Day 104: North Thetford to Bath NH

September 12, 2021

New Hampshire Take 2

“What do you think? Should we stay in Vermont or cross back into New Hampshire?” Rachel asks Tom at breakfast. “New Hampshire, it’s more scenic and the road has a better shoulder,” Tom says and Paula agrees. “Plus you can see Vermont from there”.

Tom did a fund raising bike ride for Parkinson’s yesterday and Paula is going to do a fund raising bike ride this morning for the Upper Valley Rail Trails Alliance. They had been part of the original organizers for this ride. We will be on the road too early to see any of the riders that will come right by their house. We’ve had a lovely stay here and thank them for their hospitality as we leave.

We ride 5 miles to the Fairlee and then cross the bridge back into New Hampshire. There is a better shoulder and we have lots of climbing with occasional sightings of the Connecticut River. There is only a hint of color in a few trees. At Piedmont, we stop at the Four Corners market for a break.Just before Haverhill on a ridge, we have great views as Patrick says, “almost all of Vermont”.

The last stretch into Woodsville the road has a bad surface, but we have a tailwind and the road has flattened. We find Shaw’s Grocery store for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s supplies. Fall is definitely here, pumpkins are now for sale along with the mums. We saw pumpkin patches and pumpkins on the doorsteps along the route today.

Since the Ammonoosuc Rail Trail has a bridge out and a detour at the very beginning, we take 302 a few miles out of town following the river to the Twin Rivers Campground. This is at the junction to the Kanamangus Highway that many cyclists ride as part of the ACA route. We will continue on 302 to Bath tomorrow and pick up the Trail to Littleton.

Tomorrow, Robert Ferrari who we cycled with at the beginning of the tour will meet us here and ride a little way with us again.