Paul Bachorz has put together yet another of his annual Rally masterpieces.
In this edition he shares some thoughts on getting to the MOA Rally from
the east after you run into Lake Michigan. Some great tips for a ride around
the edge of the big lake. You can find the pdf here.
Road Anomolies Tours (RAT)
Ted Hall has graciously spent many hours putting together some challenging rides for us to tackle. These rides take after the Road Anomolies Tour (RAT) rides of some fame and found at www.ratrun.com. These are the Vermont version of the RAT tour and are designed to get you out of the house and more familiar with our great state. Get Done (Finisher) pins are available for those who complete these rides. For each RAT you will find below a brief description or instructions and a link to a PDF you can print out to take with you in your tank bag. Most are self explanatory - so get out and discover.
September Rides - by Muriel Farrington
Climb Every Mountain - Mountain tops you can ride to in New England and New York.
The Covered Bridge Tour - A fairly complete list of Vermont covered bridges. Find them all, get a pin.
Vermont Diners - Ride to Eat - Eat to Ride. Find them all and get a pin (and a larger waistline).
Vermont Place Names - Think you know Vermont? Visit all these locations and get a pin.
Vermont Trees - Find these trees and become an amateur arborist with a pin.
Vermont Hikes - Do all these hikes and get a pin and lose a pound or two in the process!
September seems to offer the best riding days of the year. It started off
for me with the return trip from the Finger Lakes Rally. (The ride over was
pretty darned nice as well.) Pete and Dotty DeCota and I left in the sunshine
and returned in the sunshine, with Pete leading us through the twisties in
New York. Then came the Purity Springs Rally—couldn’t have asked for a nicer weekend. There was even a display of northern lights that some fortunate people got to see.
Vermont Attractions
Show/Hide Ride Details
I rode a 330-mile loop over the Kanc, Bear Notch Rd, over to Rt 16 up through Errol to Rangely. The ride down from Rangely on Rt 17 was spectacular. I ended up in Mexico, ME, riding Rt 2 to Gilead, then down 113 to Fryeburg and back to Madison and the rally. Our own Green Mountain Rally was warm and mostly sunny—especially during prime riding time Saturday. I’d been wanting to ride over into New York, so I headed south on Rt 7 to Brandon, wiggled my way over to the Ft Ticonderoga ferry, and followed some roads Mike Cousino had mentioned.
I rode up into the hills and over the other side north of Ticonderoga, ended up in Ironville (home of electricity, according to one sign), and through the woods to Crown Point. I rode Lake Drive for a while, then back on Rt 22. I crossed at Crown Point to Chimney Point to watch some archeological demonstrations and chat with old archeology buddies, then on back over the bridge to New York. The ride up 22 to Essex is really nice. Crossed the lake at Essex to Charlotte. There were four Beemers on the boat—another rally attendee, Jim Tolley of the ROV, and a young man from Kansas riding an R65 with his buddy on the back. He was excited to see the Beemers and said he was in the process of moving to the area. I told him about the MOV.
I meandered over to 116, and rode on down to 125 in East Middlebury, stopping at the store for a cold lemonade (I have a hard time stopping for lunch—and I’d depleted my water supply). A guy from Chicago on a R100 came out of the store and saw a bunch of Beemers pull into the parking lot—his eyes lit up. He had just come over the Middlebury Gap, had done the Appalachian Gap earlier, and thought he was in heaven. I told him there were well over 200 of us up in the hills at our Rally. He said he had to be in Buffalo that night—he was really sad he couldn’t stay longer. Says he has to go 100 miles to get anywhere interesting to ride in his part of the world. We’ve got to know how lucky we are.
MOV member Paul Bachorz has been busy. While most of us dream of riding and perhaps do a little planning, Paul has authored a tome. Forty-eight pages long, this isn't for sissies (or really slow connections) but take a look at what Paul has authored. It's well worth a look. I even found a few things I hadn't stumbled across before. For an Adobe Acrobat version of his novella click here. Also, check out Paul's list of Vermont attractions in ascending (s)mileage order, here. The destinations are keyed to the Vermont attractions list by number. Thanks again Paul.
Before and After Vermont
Here we go again. Paul has now created the beginnings of a new encyclopedia of local riding information. Not here in Vermont but as he calls it, Before and After Vermont (and I would add, during as well). There are lots of things to see in Vermont but we shouldn't ignore all the wonderful sites offered by our neighbors north, south, east and west. Help Paul complete the work by adding your own ideas and sending them along to him for inclusion in this latest work. Check it out here.