Day 51: Brattleboro VT to Manchester NH

The goodbyes have begun.

After riding across the country over mountains, dodging construction, slogging through the rain and living together in so many Comfort and Holiday Inns I can tell you what brand of shampoo each prefers, the reality of going back home is setting in.

Families are showing up. More family and friends will meet us at the beach tomorrow. Chuck has arranged to get champaign smuggled in. We're wrapping up.

Tonight we had a group dinner and little awards ceremony where the staff gave out gag gifts to each of us based on some act of stupidity or notoriety during the trip. I got a sewing kit for my obsession with figuring out how to mend a pair of torn bike shorts (successfully, I should add). All of us got up and got to speak about what this trip has meant to us and it was really touching to hear what folks had to say.

It was a nice end to a wonderful riding day through southern New Hampshire. Sunny. Over 90% humidity. So hot that whenever I stopped and the wind quit evaporating the sweat off I would be drenched in seconds. Incentive to keep moving. Incentive to keep living in no-humidity Seattle.

The route was 85 miles and hilly. I mean HIL-LY. Of the really steep but not necessarily long variety. These were built when they didn't have the equipment to grade roads like they do today. The steepest one we road was 15% -- some folks front wheels came off the ground on that one. Me, I had to stand up in my lowest gear and pedal within an inch of my life wheezing like a geezer trying to get up to the top.
But I loved it - the challenge of it. I hadn't realized before how much more fulfilling a physically challenging ride is until the last two days when we got 2 challenging rides after weeks of easier riding through the midwest.

The ride was beautiful. Miles through woodland. Small towns of historical buildings and old town squares. We followed a beautiful river for miles. Farms with stone walls everywhere ... And stone walls - no mortar just piles of stones - in woodland. We were speculating those may be predate the woods and mark old farm sites.
I'd like to explore this area more thoroughly.

Tomorrow we bike to the Atlantic - dip our front wheel and then take a little extra spin by Maine before heading to the hotel for a made scramble to pack.

I'll be back in Seattle the night of the 29th.