Let me be up front with the titling of days blog>> It was approved by the "appropriate cycling terminology" committee. Any misuse, misinterrpretation, or misrepresentation caused by today's titling is unintended and coincidental. Do not try this at home, gentlemen....
A knock on our motel door this morning at 7:30 am. Opening, I see the mischieviously smirking face of one James Karney Kuhlthau. Jimmy stories abound from my past, including a 1985 Himalayan trek together, a 1988 month in Hawaii hiking volcanoes and a host of road trips around the northeast from my single guy days. I've known Jimmy for 24 years and he has not changed: still a faithfull friend, still a road warrior, still a complete non-conformist, still a packrat and super-recycler, and still living in New Brunswick, New Jersey. But this morning, he's buying us breakfast! (I guess he has changed a little!) In addition, we get treated to the interesting story of him and his new girlfriend Lore, details ommitted for the sake of saving precious blogspace...
Ellen is "down a quart" from the last two days of hills, so after a morning of heat and more short, tiring hills thru Belmont and Gilmanton (we term them "sudden sevens" for the quick 7% grades), and the temptation of Jimmy's nearby truck, she takes the opportunity to "sag" for the afternoon. Brindil occupies center stage at a Wraps cafe for lunch, sagging gracefully in the shade of a picnic table while a host of admirers try to wake her with treats.
No sagging allowed for the GT2M this afternoon, and we cruise southeast to Farmington and across to Milton, taking the southerly route around the enormous and tentacled Lake Winnipesaukee. Then I make two mistakes: getting onto SR 16, and getting off SR 16. Relentless weekend traffic. The shoulder reduces to a rumblestrip and gravel track. No room for a bike with trailer at all. I am forced to cross the crazy 4 lane highway and ride the opposite shoulder, facing oncoming traffic. At last an exit. Relief. Or so I thought. (It turns out that SR 16 becomes a fine biking route after the exit, with ample, consistent shoulder and reduced speed limits.) I opt for the country roads approach to Wakefield, and pay dearly. Endless "sudden sevens" and unmarked roads got me lost and tired (honestly, the first time I need to admit this in a month) and I finally creep into the Palmer's Motel at 7 pm and meet up with Ellen and Jimmy, both of whom are perky and energetic after their relaxing, "sagging" day. The one thrill of my afternoon was watching the trip odometer pass 4000 miles as I inched up a hot incline near Milton Mills.
The Poor People's Pub was an excellant choice for dinner refreshments and we meet our waitress Debbie, who is an avid local cyclist, amidst lively chat and Jimmy stories. Then to bed for the real sagging...
A knock on our motel door this morning at 7:30 am. Opening, I see the mischieviously smirking face of one James Karney Kuhlthau. Jimmy stories abound from my past, including a 1985 Himalayan trek together, a 1988 month in Hawaii hiking volcanoes and a host of road trips around the northeast from my single guy days. I've known Jimmy for 24 years and he has not changed: still a faithfull friend, still a road warrior, still a complete non-conformist, still a packrat and super-recycler, and still living in New Brunswick, New Jersey. But this morning, he's buying us breakfast! (I guess he has changed a little!) In addition, we get treated to the interesting story of him and his new girlfriend Lore, details ommitted for the sake of saving precious blogspace...
Ellen is "down a quart" from the last two days of hills, so after a morning of heat and more short, tiring hills thru Belmont and Gilmanton (we term them "sudden sevens" for the quick 7% grades), and the temptation of Jimmy's nearby truck, she takes the opportunity to "sag" for the afternoon. Brindil occupies center stage at a Wraps cafe for lunch, sagging gracefully in the shade of a picnic table while a host of admirers try to wake her with treats.
No sagging allowed for the GT2M this afternoon, and we cruise southeast to Farmington and across to Milton, taking the southerly route around the enormous and tentacled Lake Winnipesaukee. Then I make two mistakes: getting onto SR 16, and getting off SR 16. Relentless weekend traffic. The shoulder reduces to a rumblestrip and gravel track. No room for a bike with trailer at all. I am forced to cross the crazy 4 lane highway and ride the opposite shoulder, facing oncoming traffic. At last an exit. Relief. Or so I thought. (It turns out that SR 16 becomes a fine biking route after the exit, with ample, consistent shoulder and reduced speed limits.) I opt for the country roads approach to Wakefield, and pay dearly. Endless "sudden sevens" and unmarked roads got me lost and tired (honestly, the first time I need to admit this in a month) and I finally creep into the Palmer's Motel at 7 pm and meet up with Ellen and Jimmy, both of whom are perky and energetic after their relaxing, "sagging" day. The one thrill of my afternoon was watching the trip odometer pass 4000 miles as I inched up a hot incline near Milton Mills.
The Poor People's Pub was an excellant choice for dinner refreshments and we meet our waitress Debbie, who is an avid local cyclist, amidst lively chat and Jimmy stories. Then to bed for the real sagging...
No comments:
Post a Comment