Day 152, 10/7/10 - North Woodstock, NH

Just the Basics: Note late in the afternoon on 10/7: We went for a walk and added some pictures Riley took en route. Enjoy!

It is sort of amazing to be typing "Day 150" this morning! In some ways the trip has gone so quickly - although it also sometimes feels as though the trip is all there is - a special, unique world unto itself. It is hard to believe that we have only about 100 miles to go to Portland, Maine and the end of this adventure.

That said, the adventure will actually continue for a full week! We are taking a layover day today, mainly because of rain, but also because we didn't want to do 2 big climbs in a row - yesterday was 1650 feet or so and tomorrow will be 2000, which is, we think, the second biggest climb we've ever made in a day - and the longest loaded with gear. We will be going up NH 112 - also known as Kancamagus Highway - to 2855 foot Kancamagus Pass, starting at about 800 feet, then descending to Conway, NH.

We will then be less than 75 miles from Portland, ME, but, unfortunately, will be faced with: (1) The 3-day Columbus Day Weekend (a state holiday pretty much throughout New England and NY); (2) Fall colors travel; and (3) The 150 year old Fryeburg Fair along our route. Yesterday Riley talked with bike shop folks in Conway, Naples and Portland and became convinced that we shouldn't even think about riding again until after the holiday.

We are a bit disappointed - it is hard to be so close and not just go ahead and finish, and a weekend arrival might have meant that our Boston families (2 of our kids and their families and one of Riley's sisters and her husband) could have come to celebrate the finish with us - at the same time, we don't want to take big safety risks. So - we'll spend 4 nights and 3 days in Conway, not going on until Tuesday, 10/12, with our finish planned for Wednesday, 10/13!

Today's Photos: (1) The Woodstock Inn's Riverview Building as seen from the back - we're on the 3rd floor in the front; our bikes are parked on the porch at the lowest level (bottom balcony left, which is a floor below the "1st" floor - it's only 1st on the front side of the Inn); (2) A double rainbow from the bridge across the Lost River to Lincoln, NH; and (3) A view of the Lost River

Tomorrow: As you've read, up the mountain and down again to Conway, a 36 mile day.

For Those Who Want More:

Recent Meals:
Lunch Yesterday at the Station House here at the Woodstock Inn: B: Meatloaf sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy on homemade bread and oatmeal stout from the Inn's brewpub; R: Station House Chili in a bread bowl and coffee.

Dinner Yesterday at the Station House: We started off with Manhattans. R: Chicken Salad Overstuffed Tomato - the chicken salad was made much like we make ours, with apples, chutney and walnuts; there was also a side green salad; B: Longhaul Salad - greens and spinach, turkey, egg, sun dried tomatoes, cucumber, olives, grilled mushrooms and feta. We also shared a glass of chardonnay and their signature dessert: a banana baked in puff pastry and topped with ice cream, caramel sauce, strawberry sauce and whipped cream. YUM!!

Brunch Today in the Inn's Dining Room: It took us forever just to read the menu and think happily about our choices. All breakfasts included homemade sticky buns, home fries, coffee and juice - we had grapefruit juice, which we love and haven't seen on a menu forever. R: An omelet with Fuji apples, onions, brie and walnuts; B: Eggs Benedict with lox. There was also a basket of toast from their homemade breads - white, whole grain and raisin. We won't need lunch!

How We're Spending Our Day:

• Sleeping in;
• Reading the New york Times and the Boston Globe;
• Doing some financial stuff;
• Blogging and writing postcards;
• Catching up with emails; and
• Reading - Riley has downloaded a volume of Robert Frost to our Kindle, in honor of New England.
  

We plan to go spend some time at the local library - which is open until 9!!! - when the rain lets up, and will have an early dinner so that we can be on schedule for an early departure tomorrow.

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!

Day 150, 10/5/10 - Lyme to North Haverhill, NH

Just the Basics: 26 miles with about 500 feet of climbing. We didn't start until noon - we spent the morning on the Internet and using our satellite phone - we were working on lodging for the next few days. It is the last week or so of the fall color season and there is a 3-day weekend coming up so we are really struggling with planning. We are already having trouble finding lodging - and places are typically charging seasonal rates (but not the great B & B where we're staying tonight), and we have some concerns about safety if we bike on a three day weekend - so lots of time, thought and effort are going into plans for what will be our last few days on the road!!!

Today's ride was fantastic. Much of the time we were in or above the Connecticut River Valley and the views have been nothing but gorgeous. The sky was blue with fluffy white clouds, and much of the time we rode on a high ridge looking way down into the valley on one side, with the hills of Vermont rising on the other side of the river.

We cycled through lovely villages and past farm after farm of the sort you see in children's books - large gardens, fields of corn and pumpkins, cows and horses in pastures, a produce or cider stand out front - almost a farm Disneyland! Farms sell organic eggs, fruit, vegetables and cider, free range chickens, "naturally raised" beef, pork and lamb - and pumpkins!

Meals: Breakfast this morning was at the Dowd's Inn B & B in Lyme - our hostess Tammy served up wonderful cinnamon apple pancakes, bacon, and fruit and coffee. She also helped us work on the search for lodging.

We lunched at a gas station deli on Bulkies (see below) - pastrami for Riley and roast turkey for Becky, plus coffee. We had a picnic dinner at our B & B: Individual bottles of Barefoot Merlot and some Low-Fat Chex Mix, purchased at the gas station where we had lunch; Wheat Thins from the store here in North Haverhill; and Vermont cheddar with sage, and a lovely, big Macoun apple - sweet and crisp. The apple was a gift from the Indian Corn Mill farm stand where we stopped for fresh cider and donuts late in the afternoon. They sold apples in bags of 1/2 peck and a peck, but had no way to sell just a couple of apples - so they just gave them to us! We also bought the cheese from them.

Tonight we're at a lovely B & B, the Hayloft Inn, about 1 1/2 miles outside North Haverhill (and up quite a hill). Our hosts Ann and Joyce are retired teachers from Concord, NH - but both of them grew up in this area. The setting couldn't be lovelier nor the welcome warmer. There's no restaurant in town so they warned us to bring our own dinner and then invited us to join them at the dining table with our picnic while they had their dinner. We chatted about our trip and their experiences planning, building, and operating a B & B.

Today's Photos: (1) A covered bridge on River Road along the Connecticut River between Lyme and Orford; (2) Art shot; (3) Example of a frequent sight in this area of small, diverse farms; (4) Enjoying fresh cider and donuts at the Indian Corn Mill apple stand outside North Haverhill.

Tomorrow: We bike about 25 miles to North Woodstock, NH, with a total expected climb of 1800 feet. It is also likely to rain part of the day. Yikes! We will stay at the Woodstock Inn and expect to take a layover day there on Thursday, before tackling the dreaded, steep 2000 foot climb over Kancamagus Pass - 34+ miles, with NO places to stop for restrooms, snacks or meals. DOUBLE YIKES!

For Those Who Want More:

Vocabulary Development: We have been eating quite a few "Bulkies" - sandwiches made on a round roll and typically costing $1 less than the same sandwich made as a sub or grinder. Bulky rolls are usually white or wheat, but at one memorable stop they also had rye and oatmeal Bulkies.

The young man who made our roast beef Bulkies at that store also said "Ayup," in response to a query from Becky, to her delight! You read that people in VT say that, but that's the first time we realized we actually heard someone do so!

Milkweed Report: Almost since we began this 5 month ride we have been watching milkweed grow - and the Monarch butterflies that depend on it as the place to lay their eggs. In the last couple of weeks we have seen a milkweed pod here and there releasing its seeds with their gossamer parachutes, but starting today we see whole patches of them opening up with the seeds spilling out. = ) = )

Day 149, 10/4/10 - Bethel, VT to Lyme, NH

Just the Basics: We are in New Hampshire tonight - State Number 15 for us this trip! We biked 32 miles and climbed about 1600 feet - lots of steep ups and one place with a 13% downgrade! Today was sort of gray but we were still surrounded by lovely scenery. Fall colors everywhere, more farms and tiny villages with their white church steeples and village greens and little general stores, more rivers and streams, and one lovely pond - see Today's Photos.

Tonight we are in Dowd's Country Inn in Lyme, NH - about 20 miles from Hanover, where Dartmouth College is located. The main section of the Inn was built in the 1780s as a private home. Our room is called Marshland and is painted the palest of sage greens, with a pink, cream and pale green handmade quilt on the bed.

We had a wonderful dinner at Stella's Italian Kitchen and Market just two doors up the road from the inn. Last night we had gas station cheeseburgers, a beer and ice cream in our room (no restaurants open in town), so tonight you can imagine our delight with the following menu: Glasses of Switchback Beer - a New England Medium Ale; a shared spinach salad with cranberries, walnuts, onions and Gorgonzola; a shared glass of chardonnay; pumpkin ravioli with honey crisp apples in a cider and browned butter sauce, topped with fine shreds of potato crisps (Becky) and chicken portabello with squash and red potatoes (Riley). We finished with decaf coffee and a shared bread pudding with cinnamon ice and caramel sauce. Mmmmmmm . . . .

Today's Photos: (1) A fine example of the stone walls we see everywhere; and (2) A particularly fine pond.

Tomorrow: We intend to go only about 22 miles, to North Haverhill, NH (dipping briefly back into VT as we go), BUT we do not yet have lodging there so you may see something else when we finish our day tomorrow! If things go as planned, this should be a fairly easy day, compared to the last two which definitely were not easy!

For Those Who Want More: That's it! Last night the church across the street from our B & B rang its bells every hour all night - 9 times, then 10, then 11, etc. There was also quite a bit of traffic. Although we were both beat after a hard ride, we were both still awake to hear them ring 11 times and Becky heard them again at 5 - and every hour thereafter. Riley heard them at 12, and then again every hour starting at 4 - so we are more than ready for a good night's sleep!

Day 148, 10/3/10 - Ripton to Bethel, VT

Just the Basics: Amended NOTE, 10/4/10: We did not have Internet access last night (10/3/10), which we spent in Bethel, VT, after 34(?) lovely HILLY miles. Our day began with a fierce climb, followed by a ferocious descent.

We especially enjoyed many views of Vermont's crystal-clear streams and rivers tumbling over the jumbled rocky creek beds of the Green Mountains. We spent Monday night at a nice B and B in Bethel, VT.

Today we have lots more hills and will probably go as far as Orford, VT. Right now we are sitting in a bandstand in a lovely little park in Royalton, working on planning for the next few days - we heard in town this morning that it may rain on Wednesday and that's the first piece of information we're checking on!

Today's Photos: (1) The Chipman Inn, where we started our day, having spent Saturday night there; (2) Seen En Route - Speaks for Itself; (3) As we bike in this area we see countless dump trucks hauling sand being stockpiled by village road departments for use this winter! (4) 12% grade going down; and (5) Triumphant Becky after the 12% descent - she is less fond of steep downs than of steep ups!

Day 147, 10/2/10 - Ticonderoga, NY to Ripton, VT

Just the Basics: After two days of rain and weeks of overcast days that have muted the fall colors we've been seeing - today dawned crystal clear! We crossed by ferry from Ticonderoga New York into spectacular Vermont scenery, vividly sunlit. Beautiful hills and valleys, distant mountains in almost all directions, black and white cows, apple orchards, cider and maple syrup stands, the works! We rode 31 extremely hilly miles - definitely some challenging riding.

Our Adventure Cycling Route Map offered an alternate route which took us around Middlebury instead of through it. Although Middlebury is supposed to be very pretty, we had also heard that in addition to having fall color tourists on a Saturday, there was a lot of road construction going on, so we elected the alternate. There was supposed to be a 1.7 mile section which was gravel, but it had just been paved - Yay! The route was lovely - well paved and very lightly traveled. We rode through a swamp and over a covered bridge and past farm after farm - it was wonderful.

Tonight we're comfortably settled in to the Chipman Inn in the tiny town of Ripton, VT. It's far from any restaurant, but our hosts were perfectly willing to have us picnic in our room so we have planned another cheese, crackers, apples and wine dinner for ourselves. Bill and Sharon, our hosts, kindly provided wine glasses, plates and silver, which make it feel very special.

Today's Photos: (1) Speaks for itself; (2) A Roadside Scene; (3) A Covered Bridge in Vermont; (4) Roadside View

Tomorrow: 34 miles to Bethel, VT (not ME), where we will stay at the Nestled Inn! We expect a fierce climb right out the door and then just some ups and downs - although there may be a fierce down after the fierce ascent. This Adventure Cycling map - the last for our trip - has a route elevation schematic, the first we have seen since the maps that got us through the Rockies! There's a fair amount of climbing between here and the end of the route. Yikes!

For Those Who Want More: That's it for today!

Day 146, 10/01/10 - Ticonderoga, NY

Just the Basics: This is our second layover day in Ticonderoga - thanks to Tropical Storm Nicole we had rain most of the night and most of today so far - it's about 12:15 as this is being typed.

We've made pretty good use of our time while we're here, but are very anxious to get back on the road.

We've meant to mention the rather unique Super 8 where we're staying. It's designed in a rustic style. It looks like a log structure on the outside and our room has: One pretty wood-paneled wall, two nice Adirondack pictures, and knotty pine wooden furniture which looks like the kind you might find in a little cabin somewhere in the Adirondacks! According to motel staff there is at least one other Super 8 in this area built in this style.

With two full days off, we've been doing lots of trip planning. As we close in on Portland, Maine, we are trying to coordinate our arrival so that some or all of our Boston family members can come to meet us if they like - which, with all the kids in school pretty much requires a weekend arrival. If things go well, we should arrive on the morning of Columbus Day.

Today's Photo: A maple (?) tree in a Ticonderoga front yard, taken yesterday.

Tomorrow: We go about 31 miles to Ripton, Vermont - our 14th state! We will be staying at the Chipman Inn B & B. There are no restaurants near there (unless you're travelling by car), so we have permission to eat dinner in our room if necessary - likely crackers, cheese, fruit and wine. If the timing works out we might have "dinner" at East Middlebury, about 7 miles before we get there - but there are actually not supposed to be any restaurants in East Middlebury either (or anywhere else on tomorrow's ride!) so "eating out" would be eating something at a gas station/convenience store in any event!

For Those Who Want More:
Researching lodging. The fall colors season is in full swing and that makes being assured of lodging trickier. All things being equal, we prefer not to make reservations for more than a couple of days ahead - changes in weather or bike troubles are harder to adapt to if we are tied to reservations which we can't easily change. Right now we've made reservations for Saturday and Sunday but we're still not sure how much further ahead we'll make reservations. We plan to call some places today and ask how likely they are to fill before making decisions.

Eating: Surprisingly, the motel room lacks a fridge and microwave - although you can use the microwave in the breakfast area and rent a fridge. Super 8 has minimalist breakfasts but that's what we had yesterday. Lunch was peanut butter sandwiches, an apple, cookies and tea in our room and will be about the same today (we carry all of those food items all the time).

The 1st night we ate dinner at an OK restaurant nearby. The 2nd night we ate in our room: NY extra sharp cheddar, Wheat Thins, fresh pears, and a bottle of Turning Leaf CA Merlot - Yum! This morning we split a toasted and buttered motel bagel and a motel English muffin and ate the rest of our cheese and had motel juice and coffee and, in Riley's case, motel corn flakes. Tonight we'll try a different restaurant. There is a coffee pot in our room and we carry tea and Starbucks instant caf and decaf, so have those available, as well.

BTW: We are also carrying dish detergent, 2 sets of Titanium super-lightweight silverware, two metal camping plates, Riley's pocket knife, and paper towels, so eating and clean-up in the room can be pretty comfortable - in fact, this motel has only tiny paper plates in the breakfast room so this morning we took our own plates to breakfast!

Making Good Use of Time: We are trying to make good use of our layover time - here's what we've been up to in addition to the planning referenced above:

• Lots of catching up on email;
• Some phone calls;
• A walk into town to pick up our 3rd General Delivery mail - our friend Barb sent back the cold weather clothes we mailed to her in August to lighten our loads;
• Shopping for groceries and sundries;
• Getting flu shots from a very cheery nurse at WalMart - which seems to be the only big store in town . . . .
• Walking to a near-by gas station for papers - we are treating ourselves to both a local paper and a New York Times every day of late;
• Reading the paper - and Riley is busily compiling a little notebook of clippings of facts about various items of interest from the Times - for example, a report on TARP and one on the distribution of government expenditures and how it has changed over the years as a percentage of GNP;
• Sadly - not doing laundry; the motel doesn't have a guest laundry (more common than not and a real problem for us, as we carry little clothing);
• You get the idea!