That’s a really kind offer, thank you. Unfortunately we are looking to collapse in St J.

Further up in the comments this is addressed. I’m hoping if it isn’t finished now that it will be by June.

I’m not rightly sure, but it’s a hell of a lot less than ANY other Vermont century you could try! Being on the rail trail guarantees small changes in elevation and it follows rivers for most of the way. Also, pretty protected from the wind. I just tried to build the route on Strava on my iPad and it wouldn’t let me as the trail likely isn’t a viable path in the program yet, but I’ll take another whack at it on my computer later tonight.

The ideas was for a solstice century, leave early evening and ride into the sunset, then drag our asses home slowly the next day along the same century. Due to to many snow days and an ill timed work trip, we’ve had to move it a week. I’d love to see it grow as a celebration of the trail and the beginning of summer/solstice. Be like, hey everyone, show up at either end trailhead and ride the length of the trail on the solstice and meet other like minded folks :)

But first we have to take the first step and ride the sucker end to end!

Well, that is pretty cool!

Thanks,

Well, if you decide to, let DM me beforehand and I'll ride from Sheldon to the end with you, and I'll bring a beer or two :)

Looks like on the state website they still list the last section as incomplete. It likely is as I'm sure they'd be shouting from the rooftops if it were finished.

Anyone from Wolcott, Porttersville or Hardwick know if the trail is open for that last 7 miles?

Hey u/JaimeGordonLannister, I'm a local who has been watching this trail being built for about 6 years. We ride about 8 miles of it to work every day but on the other end from St J.

It is indeed open all the way, the last stretch was opened in February. That's kinda what we are celebrating along with the longest days of the year, and the end to another school year.

This is all about the biking, one century ride to St J and one century ride home to Franklin Co. No hiking or side trips, just pedaling, chatting, and smiling.

No worries, we live at the other end :) Just trying to celebrate the longest days of the year and a changing of the seasons without breaking the bank if possible.

Normally, you’d be correct. But I think you missed the part where we will have ridden our bikes 100 miles already…

Jay Peak has free magic carpets as well.

I like it, it's a Hearthstone but we got it at chimney sweep and I don't think I would buy from them again. A local hardware store sells them and I'd buy from them to keep the business local and keep a good relationship if anything went wrong. Chimney sweep isn't coming out for an hours drive to check into something. That's more important that the best deal or details about the stove. They all have to be built to certain standards these days.

That thing is pretty unique looking. I don't think I've ever seen a stovepipe curve like that either...

Our stove is now 18 years old but working well https://imgur.com/a/WlgTTyC

Take your time. Try what I said about getting it going for overnight or all day, but do it first thing on a Saturday or Sunday morning while you are home and see how long it lasts. I do this when I WFH and don't want to be messing with it all day.

Again, not 3-4 pieces, one or two BIG ones. I try for one large chunk if I can.

Best answer right here, no need to read further...

If you have a glass door on your woodstove, you can tell if you are producing creosote. So, occasionally I'll get a blackened glass, but then I just run it real hot after that and it clears up the glass and the stove pipe. We have the chimney cleaned every two years and get good reports on the amount of creosote that gets cleaned out.

You should run you stove hot for 45min-to-an-hour every day to keep the creosote build up down, but we do about every other the past 5 years. Do you have a thermometer on the stove pipe? If you don't, make sure you get one, get it into the burn zone daily if you are worried about it. You make creosote no matter how hot you burn, it's just important to get the wood stove up to temp to burn it off while it's not going to start a chimney fire.

But let's be honest, are you really burning wood if you don't have at least one chimney fire?

It took me a few years to get comfortable with it, so I understand. I didn't grow up with a wood stove, but we burn about 2 cords a winter these days and it keeps going whenever it's below 32.

So the best thing I ever did was learn that putting a channel in the coals was the best thing for getting the next log started. I just move the coles out of a 3 inche channel, from directly in front of where the air enters your firebox to the back of the stove.

Then lay the biggest, chuncky-est pieces, usually two, on top of that and let it go for 25-30 minutes, then turn the air vent all the way down and let it go. I can usually get a good eight hours if I have some chuncky pieces of wood. 4 small pieces DO NOT equal one large one.

When I'm splitting wood, I leave it as chuncky as possible. Then when I need small pieces, I keep the maul at the end of the garage and split one up. I found that I need need small pieces of wood much less often than I need large ones.

I used to fret that it would go out and try and play with the air vent to get it perfect, now, if it goes out, it goes out. But mostly it doesn't, you can revive some pretty dead coals with small pieces of wood, just move the coals around so the ash fall beneath it, create the channel, put on some small pieces of wood, then blow long and slow until they have a tiny bit of flame. Close the door and you should be good.

I hope this helps. Also, when I started burning wood 20 years ago the biggest mistake I made was not having dry wood wood on hand always. Stack or buy two years ahead of what you need.

Just an FYI, you can run a wood stove when you are not home. Ours used to start in January and go until March. BEST heat ever. Now I let it go out every few days as once it gets above 32 it's just uncomfortable, and that happens more often now.

They are pets as well rather than livestock. It’d just be a shame for us, great for the cats though.

Yup, I’ve listened to a 25 minute discussion about the town paying for the laundering of the 4 man road crews uniform shirts and wether we should pay for it or not. Democracy is pretty boring to watch sometimes.

Great sled hill in St Albans, free and fun. About an hour from Stowe I think.

As a free ranging chicken owner, there would be trade offs?

It was a joke. BUT I did have a neighbor with one of those things, I can only see one neighbor from my property and this is the guy who had one. All I could see was a huge blue container across the way. The second happiest day we had was when it was hauled away, the next happiest was when he moved. He also had a hog pen built out of pallets, just nailed together to form a pen, and two sets of grandparents permanently living in campers on the property, complete with old tarps thrown over the top to supplement leaky roofs. Kids swearing outside all day long, like little kids. I guess all I think about is I live in the middle of nowhere, but I have to be next to this dude... Sorta' the image that those containers conjure up in my mind.

Obviously, you do you, it's your property.

You’re not my neighbor are you?

Oops, sorry, you are correct!