Sep 4 blog
56 miles
3,895 miles so far
We had breakfast at a nearby diner and planned to head out pretty early. There we met a young family who live in Connecticut now but had moved from Portland, OR. They shared that they were very avid cyclists and were very familiar with the area, including the Kancamagus Pass we would cross tomorrow. While we had been contemplating an alternative route, they assured us that the ACA route had less elevation and that Kancamagus Pass wasn’t as steep as Brandon Pass. They said that it would be a spectacular ride. We set out with renewed confidence!
We decided to take River Road which hugs the Connecticut River for miles and would eventually reconnect with Orford Road/Rt 10. It was a quiet two lane road which was unpaved at points. The fog was so thick off the river that we could hardly see and were a little worried about being seen by the few cars on this road. The River Road was very scenic and even took us over a beautiful wooden covered bridge.
We rode the first 40 miles to North Haverhill where the real climbing began. We climbed another 7 miles before we stopped at Beaver Lake, a stunning alpine lake. We stuck our feet in the frosty water..so refreshing!
Along the lake front we met the free spirited Eric Todd Sweet who was enjoying the sunshine. He had moved from Cape Cod where he lived for 50 years. He bikes every day in the mountains, is building a log cabin nearby and works at a hostel for Appalachian Trail hikers and volunteers at an adaptive sports program. He told us that his only mission now is to spread “kindness” much like our friend, Frank Sanders from Devil’s Tower.
At the bottom of mountain we found an ice cream shop at a campground - perhaps we should rename our bike tour - Ice Cream Across America!
Refreshed, we rode the final 1.5 miles to Holiday Inn Express, home for tonight.
Foggy morning along the Connecticut River on River Road
Closed bridge that caused our reroute
Wooden covered bridge
Scenic ride today in Lincoln, NH
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