Hey Fred,
I think the ski lodge hostel you refer to was in Rutland, VT. I lead a
week long trip there between Christmas and New Year. Killington was the
local ski area. Though I also stayed at that hostel while cycling the
Green Mts as well as Putney and the one near Jay Peak. Sweet memories.
And I did all that touring with my 1962 Masi Special and tubulars. The
bike was perfect with it's laid-back angles, low BB, floppy fork and long wheelbase. The frame has fender eyelets, so I could easily mount a
Pletcher rack (the AYH fav). But I never used the bike for any of the
AYH group tours that I lead. A girlfriend and I once road to the Newport Folk Festival with that rig, camping along the Connecticut shore on the way.
Cheers, Michael Allison NYC
On Mar 19, 2007, at 11:39 AM, Fred Rafael Rednor wrote:
>> Bob Hanson wrote:
>>
>> "The following two photos are scans of two
>> postcards which I still have of a British youth
>> hostel at which I spent two nights in 1970.
>> This site was formerly the old City Mill in
>> Winchester, Hampshire, England, originally
>> built on the site of an earlier mill dating
>> back 1000 years."
>>
> That is one fantastic hostel. I have no photos, but I can
> relate that some of the American hostels were of the same theme
> as the joint in Winchester - although not located in such a
> grand edifice.
> For example, the hostel in Putney, Vermont was a converted
> church. But in that case the building was one of those old
> wooden, New England church buildings with white siding. The
> pews had all been removed and the sactuary was divided into 3
> sections - male and female sleeping areas, plus a sort of
> parlor. There was a small kitchen, too, which must have been
> part of the church's original facilities. My daughter's best
> friend is actually from Putney, so I've learned that this
> hostel no longer exists. The building might still exist, but
> if so it's serving another purpose.
> The other Vermont hostel I remember was near one of the ski
> areas - perhaps Stowe or Jay Peak. (Not that any of these
> places are so far apart.) Anyway, this hostel was actually a
> ski lodge in the winter. Now I don't mean ski lodge in modern
> terms. In those days (which really weren't that long ago, were
> they?) there were some really rudimentary lodges in the valleys
> near the Vermont ski mountains. In this place, you slept 3 or
> 4 to a room and there were shared baths.
> For some reason, I don't have any strong memories about the
> other hostels in Vermont and New Hampshire. I remember the
> towns - and even the roads - pretty well, but my recollections
> of the hostels themselves seem to have melded together. Even
> the hostel up in Montréal is something of a haze to me right
> now. I remember the façade (the place must have once been a
> very grand town house or small hotel), and the strict "Matron"
> who ran the place, but not much else. (Well, there are aspects
> of the neighborhood I do remember well, but those aren't
> related to cycling. Suffice it to say, the place was located
> near McGill University and the "counter-culture" section of
> town...)
> By the way, the Washington, DC hostel has been at the same
> location since the 1970s at the very least, and is a converted
> hotel. When in DC, it might be worth passing by just to get a
> feel for the place, especially if you've never spent time in a
> youth hostel. It's on K Street, NW, just a few blocks from the
> more famous tourist attractions.
> What I find interesting about his whole discussion is that
> is shows how for so many people on this list, cycling really
> has been a way of life - and not just exercise - even in North
> America.
> Cheers,
> Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
>
>
>
>
>
>
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