Gravel Ride: Glovers via Dirt
In celebration of Glover Day coming up this weekend, we'll do a bit of pre-riding of the (in)famous Tour de Glover course, as well as exploring some of the beautiful high meadows that hem the villages of West Glover and Glover.
Head south from the Center, we head as though going for the village. Taking Lost Nation Rd, Mill Village Rd, and bearing left on to King Farm Rd. We turn left on to Young Rd, cross the pedestrian bridge and turn left on the Creek Rd. Creek road treats one to broad vistas to the west, and you're climbing slows you just enough that you can enjoy the view. See if you can pick out the Center and HP from that vantage point.
We turn right on to Seaver Brook Road, which opens a mile or two of tree-lined Vermont. Seaver Brook turns in to Urie Road - they both climb and roll toward South Albany, which is where you're deposited all too soon, taking a left turn toward the cluster of homes that is South Albany. Go through the crossroads, heading right toward Hartwell Pond on the eponymously named road. You'll climb up for a while, reaching the County Road where we turn left. We're joining the Tour de Glover course with this turn, roughly 2/3rds of the way through its circuit.
Turn right down King Rd. The road descends to the west shore of Lake Parker, which it hugs before popping out on the pavement. For the TdG race, you'd wrap things up just before Parker Pie on your right - about a half mile from where you pop out on the pavement. But we're continuing past Parker Pie and West Glover (properly fueled if so needed) and dropping down the descent to Glover and Route 16. Be mindful of your right hand turn here in the village of Glover (worth exploring all its nooks and crannies) - 16 is busy.
You'll go another quarter mile or so, before you turn right on Still Hill Road. Still Hill is in fact the start of the TdG event, climbing from the gun about 700' in under two miles on dirt. Sweet! These next three miles or so are rougher, as the roads are not regularly maintained. Use caution, fat tires and take your time. Check out the views when you're up high - it's a magnificent view of high meadows.
You've by now dropped to the SE corner of Lake Parker. You'll trace this part of the shoreline before turning left on Beach Hill Rd. While Still Hill is what people remember, Beach Hill is deceptively hard: another 3 miles of climbing, with 600' of elevation as the road stairsteps higher. If you're racing the TdG, keep the pressure on here - much of the rest of the course is downhill, so this is the next big spot to make a selection. If you're not racing, look around and enjoy the scenery.
We leave the Tour de Glover route (having pre-ridden all but a bit over a mile of its length) when we bear left on to Andersonville road, continuing our descent from the top of Beach Hill. Eventually, Andersonville T's and you'll turn right on to South Albany Road, wind your way through South Albany, turning left at the crossroads and heading back up hill. South Albany road T's in to Creek Rd, where we turn right, followed by a pretty quick bearing left at the fork to Page Pond Rd. Your first left is the north end of Lost Nation Rd. You pass by HP and soon you're back on campus - grab a treat from the office!
Distance: 31.9 mi
Elevation: ~3800′
This will take from 1h40m to almost four hours, depending on your fitness and cycling sangfroid.Watch as we post more great adventure rides around the Center and the NEK beyond! Check out our ridewithgps.com profile for more routes locally, all downloadable to your device, or with the printable cue sheets.