Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Day 151, 10/6/10 - North Haverhill to North Woodstock, NH




Just the Basics: 22 miles. We had to do about 1600+ feet of climbing today and it rained enough that we eventually had to put on rain gear. Once again - an incredibly beautiful day. We climbed most of the day and it was gray and a bit sprinkley all day, but also beautiful. We cycled mainly in farmland and mixed forest with some streams and a little lake alongside. Once we passed a farm with shaggy brown, big-horned cattle like the Highland cattle we once saw on a bike trip in Scotland.

We started the day with a wonderful breakfast at the Hayloft B & B outside North Haverhill - perfectly cooked bacon and scrambled eggs, homemade maple oatmeal scones, fruit cups, OJ and coffee - YUM! We enjoyed further visiting with our hosts Joyce and Ann, and with fellow guests David and Jane. Jane is a teacher specializing in work with students with sensory problems - for example, vision impairments - and David is a tech guy. Jane also paints and they have an oral history collection business.

We left by 8:30 and arrived in North Woodstock before 2, having pretty much biked steadily all day. We stopped at the Lost River Valley Campground about 3 miles short of North Woodstock - the camp store was open, but, in fact, owners Jim and Deborah were in the process of closing down for the season. So - we didn't have the hoped-for lunch break but they gave us the rest of their coffee and we bought a couple of TWIX bars (they had already done their final inventory but sold them to us anyway) and spent perhaps half an hour chatting about our ride, and their work as campground owners and hosts - see their photo in Today's Photos.

We are tucked into the Woodstock Inn B & B for tonight and tomorrow. We had both lunch and dinner at their Station House cafe and have also done laundry, written 10 postcards, and worked hard on planning for the final days of this great adventure - details to follow tomorrow!

Today's Photos: (1) We reached the top of today's BIG climb feeling sort of surprised that it wasn't worse and that it was over. We were especially surprised to learn that our last 2 miles - which we rode, no walking - had been a 9% grade! and (2) Jim and Deborah, owners and hosts of the Lost River Valley Campground.

Tomorrow: Layover day here at the Woodstock Inn in North Woodstock - we can use a rest before the big climb on Friday, and some rain is likely tomorrow, as well.

For Those Who Want More: It's bedtime - see you tomorrow!

No comments:

Post a Comment