Live Free or Die
You gotta like a state that has the motto "Live Free or Die". Our time in New Hampshire was short but most enjoyable. When you consider that the state is smaller than Beaverhead County (you can say that about a few of the New England states), but has a population greater than Montana, it is surprisingly rural. Much of our riding in NH was rolling through one small town after another. Each community was founded in the late 1600s/early 1700s, are neat and orderly, and have that picture post card cemetery and church. Old stone walls abound, delineating the property lines of the early settlers. Southern NH is horse country, and we saw numerous riding stables, hay fields, and of course, more antique shops!
The route took us through a number of bedroom communities, and kept us away from urban congestion as much as it was possible/practical. We did have about 3 miles of nightmare riding, avoiding WalMart shoppers and others that were zipping in and out of Malls with little concern for two people on a bike. But overall, we must say that the route selection has been fantastic. Where Adventure Cycling found some of these back roads and country lanes...well, we don't know, but we sure are thankful.
The weather held. In fact, we experienced the hottest day of the trip to date, in the high 80s. BOB and Olga continue to get along, and are behaving nicely. One mishap...our kickstand snapped in two, meaning that we now have to lean the bike against appropriate buildings, hitching posts, walls, and anything else we can fine. Also, Mary's computer wire got severed somewhere along the line, but we still have one functioning bike computer, and that continues to keep us on target. The computer is a necessity, because it's the only way to keep track of the mileage on the maps for knowing where to turn. So far, we've never made a wrong turn. There have been some differences of opinions, but once resolved, we proceed on.
For the next 5 days or so we'll be headed in a west south westerly direction, going inland to bypass the congestion of New York City and suburban New Jersey. Everyone says to expect "lots of hills" in Conneticut. We thought that Maine had plenty of hills, so it will be interesting to see. Time will tell...
The route took us through a number of bedroom communities, and kept us away from urban congestion as much as it was possible/practical. We did have about 3 miles of nightmare riding, avoiding WalMart shoppers and others that were zipping in and out of Malls with little concern for two people on a bike. But overall, we must say that the route selection has been fantastic. Where Adventure Cycling found some of these back roads and country lanes...well, we don't know, but we sure are thankful.
The weather held. In fact, we experienced the hottest day of the trip to date, in the high 80s. BOB and Olga continue to get along, and are behaving nicely. One mishap...our kickstand snapped in two, meaning that we now have to lean the bike against appropriate buildings, hitching posts, walls, and anything else we can fine. Also, Mary's computer wire got severed somewhere along the line, but we still have one functioning bike computer, and that continues to keep us on target. The computer is a necessity, because it's the only way to keep track of the mileage on the maps for knowing where to turn. So far, we've never made a wrong turn. There have been some differences of opinions, but once resolved, we proceed on.
For the next 5 days or so we'll be headed in a west south westerly direction, going inland to bypass the congestion of New York City and suburban New Jersey. Everyone says to expect "lots of hills" in Conneticut. We thought that Maine had plenty of hills, so it will be interesting to see. Time will tell...
posted by Matt and Mary Ellen | 2:28 PM
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