Second Day, Second State (2)

We both slept great last night, despite some hooting and pecking nearby. When we got up, it was cold and cloudy, but the weather improved as the day went on. Our goal was to start riding early, but it didn’t happen until 10 am. We blame that on our lack of sleep a few nights ago, when we were up until midnight packing and cleaning, then woke to drive to Maine at 4:30 am the next morning after an anxious nights sleep.

We made our first mistake with the route today, and, as a result, rode an unnecessary five miles… mostly uphill, of course.

Shortly after noon, we left Maine and entered New Hampshire. For crossing the first state line our reward was donuts.



By 3 or 4 pm, the sky had cleared, and we questioned whether we should cross the Kancamagus Pass or not.  The forecast predicted rain tomorrow, which made the decision easier. We calculated we should have (barely) enough time to tackle the climb before dark.

Rachel fueling up and mentally preparing for the 20 mile climb ahead!

  
The views were amazing & it was a great test of our granny gears 🙂

  

We crested the pass at 7:30 pm, then descended the west side to Big Rock campground as the sun was setting.  From his RV at the entrance, the camp ranger offered a secluded site far from the road.  As we pedaled to our tent site, we noticed there were no other campers.  The night was dark and silent and we were spooked while setting camp and eating.  Lots of noises came from the darkness so we played music while hastily eating, hoping to deter any unwanted guests.  Finally we hung our food and retreated to the safety of our tent after another successful day on the road 🙂

Trip stats, to date

  • Naples, ME to Lincoln, NH
  • Daily mileage: 72.3mi;  Trip total to date: 124mi
  • Daily riding time: 6hr 42min;  Trip total time: 11hr 6mi
  • Daily ascent: 4,830ft;  Trip total ascent: 8,680ft

7 thoughts on “Second Day, Second State (2)”

  1. Okay, you guys get the prize for packing so much adventure into one hour, day, week, month. You will have legs of steel at the end of this and a memory bank that will pay dividends for the rest of your life – both will serve you well.

    Pedal on.

    Heather

  2. I started to cry reading this already! I’m so proud of you and excited for you about this HUGE adventure!! Thank you for taking the time to make these updates available to us. Love love love…

  3. Gorgeous day with gorgeous views, must have been a fun ride down the other side of the pass!

  4. Kancamagus!! I’m tired just looking at your pictures! 😀 Hope the weather keeps being beautiful for you!

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