October 9, 2021
Day 131: Salisbury Beach to Beverly
Last day of cycling
“The more you eat the better I feel,” Matt says to us at breakfast. He fixes us a fantastic French toast and scrambled egg breakfast. As we leave Matt also gives us a huge package of snacks and treats for the day.
We head out from Salisbury Beach back towards US 1 and then on bike path around Newburyport. We aim for the Clipper trail past the train station and find a single track trail. We cross Highfield Rd and after going a little further the track worsens and Patrick reconsiders whether we should continue. He looked closer at Google Maps and questioned whether the trail would be interrupted by the interstate. So we turn around back to the nearest cross road and take Scotland Road towards Georgetown.
A local cyclist stops when we were at an intersection and confirms the trail picks up again after the interstate and into Georgetown. We find the Love and Peace thrift shop where Tony Toledo works and we meet him. Tony is a children’s storyteller. As we moved down the coast telling people about where we would stay in Boston, we got “I know Tony”. He explains his house to us, to let ourselves in and to make ourselves at home. First though we have an Italian sandwich for lunch and continue the trail to Danvers where we visit the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. Rachel is a descendent through the Gale line. Rebecca, at age 71 was one of 25 who were hung as a witch in the Salem Village during the hysteria of 1692. It is thought that she was accused over a land dispute by the Putnam’s.
We arrive at Beverly and take the obligatory “end of ride” photo, then find Tony’s house. We take the spare bedroom where there is a twin bed and a cot. Tony and Frosene take the living room where there is a hide-a-bed couch and another cot. Tony is a ferocious book and music collector, his house is loaded with books and boxed of CD’s. In the evening we go to the Back-Beat pub for dinner, drinks and beer, listening to jazz music. When the music takes a break, Tony gets up to announce to the crowd pointing at us that we had all just biked across the country coast to coast. “I thought riding my bike across the country would give me a hundred year residual health benefit,” Tony says while telling us about his 1979 bike ride across the country. “I was wrong.”
And so ends the cycling part of “Another one for the Bikes” tour.
We will be staying with Tony until Saturday the 16th when we fly out of Boston to Amsterdam for a two week family visit. Frosene and John have arranged Warmshowers stays after the weekend and will take the train back to Seattle.
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Racpat
3 years ago
Congrats on another successful biking adventure! It was great riding with you early in the trip and sharing part of the adventure. Have fun in Europe!
Metal Hip club
3 years ago
Thanks it was a great ride. Most definitely meeting and riding with you was one of the highlights. In New Hampshire we met up with Robert and meeting Julie his wife.
Come visit us in Boise.
Racpat
3 years ago
Today's ride: 35 miles (56 km)
Total: 4,927 miles (7,929 km)
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3 years ago