Hancock, Lincoln, Warren
Lincoln Gap
9/19/21 ….. 6/12/22…..2023……2024
- This ride packs a wallop. With a distance of 47.84 miles and an elevation gain of 5,576, give yourself the better part of the day to do it.
That said, we love this ride – parking in Hancock behind the town hall, we immediately begin the ascent to the Middlebury Gap, a tough but not impossible climb. Then you screech down the paved but busy VT RT 125 before turning off and into the remote and beautiful Breadloaf Wilderness area. There the gravel roads are clear and wide, and relatively unused by cars.
After a few miles and more than a few up and and downs, you come face to face with Lincoln Gap – purported to be the steepest paved rode in VT. With grades as steep as 24% at points, there is no shame in walking this one. From the beginning of Lincoln Road, you will climb 1,800 feet to the height of the gap.
Then, the ride down to Warren is narrow and twisty and slimy. The road is shadowy and often the surface can stay wet long after a rain. The pavement was even moss-covered, which makes it extra slippery. Go slow! You will smell your brakes at the bottom of this one!
Lincoln Gap road ends on VT-100 in Warren. After such a climb and descent, you have earned lunch at the Warren Store – which has great food with baked goods, deli sandwiches and a lovely deck overlooking the Mad River.
The second half of this ride is lovely, riding out of Warren on a paved road until you can turn back onto gravel for the majority of the return trip. So a lot of paved roads, and the traffic that goes with that, but well worth the effort.