Waterbury is a small Vermont town at the junction of the Winooski river and the road north to Stowe, a place with brick storefronts, a church spire, and an unusually good number of places to eat for a village of under two thousand. It is probably best known to the rest of the world for Ben and Jerry's ice cream, which has a factory and a visitor tour just outside town, and for the Cold Hollow cider mill, where doughnuts come hot from the fryer in autumn. Neither is a bad reason to start a ride.
The Green Mountain Byway follows Route 100 north out of Waterbury, with the long ridge of the Green Mountains on its left and the Worcester range on its right. The road runs up a wide valley of farms, red barns, maple groves, white clapboard houses and stone walls, past Waterbury Center and on toward the ski resort town of Stowe. The riding is easy rather than thrilling, with gentle bends, rolling hills, a decent surface, and traffic that is moderate on weekdays and heavier on autumn weekends.
Autumn is the main event. In early to mid-October, the hills turn orange, scarlet and gold, and leaf-peepers arrive in huge numbers, so be prepared for slow traffic and full car parks. Spring has its own charms, with maple sugaring in March and April, when sap runs and sugarhouses boil it down to syrup. Summer is green and warm, with swimming holes in the rivers. Winter is for skiers, and the roads can be icy.
Fuel is available in Waterbury and in Montpelier, the small state capital, about seventeen kilometres to the south. Above Stowe stands Mount Mansfield, the highest peak in Vermont, with a profile that people say looks like a human face lying on its back. The road through Smugglers' Notch, a narrow pass hemmed in by boulders, is steep and tight, and it is closed in winter. Vermont is generally careful with its roads, but the frost heaves in spring can be severe, so watch for broken tarmac.