the days: may 5-9. it would not be a lie to say, those were five glorious weather days--in a row! goldilocks perfect, not too hot/not too cold, mostly blue sky, windy enough to keep bugs at bay/but not so windy as to blow me off my bike...
the adventures: thursday, biking up to cold river camp in evans notch, 'opening' camp, sunday, biking to kevin and mariels', and then home on monday. to the best of my googling, milage works out to be 90-25-85 ~ish.
the memories: day1: skip rode the first 15 hilly miles with me before turning back to his truck at our start in north haverhill. i kept going--uphill much of the time. besides occasional pictures opportunities, i took 2 major food stops and one water refill break. the north side of evan's notch following along the wild river, is super mellow, gaining about 800 feet in about 10 miles (again google is my source). it loses it all in less than 4 wild miles down! another bonus, i got to go around the biggest hills, the presidentials.
day2: the short ride over to kevin and mariels' was more downhill until the last mile. when i pulled in, i mentioned i stopped and chatted with their neighbor, sitting at the end of a driveway with a cigarette and a PBR. kevin mentioned he had also been down there, only with the fire crew putting out a brush fire. "i think a cigarette must have got away from him..."
day3: it was a day of big hills--2 out of 4 were pleasant. on my first, a truck beeped at me and i went off into the new sandy gravel and had to do a quick dismount--or fall. i chose the first. after a hearty lunch on bh number two, fire and emergency trucks kept zooming by with lights and sirens going. when i caught up to them, they were fighting a fire in the woods and wetting down a nearby house. on about the forth or fifth bh, i stopped counting after the fire, i stopped to talk with and old timer on his tractor who, confirmed i had just ridden by the unmarked road i wanted to turn up. he had a wonderful new hampshire accent to match his smile. then finally, i stopped to chat with a group on lawn chairs surrounding a cooler of beer--and lots of empty bud light cans. i declined their generous offer of a couple of cans to go, but i should have filled up my water bottles.
notes:- riding long days always brings a few surprises
- drinking beer at the tail end of a long day might not be wise--but staying hydrated is good
- riding with skip is much faster than riding alone--even when you stop to photograph funny signs and snack
go outside and play!
