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As I cruised the grounds of the State of Vermont Surplus Equipment and Vehicle Auction in Berlin on Saturday morning, an impish thought occurred to me: If I was a single lady — or a gay man, for that matter — this place would be pay dirt. Amid the expected vehicle auction scenery of stripped state police cruisers, backhoes, dump trucks, Ski-Dos and flannel-clad duffers sipping from polystyrene were swarms of seemingly eligible men. They were everywhere — all ages, all types — munching hot dogs, inspecting boat motors, pretending to tinker.... Read more

Gov. Jim Douglas was talking the talk at last Thursday’s kickoff of the 2008 “Way to Go! Commuter Challenge.” The annual springtime event is meant to encourage Vermonters to incorporate more eco-friendly travel alternatives into their daily commute, such as bicycling, walking, carpooling and public transportation.... Read more

In the fall of 2006, Rusty Gould landed on Church Street and requested a bed at the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) Waystation. When the weather turned, he threw a tent in his bike trailer, pedaled out of town and set up camp in the woods.

Gould was planning to do the same this year — until a Nissan sedan jumped the curb and smashed his rig, which was chained to a fence, outside of COTS’ King Street Daystation.... Read more

Behold the truck. As if you have a choice. Behind an 18-wheeler struggling uphill on a country two-lane, or in front of one barreling down the Interstate, you will behold it, like it or not.

In 2002, there were 1.28 million trucks with at least five-axles and 18 wheels in the United States, and they logged more than 82.3 billion miles. About $10 billion of the estimated $13.2 billion of consumer and manufacturing goods on sale in America — everything in every store and warehouse — reached its destination by truck.... Read more

According to Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-seller Eat, Pray, Love, the nice-girl way to get over a break-up in your mid-thirties involves dining in Italy, meditating in India and romancing in Indonesia. Whatever. The badass way to get over a break-up in your mid-thirties is to ride your 2001 BMW F650 GS Dakar motorcycle 10,700 miles to the Arctic Circle and back. Alone. Along the route your ex-boyfriend meticulously planned.... Read more

Fifteen years ago, University of Vermont computer-science lecturer Robert Erickson hiked the 270-mile Long Trail end to end. He’s backpacked through Alaska, paddled much of Lake Champlain, and climbed to the summit of Camel’s Hump in the winter. Now that Erickson has two preschool-aged girls, however, he’s more likely to be found tramping the trails around his Essex home. And it’s more difficult than you might imagine.... Read more

‘Tis the season to pick routes carefully, thanks to gaping, post-winter potholes that pock greater Burlington’s highways and byways. At the city’s Department of Public Works, three customer-service agents handle the flood of complaints from drivers who are fed up with being shook up. Hinesburg’s Valerie Beaudry, 39, has answered calls since 1999, while Charlene Orton of South Burlington, 40, has been part of the team since 2000.

Recently, Seven Days steered the pair into a discussion of pavement problems.... Read more

When family and friends of Eugene “Gip” Brooks gathered in Colchester to say good-bye to the 73-year-old retired bus driver, who died March 1, his memorial service was especially poignant for many of his former co-workers at the Vermont Transit Company.

For Chris Andreasson, 56, general manager of Vermont Transit, Brooks’ passing also marked the end of the line for a company he’s been with for more than 35 years.... Read more

BURLINGTON — Annie Bourdon is not a used-car salesperson, but she’ll talk fixed automotive costs and vehicle depreciation till she’s blue in the face. Why? The University of Vermont grad student is the driving force behind Green Mountain CarShare (GMCS), the state’s first “neighborhood-based” car “service.” With a little luck — and $200,000 in donations — GMCS will hit the streets of Greater Burlington in June.... Read more

VERMONT — Vermont is renowned for being a great place to ride a bike. Scenery and quiet country roads abound. Safety, however, is in shorter supply. With roughly 50 percent of the roads unpaved and many without a designated shoulder, it takes bravery, luck and good handling skills to keep the rubber side down.... Read more