Travel On a Bicycle Built for Two

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Day Eighty Eight - Lincoln, New Hampshire to Center Conway, New Hampshire

Day 88

August 12th

Wednesday

Miles 44

Lincoln, New Hampshire to Center Conway, New Hampshire

A late start today because of broken axles on 'Tug' our trailer. The weight and rough roads took their final toll on not one, but both wheels. Thankfully this happened in Lincoln and not out in the middle of nowhere. We waited for Rodgers Ski and Bicycle shop in Lincoln to open at nine hoping they would have two wheels. They had inexpensive wheels we could purchase along with tires since our tires did not fit these wheels. It was almost noon before we were on our way to climb Kancamagus pass. The weather was nice, only partly cloudy. The worst part of leaving so late, traffic was fairly heavy. This is a popular ski and summer vacation spot for people from Boston and New York because of easy access on Interstate 93. We can't imagine what weekend traffic would be like. The ride and views were lovely, thick foliage and trees of the White Mountain Forest with the river flowing alongside much of the route and a few waterfalls. The climb was not as difficult as we expected or had been told. It was a pleasant, easy ride on good road with a gradual climb most of the way having a 9% grade the last few miles. The descent was a nice long one, not as steep as many we had in previous days. There were 32 miles between services today and we were not sure where we would stop. After battling heavy traffic and delays from road construction - two areas with single lane traffic and two areas of dirt, we decided to call it a day in Conway and plan an early start tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Day Eighty Seven - North Haverhill, New Hampshire to Lincoln, New Hampshire

Day 87

August 11th

Tuesday

Miles 25

North Haverhill, New Hampshire to Lincoln, New Hampshire

Our route today took us into the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Beautiful scenery following a river with a few waterfalls as we climbed to around 1800 ft. past a beautiful lake at the top. Unfortunately we were unable to take pictures with the camera because of the rain, pictures below were taken with the phone as we climbed.

Forecast 100% chance of rain! The forecast we saw reported a small amount of rain expected so we thought it would be light showers. We were wrong and the rain got heavier as we approached the top of our climb and included gusty wind. We were soaked by the time we arrived in Lincoln. The Lodge in Lincoln allowed us to check in for a room at 11 a.m. to get out of our wet clothes and warm up. We are very thankful we have had nice weather for the majority of our trip and rarely had to ride in rain.

It rained hard all day so Ronnie took advantage of the quiet afternoon indoors to replace brake pads on the tandem and another broken spoke on the trailer. The 12% plus grade descents the last few days took a toll on our brake pads. The rough roads continue to take a toll on the trailer wheels. The weather across the northern states wreaks havoc on the roads and many of them are not maintained well making them dangerous for bicycles.

Tomorrow we have a twelve mile climb to Kancamagus pass, the last mountain pass of our journey.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Day Eighty Six - Bethel, Vermont to North Haverhill, New Hampshire

Day 86

August 10th

Monday

Miles 55

Bethel, Vermont to North Haverhill, New Hampshire

Today's ride took us through Royalton, and then South Royalton, a charming village that is home to the Vermont School of Law. We stopped at the food coop to buy fruit and snacks for the day's ride. It is nice to find these special grocery stores, the owner said we would see them more often as we traveled east. When leaving South Royalton we passed a large organic farm and two picturesque horse farms among the green hills and tall trees.

On the descent from Thetford Hill we had a blowout on the rear tandem tire. Scary, scary moments until Ronnie safely brought it to a stop. Thankfully it was towards the bottom where the hill was not as steep, we were only going around 20 miles per hour, and the bicycle stayed straight. We had an extra tire and tube so it did not take Ronnie long to get us back on the road. A local cyclist stopped to be sure we were okay and had everything needed for repairs.

After traveling through Stafford and Thetford we entered state #10 as we rode across the Connecticut River into New Hampshire. We immediately turned onto River Road lined with a canopy of trees providing shade and a cool breeze. The next town was Orford, there we rode past seven of the original homes built when the village was established. Many of the homes and farms we are seeing in New Hampshire date back to the 1700's. There seem to be more brick and stone homes in New Hampshire and many of the homes are magnificent in size and style. The barns are a little different but just as stunning and one we saw today was round. We saw additional horse farms with wood fences on green rolling hills - most for English jumping. We continue to see the American flag being flown by many homeowners and businesses.

We followed the Connecticut River most of the afternoon then had the opportunity to camp by it with a splendid view of Vermont mountains on the other side. The camp ground, River Meadows is one of the nicest and cleanest we have camped at. The camp hosts greeted us and offered to let us set up under the pavilion because there was a slight chance for rain. The pavilion was next to a pond with a water feature that was relaxing to listen to. We had a nice table with comfortable chairs-something we rarely had this trip and, best of all our own washroom. This would be a beautiful place to spend the summer!