Across America North - day 50 - Manchester, NH --> Portsmouth, NH
Today was the last day of the trip. I'm too tired to type any more.
Anticipation ran high at departure as we started out for the high school in Rye about 7
miles from Portsmouth. Fifty miles and a few rolling hills later, we were there and the
police car showed up on time a half hour later. Then we headed for the beach several miles
away at a stately, processional pace.
A crowd was at the beach that day. The wind was strong enough to blow some beach chairs
over and the air was cool. It's been unusually cool here. A few of the riders jumped in
the ocean for a good soaking while others got wet up to their ankles. The ones who were
met by friends and family stayed a while and the others headed for the hotel 7 miles away
in Portsmouth. The road to Portsmouth was along the beach and I could only imagine how
much the price of a house there was increased by the location.
We finally made it to the hotel and the ride was over. Showers and a change of clothes
were next followed immediately by bicycle packing and shipping. FedEx will be here
tomorrow morning to pick up my bike along with several others.
A group of people had reservations at Old Ferry Landing, a seafood restaurant on the water
in downtown Portsmouth. Luckily, I had a ride there in a car. On the way, I couldn't stop
thinking about how easy it was to go up the hill and how soft the seat was. For dinner, I
had baked, stuffed haddock followed by a trip around the corner to an ice cream parlor.
They were both very good.
The America by Bicycle shuttle left this morning at 8:00 for Logan Airport and the people
bound for Logan this morning met for one last hotel breakfast and loading of luggage. Good
byes were said all around with many good wishes and a few tears.
My train leaves from Boston for Denver tomorrow at 11:55 am. That means going to the C&J
bus stop about 3 miles from the hotel tomorrow at 7:30. So continues another cross-country
trip. My epic journey is over now. It's more conventional from here on.
AAN day 50 - Manchester, NH --> Wallis Beach, NH
AAN day 50 - Wallis Beach, NH --> Portsmouth, NH
Monday, August 5, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
AAN day 49 - Brattleboro, VT --> Manchester, NH
Across America North - day 49 - Brattleboro, VT --> Manchester, NH
Today was a moderately easy 80-mile day of New Hampshire hills. The first half of the day was some serious climbing but the second half was easy rolling hills. We're in Manchester now and will see the Atlantic tomorrow morning. First we meet at a high school where we'll get a police escort to the beach. After the good-byes are said, some of us will go on another 8 miles to a hotel in Portsmouth where we'll pack our bikes for shipment, spend the night, and go home on Tuesday. Once again I must commit my bike to the tender mercies of FedEx.
At least one of us will spend a second night in Portsmouth and leave on Wednesday. I'll take a C&J bus to Boston south station at about 7:00 Wednesday morning and take a train back to Denver.
I can't imagine how my trip across the country could have been made easier. I sat very comfortably in the lap of luxury on this trip and that's because the business of cycle touring was handled so expertly America by Bicycle. Highly recommended.
I wanted to have a bookend tour of my trip a half lifetime ago. This one was different in every way from that one. I was lucky to have chosen this year and to have done it with this group.
Today was a moderately easy 80-mile day of New Hampshire hills. The first half of the day was some serious climbing but the second half was easy rolling hills. We're in Manchester now and will see the Atlantic tomorrow morning. First we meet at a high school where we'll get a police escort to the beach. After the good-byes are said, some of us will go on another 8 miles to a hotel in Portsmouth where we'll pack our bikes for shipment, spend the night, and go home on Tuesday. Once again I must commit my bike to the tender mercies of FedEx.
At least one of us will spend a second night in Portsmouth and leave on Wednesday. I'll take a C&J bus to Boston south station at about 7:00 Wednesday morning and take a train back to Denver.
I can't imagine how my trip across the country could have been made easier. I sat very comfortably in the lap of luxury on this trip and that's because the business of cycle touring was handled so expertly America by Bicycle. Highly recommended.
I wanted to have a bookend tour of my trip a half lifetime ago. This one was different in every way from that one. I was lucky to have chosen this year and to have done it with this group.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
AAN day 48 - Albany, NY --> Brattleboro, VT
Across America North - day 48 - Albany, NY --> Brattleboro, VT
We crossed into Vermont today. New York was a nice place to ride.
We haven't had this much climbing since we were out west. Vermont ain't flat, as the t- shirt says. The uphills were frequently steeper than 8% and there were extended sections of 10% and more. Climbing today was 5810 feet by my computer's reckoning. In local terms, today's climbing was four times up Lookout Mountain.
The descent into Brattleboro was about 13 miles long and I hit 48 mph a few times but slowed down in the crosswind. I'm sure that my tolerance of highs speed is declining with age but it was a geat bombing run even with the crosswind and winding road.
We crossed into Vermont today. New York was a nice place to ride.
We haven't had this much climbing since we were out west. Vermont ain't flat, as the t- shirt says. The uphills were frequently steeper than 8% and there were extended sections of 10% and more. Climbing today was 5810 feet by my computer's reckoning. In local terms, today's climbing was four times up Lookout Mountain.
The descent into Brattleboro was about 13 miles long and I hit 48 mph a few times but slowed down in the crosswind. I'm sure that my tolerance of highs speed is declining with age but it was a geat bombing run even with the crosswind and winding road.
Friday, August 2, 2013
AAN day 47 - Little Falls, NY --> Albany, NY
Across America North - day 47 - Little Falls, NY --> Albany, NY
What a nice day this was. Gentle hills, cool temperature, lovely bike paths along the Erie Canal that would become my usual route if I lived here all contributed to a day acclaimed by most as the best day of the tour.
My derailleurs needed a little adjusting today to have the use of my low gear. I'll definitely need my lowest gear tomorrow. More specifically, my chainrings are 53 and 39 and my cogs go from 11 to 29. So my lowest gear is 39x29, which ought to be enough for most but are an extra effort for heavyweights like me. The steepest hills tomorrow go up to 20% with quite a few stretches of 8%-14%.
We'll be in Vermont tomorrow on a day with a lot of climbing. We'll be in New Hampshire the day after tomorrow on a day with a lot of climbing. That means about 6300 feet tomorrow and 5000 feet the day after. The end is nigh. I can do this.
What a nice day this was. Gentle hills, cool temperature, lovely bike paths along the Erie Canal that would become my usual route if I lived here all contributed to a day acclaimed by most as the best day of the tour.
My derailleurs needed a little adjusting today to have the use of my low gear. I'll definitely need my lowest gear tomorrow. More specifically, my chainrings are 53 and 39 and my cogs go from 11 to 29. So my lowest gear is 39x29, which ought to be enough for most but are an extra effort for heavyweights like me. The steepest hills tomorrow go up to 20% with quite a few stretches of 8%-14%.
We'll be in Vermont tomorrow on a day with a lot of climbing. We'll be in New Hampshire the day after tomorrow on a day with a lot of climbing. That means about 6300 feet tomorrow and 5000 feet the day after. The end is nigh. I can do this.
AAN day 46 - Rochester, NY --> Little Falls, NY
Across America North - day 46 - Rochester, NY --> Little Falls, NY
No post yesterday because the network was impossible. The designers of the hotel network apparently had no idea that more than one person at a time would want to use it. Some people went a few blocks to the McDonald's and used its network but I went to bed early.
The day started with warnings of rain and it came as promised. A few drops through the morning became a steady rain starting at about 10:30. By the time I arrived at the hotel at 2:00, I was very wet and gritty. A clean bike is a happy bike and mine was unhappy.
There were so many days when we could have spent the day in the rain but we've been dry since Oregon. Other trips in other years have had temperatures over 100 but we haven't. We've been very lucky with the weather.
I brought a scale on this trip. When that became known early on, the others expressed quite a bit of interest but hardly anyone acted on it. Now that the trip is winding down, there is more interest and there is more caution about eating habits when suddenly not riding 80 miles/day.
No post yesterday because the network was impossible. The designers of the hotel network apparently had no idea that more than one person at a time would want to use it. Some people went a few blocks to the McDonald's and used its network but I went to bed early.
The day started with warnings of rain and it came as promised. A few drops through the morning became a steady rain starting at about 10:30. By the time I arrived at the hotel at 2:00, I was very wet and gritty. A clean bike is a happy bike and mine was unhappy.
There were so many days when we could have spent the day in the rain but we've been dry since Oregon. Other trips in other years have had temperatures over 100 but we haven't. We've been very lucky with the weather.
I brought a scale on this trip. When that became known early on, the others expressed quite a bit of interest but hardly anyone acted on it. Now that the trip is winding down, there is more interest and there is more caution about eating habits when suddenly not riding 80 miles/day.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
AAN day 45 - Rochester, NY --> Syracuse, NY
Across America North - day 45 - Rochester, NY --> Syracuse, NY
A gentler tailwind made today a little easier. The weather seems to be encouraging an end of this trip. However, about 23 miles was on the Erie Canal bike path, a gravel and dirt path that slowed the pace quite a bit. Still, the Erie Canal was a nice change of pace and seeing a lock in action was interesting.
Only about 400 miles left to go now. I'm already winding down mentally and ready to roll onto the beach.
A gentler tailwind made today a little easier. The weather seems to be encouraging an end of this trip. However, about 23 miles was on the Erie Canal bike path, a gravel and dirt path that slowed the pace quite a bit. Still, the Erie Canal was a nice change of pace and seeing a lock in action was interesting.
Only about 400 miles left to go now. I'm already winding down mentally and ready to roll onto the beach.
AAN day 44 - Niagara Falls, NY --> Rochester, NY
Across America North - day 44 - Niagara Falls, NY --> Rochester, NY
This was a second easy day in a row. The wind was with us and the miles went by. The terrain was easy with rolling hills that were small enough in most cases to stand up and roll over the top.
I didn't make this post last night because the network was useless. If it ever works, I can say only that one person at a time can make any use of it. Some people left to go elsewhere to find another public network.
Countdown: only 400 miles to go.
This was a second easy day in a row. The wind was with us and the miles went by. The terrain was easy with rolling hills that were small enough in most cases to stand up and roll over the top.
I didn't make this post last night because the network was useless. If it ever works, I can say only that one person at a time can make any use of it. Some people left to go elsewhere to find another public network.
Countdown: only 400 miles to go.
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