Day 44: North Conway to Portland

These pictures say it all - a wonderful ending to a great adventure.

Greetings from Jan at the lunch restaurant in Portland.  Also joining Jan were son-in-law Tim, Don & Regina Lucas, and Bev & Jon Holt.   

Jan and daughter Deb at the East End Beach in Portland.  

Wheel dipping at the East End Beach in Portland

The group at East End Beach

Arriving at my home in Yarmouth

Walking out our dock

Wheel dipping from our dock

With a wonderful Maine sunset to welcome me home

I'll provide some post-ride thoughts later this week plus a whole lot more pictures

Steve

Day 43: Fairlee to North Conway NH

Today's ride went pretty much as expected.  Beautiful and peaceful in the morning, but spoiled by heavy traffic in the afternoon.  We started out in a cold fog and crossed into New Hampshire (our 15th state) after about a mile.  The fog soon lifted and we pedaled the rest of the day under a bright sun through beautiful mountain scenery. We had 3 tough climbs during our 51 miles before lunch, with the third one going over the Kancamagus Pass at 2855 ft elevation.  I had no problem with the climbs, but almost everyone, including me, was cold and tired at our roadside lunch stop at the top of the pass.

We descended most of the 26 miles after lunch under less than ideal conditions - heavy traffic, rough road, and little or no shoulder.  Normally I would never ride under these conditions - but the "ride-every-mile" goal is a powerful (maybe too powerful) motivator. The Holiday Inn Express at our destination in North Conway was definitely a welcome sight. 

Tomorrow is our final ride of the trip as we pedal 64 miles to Portland.  We'll stop at a restaurant on the edge of town for lunch and then pedal a few miles to the ocean to dip our wheels in the Atlantic.  Jan and our friends Don and Regina Lucas will join me for lunch and the wheel dipping.  We will then cycle along a bike path into downtown Portland where the destination hotel is located.

After arriving at the hotel, it is still my plan to pedal another 15 miles to our home in Yarmouth and do my own wheel dipping celebration off the end of our dock.  I've been carrying the image of this moment in my mind as a motivator throughout the trip so, unless I am totally worn out, it will happen.

Look for a Day 44 post and a final post summarizing the entire trip later this week.  Now that I will have access to my computer (instead of just an iPad) I'll also incorporate pictures taken by others into many of the previous daily posts.

Steve

Day 42: Ticonderoga to Fairlee VT

One of the best rides of the entire trip! After a short ferry ride across Lake Champlain we began our 90 mile journey across the beautiful state of Vermont.  Although the fall foliage is not yet at peak, the mountain sides were still alive with color and everything looked the way Vermont is supposed to look.  The weather cooperated with cool temperatures and partly sunny skys - and of course, our ever present headwind. The big morning climb over the Green Mountains was definitely challenging, with grades up to 15% over the 5.5 mile ascent. Throughout the morning I tried to stay "in the moment" to absorb everything around me knowing that this is a ride I will always remember.

After lunch, the scenery continued to be lovely, but heavy "leaf peeper" traffic and rough roads made it difficult to enjoy. We had another big climb in the afternoon followed by some smaller "bumps" which in combination really sapped my energy over the final 10 miles.  

We are staying at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee which is right at the border of Vermont and New Hampshire.  My room looks our over Lake Morey with mountains in the distance.  Too bad I won't be here long enough to enjoy it.

Tomorrow is another day of climbing as we make our way across New Hampshire. Although the ride is only 78 miles there are 3 large climbs which, we are told, make it nearly as challenging as today's ride. We are also assured of encountering heavy Sunday "leaf peeper" traffic on the famous Kancamagus Highway. So my guess is that the morning will be delightful, but the afternoon will be much less enjoyable.  Hopefully we can get an early start so that we arrive in North Conway by early afternoon.

Steve

Day 41: Speculator to Ticonderoga NY

I had a very enjoyable morning of easy pedaling as we made our way through the beautiful Adirondacks.  As predicted, temperatures were in the low 30's with moderate northerly winds.  I used my full kit of cold weather cycling gear and it turned out to be almost perfect.  It consists of 4 layers plus a warm cycling hat that covers my ears.  I had expected to remove some layers as the day went on, but I never did - temps stayed in the 40's and the northerly headwinds persisted.  I remained comfortable by adjusting the zippers at the the neckline of my two outer layers.

I had planned to take it easy for the 30 miles after lunch, but a big climb required substantial effort and then as we turned north at Hague for the final 10 miles along the western shore of Lake George the headwinds increased to 15-20mph.  It was still a nice ride, but I would have liked to leave more fuel in the tank for tomorrow's big day of climbing.

The town of Ticonderoga sits between the north end of Lake George and the south end of Lake Champlain.  Because of this strategic position, the area played an important role in the French and Indian War of the 1750's and again in the Revolutionary War.  Fort Ticonderoga, which was built by the French in the 1750's is a popular tourist attraction, but I didn't feel like taking another bike ride to go see it.

There are now only 3 days of riding left, but in the spirit of taking it one day at a time, I am only thinking about tomorrow.  With 6500 feet of climbing it is the second biggest climbing day of the trip.  We begin the day with a short ferry ride across the lake to enter Vermont and then begin our day of climbing.  The big 5 mile climb to cross the Green Mountains at Brandon Gap begins at mile 26.  Temperatures in the 40's and a moderate easterly headwind are forecast - but no rain. It will be a challenging day, but since I like to climb, I expect it to be a good day.

Steve

Day 40: Cazenovia to Speculator NY

Today's 104 mile ride through the Adirondacks was very nice - and dry.  My legs felt tired this morning so I started off at an easy pace and kept it that way until lunch.  After a large carbohydrate loaded lunch my energy level rebounded and I rode at an aggressive pace for the remaining 50 miles.  The fall foliage was brilliant, but still not at its peak.  With freezing temperatures forecast for tonight, we should see the colors intensify over the next couple of days.

We are staying at two different "inns" tonight in Speculator. The Melody Lodge where I am staying is very "rustic". I would not recommend staying here, but would recommend eating here - the dinner tonight was excellent. We were also treated to a great sunset during dinner.

Tomorrow is a relatively short 72 mile day so we will not start riding until after 8am.  Even then, temperatures are expected to be in the low 30's so everyone will get a chance to try out their cold weather gear.  My gear was tested down to these temperatures when I did the southern route 3 years ago so I should not have any problems.  

Sorry for the short post, but the excellent dinner was also a long dinner and I need to get my sleep.

Steve