May 14, 2021
Day 9: Lincoln, NH to Fairlee, VT
Steeper Grades, Very Little Traffic, a Great Ride!
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Climbing Today; 2,312 ft Climbing to Date; 20,982 ft
I didn't sleep well last night, probably because I stayed up late trying to get the video of yesterday's ride done. But the Holiday Inn Express had a great hot breakfast, and Doc and I tanked up and prepped for the ride. Oh, BTW, I was surprised when we checked in yesterday to learn that I was a "Platinum Elite" member of the IHG honors club. I just knew I had some points with them - anyway, they did give us a big room.
Well, what can I say? Today was as near to perfect as it will ever get, as far as bicycle touring goes. The temperature started out a bit below 40 (degrees farenheit) and rose to the mid-60's by early afternoon. There was little wind, except for an occasional wild gust in the mountains. It threatened to rain a bit, but I only experienced a few drops before it quit and never seriously considered the need for rain gear. But I should probably start at the beginning, because stories work better that way.
Ready to roll out of the hotel room this morn, Doc discovered he had forgot to charge his GPS. So I gave him my charging battery (one of those "battery-extender" lithium ion batteries with a USB plugin for charging cell phones and other devices that may need a boose while out and about). He decided he would give his GPS a 5-minute charge on the wall charger to get it up and going and then use the battery-extender to survive the day. So I rolled out with the intention of cruising slow until Doc caught up. It was another beautiful spring day in the White Mountains National forest.
I moved on slowly, enjoying the many streams along the way.
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Doc had ridden about 15 minutes from the hotel before realizing that he left a water bottle in the fridge - so by the time he retraced his steps and returned he was going to be some 40 minutes behind me. So we rode separately today.
Yesterday we had one long continuous climb as we ascended Kancamagus Pass, but the grade was never too bad. Today we had numerous small climbs, some of which had very steep grades. The total climbing today was 400 feet less than yesterday, and yet the steeper grades today made it seem just as hard if not harder than yesterday. Our route today crossed the Appalachian Trail.
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It was a beautiful ride and I enjoyed rolling through the National Forest and picturesque New England towns, some of which were so small you wouldn't even know you were in a town.
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I had lunch bought from a store in North Haverhill - I carried my sandwich and chocolate milk a couple of blocks to the Post Office and ate in the shade of the building. Leaving town I snapped this pic of a Union Soldier memorial;
The Ladd Street School in Haverhill was originally built as a church in 1790, a bell was added in 1802, and in 1849 it became a school. History is rather old around these parts.
Reaching Orford, I rode across the Connecticut River to Fairlee and entered Vermont. Our route won't "officially" enter Vermont until tomorrow, but we needed to hop the state line to find a place to stay. I had no cell service and had to ask someone how to find the Silver Maple Lodge. No one seemed to be at home at the Inn and I rode back a bit and Doc met me at a store - he had cell service so we called the Lodge and headed back. We have a quaint "cottage" which is 1/2 of a duplex house. It's quite old with paneled walls, and is rather unassuming (i.e., quite plain), but it fits our needs well. There is plenty of room for the 2 of us and our bikes, and the price was good, so all is well.
Found Money Update. The "found money" fund has doubled in size! I had a total of $0.57, and when we checked into our room in Lincoln yesterday I noticed a nickel and a couple of pennies on the floor by my bed - then I found 2 quarters on the floor on the other side of the bed! Someone was careless (or drunk maybe) and lost coins. So the "found money" fund has already grown to $1.14 and we are just a little over a week out. The rules for my found money game are this; any lost money I find while riding or walking to eat or otherwise going about my business on this bicycle tour can be added to the "found money" pot. I don't purposefully go scouting for coins in a parking lot or other places, but if I am riding and see a coin in the road or if I am walking to a nearby store and spot a nickel, that is fair game. The contest is to see if I can find enough money to buy a cup of coffee at tour's end. So now you know - it's just a silly game I play.
I'll leave you with some video snippets of today's ride. My wife just informed me that the video from yesterday repeats itself several times towards the end - I'm not surprised, it was a late night - just don't expect me to fix it now. Tomorrow we get to experience the legendary hills of Vermont. To reach lodging tomorrow night, we have to ride further and climb more than we have done so far on this tour. It's not just the elevation climbed that makes us apprehensive, it's the steepness of the grades - and Vermont has some very steep grades. So we are hustling around trying to get everything in order for tomorrow - it's going to be a very challenging day for us and we are apprehensive. Good night folks...
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 362 miles (583 km)
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