Barnard and East Barnard
This is our favorite ride around our home base, through Barnard and East Barnard. We have done it over 100 times, and will do it 100’s more, hopefully!
This ride starts out where Rousseau Road crosses North Road. This is a perfect gravel road, but it starts right off with some solid climbing. It climbs for a couple of miles until you reach the height of land, right before Davis Road joins on the left. Then you cruise down on Davis to the intersection with Royalton Turnpike. Along this stretch there is a stunning view over a hay field that is Chris’ favorite.
The conditions of gravel on Royalton Turnpike can vary, depending on the season. It is generally pretty good, but it has also had some of the worst mud season mud I have ever ridden on (with mud up to your rims and beyond). With gravel, you always take your chances.
Ride two miles on the Turnpike, with lots of gentle climbing and coasting, until you get to the East Barnard Road, on the left, for a downhill coast to East Barnard.
East Barnard Road has some of the best downhill biking in all of Vermont. Super FUN! You have to watch out for loose gravel, sometimes, but on the upside it usually has very little traffic.
At the bottom of East Barnard Rd. hill, you find yourself in the center of the quaint village of East Barnard. It has a town hall, a small green, a slide and a swingset, a fire station, and a church with a brand new wheel-chair accessible, composting toilet privy.
In East Barnard Village, we happened upon Randy Leavitt finishing his custom-made privy building for the church and village use.
This project was a community success, with a fundraising goal of $20,000, all earmarked for this construction of a large, wheelchair accessible bathroom with a composting toilet (so the pipes won’t freeze in the winter). This privy is elegantly done – with lots of fine touches and accents. Prettiest privy in Vermont, probably.
This bike route then heads out of East Barnard village on Broad Brook Road. We love this road because it is always a few degrees cooler along the Broad Brook than it is everywhere else. There is a lot of cooling shade in this section as well. Great ride on a hot day.
At the end of Broad Brook Road, this route turns right up Lime Pond Road. This is a gentle climb, in preparation for the right turn on Sayer Road. Sayer is a challenging but beautiful mile and a half long climb with some solid elevation. It will get your heart pumping.
At the top of Sayer, you turn right onto Royalton Turnpike again, to coast your way along. This mile long stretch passes by Feast and Field at Fable Farm, a popular music venue, on your left, and the Kiss the Cow Farm on your right, before turning left on Bowman Road to take you back to North Road.
Bowman Road is a gentle climb to a hilltop, going past what claims to be the site of the first Barnard settler from 250 years ago. After this, there is no more serious climbing for the rest of the ride (sigh).
At the top of Bowman, you take a sharp 90 degree turn to coast down a steep mile long hill to the intersection of North Road again. On North, you take a right turn which takes you back to Rousseau Road again.
Ride complete! Our favorite!
Note from Heather Leavitt:
“Randy offered to carve Circa date signs for folks houses around the village for a donation to the East Barnard Community Club, and Joe asked if he would do a First Land Settled sign. We had a nice little ceremony when we installed it last summer. It was a great project!”