Day 32: Fryeburg, ME to Bethel, VT

June 13, 2008

127.36 miles, 10:06 Ride Time, 12.59 Average Speed, 41.07 Maximum Speed

It might have been the short, easy day yesterday, or (less likely) the effects of the Moxie Soda, but for whatever reason, I felt like riding today, and so I did - a lot.

I was up early, and after a quick breakfast at Quinn's store, rode toward New Hampshire and the White Mountains. It was a cool, crisp morning, and I wore the arm warmers and the wind jacket. Eight miles later, at Conway, I got on the shady, virtually traffic-free Passaconoway Road, where I started a gentle climb for several miles. Eventually I got on the slightly busier State Route 112, on which I would remain for the next forty miles.

Kancamagus Pass (2,855 feet) looks scary on the "elevation profile" on the back of the Adventure Cycling maps, but I didn't find it terribly difficult - long, but not as steep as some of the hills in Connecticut. At the top, I stopped and talked to some rough looking, chopper-riding characters from New York City. Their response when I answered their question about where I was going (and where I had ridden from): "Git Outtaheeahh!!"

Of course, the long descent was nice, and at the bottom, in Lincoln (a typical touristy place), I made the obligatory stop at Dunkin' Donuts.

By now it was warmer, so I put away the arm warmers and jacket. It never got extremely hot today, and more importantly, it felt like the least-humid day of the entire trip. I don't think I could have done this many miles if the weather had been like it was for me in Connecticut.

There were a few more minor climbs and descents - nothing as major as "The Kanc", though. During one descent I started hearing a noise, and, cautious after the crash in New York, stopped to identify it. A large bee-like insect had gotten jammed in the front brake pad; sadly, it did not survive my efforts to extricate it.

Later, I was stopped at the top of hill trying to take a decent picture of a butterfly (probably not the wisest use of my time, given that it was afternoon and I still had fifty miles to go), when another cyclist rode up pulling a trailer. It was Jeff from Indiana, riding to Maine. After exchanging the usual information, I noticed that he was riding a road bike with a double chainring. I asked him how big the "big ring" was, and, professing not to know, he counted the teeth. It was a 53! I hadn't seen anyone touring with anything like that since the single-speed guys back in the South - and it was flat down there. Impressive.

I approached Vermont on the very nice, shady, traffic-free "River Road." It turned to dirt for a while, then back to pavement, before I crossed the Connecticut River on a rusty old bridge into Vermont.

Vermont welcomed me with an immediate steep climb away from the river, and some pretty terrible, cracked and bumpy pavement. It was about thirty miles to Bethel (which was fifteen miles more than I had incorrectly calculated the night before), and I was starting to get tired. By now it was later than I usually ride, and it was actually quite pleasant - starting to cool down a little.

I rolled into Bethel about 7:20, located the home of Jessamyn, my host for the night, and after some conversation, learned that pretty much every place to eat in town was closed for the night. A grocery down the street was still open, so I walked over there for my usual junk, and a DiGorno's Pizza.

I asked the man at the store if he had heard the weather forecast for tomorrow, and instead of the usual "Uhh, it might rain", I got a super-detailed 30 second meteorological report. Was he putting me on? Apparently not - weather really was his hobby. "I've got a weather station at home that I built myself!" "He really does!" confirmed the woman working at the store with him...

After the pizza and some more conversation with Jessamyn, a nice and very interesting person, I retired fairly early, satisfied with my long day.