Local Motion will reinstate the Island Line Bike Ferry service for the 2018 season. The Vermont Agency of Transportation announced a joint effort today with, the Town of Colchester and Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department to rebuild the Colchester Causeway, targeting early July for reopening. 

I am beginning a series about the complexity of riding a bike. I am interested in the many elements that go into a bike ride, and as I use a bike as my primary form of transportation, I've given these elements a lot of thought.

Vermont is home to "one of the country's most spectacular bike trails," according to a recent Washington Post travel piece, and we couldn't agree more! Local Motion owns and operates a bike ferry on a section of the trail, the Colchester Causeway, ferrying cyclists and their bikes from one side of the 200 ft "cut" to the other. Last year, more than 16,000 cyclists rode our ferry enjoying views of the Adirondack mountains to the west and the Green mountains to the east - at the same time! It truly is a spectacular ride and beloved by locals and visitors alike.

Many years ago I bought Kate Carter's 'Wildflowers of Vermont.' I learned about the most common Vermont wildflowers. This year I decided to photograph flowers as they appeared and post the pictures on Facebook. The first flower of the season was Coltsfoot, which I found by the side of the road in Essex. This was during my first long ride of the the spring. I had seen some cultivated flowers in bloom, but that was my first wild flower. A week later I found a blue flower next to the Burlington bike path, but I was not able to identify it.

Burlington Electronic Launches Electric Bike Rebate Program and Test Ride Lending Library - partners with Local Motion and Burlington Shops to Promote E-bikes as Tools for reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Transportation Sector

Join friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors on the roads and paths this May--but skip the car and grab your bike! Sign up for the 2018 Vermont Bike Challenge to win prizes, feel better, save money, reduce pollution, and get fit! 

In partnership with the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and a number of other participating organizations and sponsors, the Southern Windsor County Regional Planning Commission and the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission will host the 2018 statewide Vermont Walk/Bike Summit of May 4th, 2018 at the Barrette Center for the Arts through a partnership with Northern Stage in downtown White River Junction.

Last month I described my morning ride from my house in Winooski to Burlington. This month I will tell you about the ride home in the afternoon. My last destination in Burlington, before heading home, is usually City Market. As I am leaving City Market, when it is cold outside, I park my shopping cart in front of a heat vent in the exit alcove. I warm my hands before heading out to my bike. After putting my pannier on my bike, I turn on my lights, put on my helmet and set off.

Every winter morning I travel from my house in Winooski to the YMCA in Burlington. At the Y I alternate days of swimming with days of riding the stationary bicycle and doing yoga. My friend Stewart has remarked on the irony of riding my bicycle to the Y so I can ride the stationary bike, but that extra half hour of work on the stationary bicycle helps me keep in shape for longer rides when the weather turns warmer. It also gives me a chance to listen to books read aloud. If I went by car to the YMCA, I could do it on automatic pilot. My route would always be the same, and I would not have many decisions to make along the way. As a bike rider, things are different. Every ride presents variables that determine my route.