At the precise moment I’m writing this, the sun is shining, the thermometer says it’s 90 in the shade, well over 100 in the sun, the dew point is well up in the 70s (think “oppressive”) and the lead story on the noon news was how to avoid heat exhaustion and the almost-certain lightning in the forecast for later this afternoon. I can see clouds building to the west and hear the distant rumble of thunder. Welcome (I think . . .) to summer in New England.
Like most folks, I’d prefer it a little cooler—below zero is fine by me—but even in this kind of heat, it’s still possible to make the most of summer. The simplest trick is to get up very early and be active when the world is cool.
Once upon a time a few years ago, my sweetheart Marilyn and I were in Burlington, Vermont researching a story about another of my passions, minor-league baseball. But, as usual, we were looking to take advantage of all the wonderful outdoor opportunities that city has to offer. According to the weather prognosticators, we were in for the hottest two days in several years with increasing humidity each day.
Fortunately, we were based at the fully-climate-controlled Wyndham Hotel, just a short stroll from Burlington’s busy waterfront. So stroll we did late one afternoon—very slowly—down to Local Motion, a non-profit group which promotes bike trails in the area and rents top-quality hybrid cruisers. We rented bikes there and walked them back up the hill to the hotel and put them in storage. (Local Motion doesn’t open until ten o’clock in the morning, so you have to plan ahead for an early morning ride.)
The next morning we were up long before the sun, snacked lightly, drank lots of water, and headed out. In the gray pre-dawn light filtered by the rising mists, the temperature was in the 60s, and a breeze was blowing from the cooler waters of the lake. It felt like Heaven.
There are lots of bike paths around Burlington and in the Champlain Valley. But the jewel in the crown is the Island Line Trail, a rails to trails project that runs 12.5 miles along the lake before it reaches “The Cut” where the former railroad bridge is gone. In August, they now run a “bike ferry” on weekends which allows you to continue riding out onto the Champlain Islands .
With the rising sun slowly burning off the morning clouds, and the air still cool, the Island Line Trail was just magical. For the first hour, we had the path completely to ourselves.
Just before the 10-mile marker, (we had started at Mile Two in front of our hotel), the trail suddenly bursts from the woods and follows the old rail line out on a man-made causeway dividing Malletts Bay from the main body of Lake Champlain. The rail line was built on a bed of huge blocks of marble dumped onto the lake bed and filled in with packed gravel. Flat and gently curving, it makes a perfect bike trail for a hybrid or mountain bike.
We rode out onto this incredibly beautiful stretch of path just as the sun finally began burning through the last of the morning haze, but the brisk breeze off the water kept things comfortably cool. We rode on to the 12.5-mile mark, where “The Cut” prevents you from continuing on to South Hero. Someday, we are going to ride here when the bike ferry is running — probably not at 6:30 in the morning.
As we rode back toward Burlington, the sun began to increase in strength, and the trail became busier with walkers, joggers and other cyclists. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was a HOT summer day. We showered, strolled out for breakfast (try Penny Cluse Café) and got on with the day’s “work”.
That’s the way it should be on a summer morning. Get active early, then relax. Life isn’t a spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!