Delightful and Refreshing Cycling Cocktails

With its stunning mountain vistas, rolling hills, red barns and covered bridges, Vermont has long been cyclists' heaven. Throughout the Green Mountain State, cyclists of all abilities can enjoy traveling as a group or solitary rides from the Champlain Islands and the Northeast Kingdom down to Wilmington and Bennington. There is no better place to vacation on two wheels.

And whether they are pushing the limits of endurance or enjoying a laid-back tour, cyclists of all kinds can celebrate their accomplishments with some delightful and refreshing cocktails. Here are some of the best biking tours in the Green Mountain State and some summer spirits to enjoy when cyclists set their sights on breaking away.

The Northeast Kingdom has a great deal to o er cyclists who want to experience pristine lakes and beautiful scenery. The Glacial Lakes Loop begins in Lyndonville and loops around Island Pond and winds its way back down the eastern shore of Lake Willoughby. At the end of this ride, a cool mojito is in order.

2 sprigs mint

1 ounce simple syrup

¾ ounce fresh lime juice

1½ ounces rum

2 dashes bitters

Soda water

Muddle the leaves of one mint sprig with the simple syrup and lime juice. Add rum and bitters, and stir; top with soda water. Serve over ice with the other mint sprig as garnish. (Strain if you like. If not, you’ll have little mint pieces oating around in your drink.)

To the west, the Burlington Bike Path provides eight miles of paved path along Lake Champlain and is perfect for cyclists of all abilities. It starts in downtown Burlington at Oakledge Park and runs north to the Winooksi River. One of the cool bene ts of this trail is that cyclists can access all that Burlington has to o er after their ride — especially a number of bars and restaurants in Church Street Marketplace. A white sangria would go down smooth.

750ML bottle of white wine

½ cup peach schnapps

¼ cup sugar

2 peaches, sliced

1 orange, sliced

Ginger ale

Mix wine, schnapps, sugar and fruit in a pitcher, and stir gently to mix and dissolve sugar. Chill about an hour before serving, topped with ginger ale to taste. You can add any other fruits you like as a garnish, and when the beverage is gone, you’ll have a tasty fruit salad in your glass.

For cyclists who want to experience the Burlington trail and the Champlain Islands, the Island Line Rail Trail is the perfect choice. This bike trail also begins at Oakledge Park and runs across the Colchester Causeway where two bike ferries take cyclists to the Champlain Islands for an unforgettable day of cycle touring. Along the way, cyclists will pass through quaint villages that o er liquid refreshment worthy of such a ride like the Cherry Smash.

Cyclists who want to challenge their endurance and enjoy the Champlain Valley’s unmatched beauty of farmlands, covered bridges and the Green Mountain National Forest have a cornucopia of choices with this trail network. The Lake Champlain Bikeways o er 5- to 25-mile routes all the way up to 100-plus mile routes that traverse six Vermont counties and two New York State counties for those who wish to take a ferry across Lake Champlain. A Lemon Daisy will quench your thirst and help you toast your triumph.

Lemon Daisy

¾ ounce lemon juice

½ ounce grenadine

½ ounce simple syrup

7Up Soda water Vodka

5 pitted fresh cherries

½ ounce fresh lemon juice

1 ounce maraschino liqueur

1½ ounces gin

Muddle four of the cherries in a mixing glass with the lemon juice and liqueur. Add gin and ice, shake well, and strain into a serving glass. Use the remaining cherry as a garnish.

The Manchester Rec Path and Historic Marble Rail Trail runs just 5.5 miles round-trip from the center of the village to North Road. Cyclists who are staying in the Manchester area’s charming B&Bs or at the Equinox Resort & Spa in the shadow of the Green Mountain State’s second highest peak, can have an enjoyable ride and partake of this summer sensation when they return. A sweet cocktail to complement this ride is The Rodrigo.

3 ounces raspberry vodka

Iced tea

Fill an eight-ounce glass with ice, then squeeze a wedge of lemon over the ice. Add the wedge to the glass, and pour in the raspberry vodka. Fill the rest of the glass with iced tea.

(plain or any avor) or even some limoncello.

Mix the rst three ingredients in a wine glass, then add equal parts 7Up and soda water and a few ice cubes. This makes a tasty nonalcoholic drink, similar to lemonade. For a kick, add vodka (plain or any avor) or even some limoncello.

The Vermont Gran Fondo ("big ride" in Italian) runs more than 100 miles and over 10,000 feet of climbing. This year’s event will be held on June 24 at the Bristol Rec Park in Bristol. The VTGF was born from a famous bucket-list epic, 4-gap ride known by the locals as the LAMB ride. LAMB comes from the names of four gaps (Lincoln Gap, Appalachian Gap, Middlebury Gap and Brandon Gap) which, when combined into a single ride, can easily top 100 miles and over 10,000 feet of climbing. Surely the completion of such a monumental feat deserves an extra special cocktail. The Frozen Blue Hawaii may do this event justice.

Frozen Blue Hawaii

1 ounce light rum

1 ounce Blue Curaçao

1 ounce Coco Lopez

2 ounces pineapple juice

Whirl all ingredients with 1 cup cracked ice in your blender and pour into glasses. Add a pineapple wedge for garnish and nibbling.

Sources: Bicycling.com, Vermont Outdoor Guide Association, voga.com