Two Lincolns in New England matter to riders, and they are not the same town. The famous one is in New Hampshire, at the western end of the Kancamagus. It sits in the valley of the New Haven River, with Mount Abraham, one of the state's four-thousand-footers, rising over it to the east.
What brings riders here is the road. Route 17, running east from Bristol and the Champlain lowlands toward Waitsfield, climbs over the Appalachian Gap, a pass of about 2,365 feet that is one of the steepest and most scenic in Vermont. The ascent from the Bristol side comes with tight hairpins and sharp grades, and the summit view across the Champlain Valley toward the Adirondacks is huge. South of Lincoln, a narrower road, the Lincoln Gap, climbs to over 2,400 feet with gradients that rival any in New England. It is closed in winter, so the season runs from roughly late spring to late autumn, and the steepest part is no place for a heavy touring bike.
The area's history is rural and rugged. Lincoln was a farming and lumbering town, and a few old farms and a small village still line the valley road. Bristol, a handful of miles west, has a lovely green and an old mill, along with the fuel and food that Lincoln lacks. The woods around are maple, beech and yellow birch, with spruce on the heights, and bear and moose roam the upland forest, though you are likelier to meet deer.
Practicalities are easy: fill the tank in Bristol or Middlebury before the climbs, and bring a layer, because the pass is cooler and windier than the valley. Weekends in foliage season bring a steady stream of traffic, and the Appalachian Gap is a popular place for cyclists, so take the hairpins with care. Early morning light in October is spectacular, with fog in the valleys and sun on the ridges, and the whole run feels remote though it is not far from town.