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