ROUTE: Manchester to Portsmouth NH
DISTANCE: 51 miles to the beach and then 10 more to the motel.
WINDS: Light
DISTANCE: 51 miles to the beach and then 10 more to the motel.
WINDS: Light
WEATHER: Purrrrrrrfect
TERRAIN: Hilly at the beginning
TOTAL CLIMBING: 2600 feet
TERRAIN: Hilly at the beginning
TOTAL CLIMBING: 2600 feet
RIDE OVERVIEW: Mikie here reporting our final assault on the beach. We woke to a most gorgeous day...a fitting weather pattern for our finish and only outdone by the spirit of the group. As I sat at breakfast, I was very aware of the mood of the group...some jubilant while others were more introspective as they came to grips with the fact the ride was fast coming to an end. It even became more evident as we loaded our luggage the final time and tried to savor the emotions of our last day. Last night everyone shared their feelings about our journey...some laughed, some fought back tears, but everyone was thankful for the experience. They all stretched their comfort zones over the last 50 days and are better cyclists and better people for doing it. Best of all, friendships have been made that will last a life time.
Today our ride will be over...but for the present, we will savor our last day and enjoy things one would overlook while driving a car through this area. Things like these ducks (left) carving the only ripples through a calm lake in the early morning mist or the sounds of frogs croaking in the reeds. I was in the van today for the first half, but I was still able to stop at an old grave yard and ponder over the headstones that honored people from a different century. I wondered what it must have been like in this area in the early 1800s when these people were living? It must have been a simpler time and I'm sure they couldn't have imagined someone coming along on a bicycle in 2004 and just sitting by their gravesite. What a beautiful final resting place.
Today's route took us through some beautiful New Hampshire back roads where old and new homesteads alike lined the roads behind stonewalls that were built in the late 1700s or early 1800s. I always love to see the New England architecture that includes modern buildings and also older buildings that show the flavor of earlier times.
Albeit a short day and relatively easy compared to what we've done in the past couple of days, it was still challenging to get to the rendezvous point at 49 miles by 11:30. The terrain between Manchester and Portsmouth is a bit hillier than one would expect (2660 feet of climbing today) and the fact that we had lots of turns made it a challenge to stay on course. But what a beautiful ride...it was definitely a great finish to a long trip.
We met at Rye JR High School at 11:30 for a police escort to the beach and everyone got there in plenty of time. When I arrived in the van, the riders were hugging, taking pictures, and giving high fives all over the place. The only thing left was to get to the beach and then dip our wheels in the Atlantic. We had carried a water bottle full of water from the Pacific Ocean to pour into the Atlantic to symbolize our completion and to try to do our part in raising the level of the Atlantic to the level of the Pacific. I understand the Atlantic is about 5 feet lower than the Pacific so it may take us several years to transport enough ocean water from the west to bring the Atlantic up to level. Ian did the honors (left).
Just a few minutes before noon, we assembled everyone and prepared for the escort to the beach. The last 2 miles of our journey was carefree of traffic and protected by Rye's finest. It made for a pleasant and memorable finish when the police blocked the intersections and let us go through with our procession with lights flashing and sirens announcing our arrival. There weren't too many people within earshot who didn't realize that something special was going on. As we approached the beach, the roads were lined with family and friends to welcome our weary travelers. It was quite a reception as we rode triumphantly into the parking lot.
Once we all got to the beach, everyone hiked down to the water with either their wheel or their bikes to dip their front wheel in the blue Atlantic. As I said, many of the riders had friends or family members who met them to share in their accomplishment, but the most interesting thing at the beach was the reaction of the locals who were spending the day there. We marched right through hundreds of sunbathers to get to the water for the dip ceremony...we definitely had their attention as they would look up from their books or picnics and started to ask us the same questions everyone else asks...where did you start from, when, how many of you are there...why are you doing this?
During and after the wheel dipping ceremony, cameras were flashing all around recording the moment as the riders celebrated in their own way. Some were joyous, some cried, some were solemn, while others were jubilant. It was interesting to see the different emotions. A couple were just standing in the ocean looking off into the horizon reflecting and not wanting to leave that spot...there is a "real world" out there somewhere...I wonder if they really want to go back to it? At the end of every long summer I wonder the same thing...I'm not sure if I want to go back...what a life...the life on the road.
Our final activity together was collecting the luggage for the last time at the motel and preparing the bikes for delivery home(left). It was a last time for us to enjoy fellowship as a group and re-live many of our memories of the last 50 days before heading back to our "normal" lives. Some will leave tonight and others will leave tomorrow. Our contact with the riders will be over tomorrow after we shuttle the last 13 to the airport in Boston. We're going to miss this bunch...we wish them well and hope to see them again on another ride...somehow I think we will.
This will complete the daily journal for the North 2004 ride, but I will compose the final thoughts page tomorrow. Please tune and I'll try to wrap up the ride with some observations and insight. I want to thank Susan for helping me keep you posted on the daily happenings. It was nice getting a break from the daily postings as it allowed me to do more at the mechanics van and do more "ride leader" stuff in the evenings. It may be hard to get back to the keyboard everyday on the next ride...maybe I can talk her into staying with us another ride. Hope to see you then.
Here's Susan to bid you all a fond farewell: I am so glad "Mikie made me do it!" It was a wonderful experience for me, and I really enjoyed getting to know each of you and riding with some of you. I want to do it again. I will be back, so you come back, too, and we'll ride another ABB ride together. In the meantime, if you ever have reason to pass through Stillwater, OK, drop in and we'll ride a scenic OK route. And, yes, there are hills in OK . . . mountains, even.
Today's route took us through some beautiful New Hampshire back roads where old and new homesteads alike lined the roads behind stonewalls that were built in the late 1700s or early 1800s. I always love to see the New England architecture that includes modern buildings and also older buildings that show the flavor of earlier times.Albeit a short day and relatively easy compared to what we've done in the past couple of days, it was still challenging to get to the rendezvous point at 49 miles by 11:30. The terrain between Manchester and Portsmouth is a bit hillier than one would expect (2660 feet of climbing today) and the fact that we had lots of turns made it a challenge to stay on course. But what a beautiful ride...it was definitely a great finish to a long trip.
We met at Rye JR High School at 11:30 for a police escort to the beach and everyone got there in plenty of time. When I arrived in the van, the riders were hugging, taking pictures, and giving high fives all over the place. The only thing left was to get to the beach and then dip our wheels in the Atlantic. We had carried a water bottle full of water from the Pacific Ocean to pour into the Atlantic to symbolize our completion and to try to do our part in raising the level of the Atlantic to the level of the Pacific. I understand the Atlantic is about 5 feet lower than the Pacific so it may take us several years to transport enough ocean water from the west to bring the Atlantic up to level. Ian did the honors (left).Just a few minutes before noon, we assembled everyone and prepared for the escort to the beach. The last 2 miles of our journey was carefree of traffic and protected by Rye's finest. It made for a pleasant and memorable finish when the police blocked the intersections and let us go through with our procession with lights flashing and sirens announcing our arrival. There weren't too many people within earshot who didn't realize that something special was going on. As we approached the beach, the roads were lined with family and friends to welcome our weary travelers. It was quite a reception as we rode triumphantly into the parking lot.
Once we all got to the beach, everyone hiked down to the water with either their wheel or their bikes to dip their front wheel in the blue Atlantic. As I said, many of the riders had friends or family members who met them to share in their accomplishment, but the most interesting thing at the beach was the reaction of the locals who were spending the day there. We marched right through hundreds of sunbathers to get to the water for the dip ceremony...we definitely had their attention as they would look up from their books or picnics and started to ask us the same questions everyone else asks...where did you start from, when, how many of you are there...why are you doing this?
During and after the wheel dipping ceremony, cameras were flashing all around recording the moment as the riders celebrated in their own way. Some were joyous, some cried, some were solemn, while others were jubilant. It was interesting to see the different emotions. A couple were just standing in the ocean looking off into the horizon reflecting and not wanting to leave that spot...there is a "real world" out there somewhere...I wonder if they really want to go back to it? At the end of every long summer I wonder the same thing...I'm not sure if I want to go back...what a life...the life on the road.Our final activity together was collecting the luggage for the last time at the motel and preparing the bikes for delivery home(left). It was a last time for us to enjoy fellowship as a group and re-live many of our memories of the last 50 days before heading back to our "normal" lives. Some will leave tonight and others will leave tomorrow. Our contact with the riders will be over tomorrow after we shuttle the last 13 to the airport in Boston. We're going to miss this bunch...we wish them well and hope to see them again on another ride...somehow I think we will.
This will complete the daily journal for the North 2004 ride, but I will compose the final thoughts page tomorrow. Please tune and I'll try to wrap up the ride with some observations and insight. I want to thank Susan for helping me keep you posted on the daily happenings. It was nice getting a break from the daily postings as it allowed me to do more at the mechanics van and do more "ride leader" stuff in the evenings. It may be hard to get back to the keyboard everyday on the next ride...maybe I can talk her into staying with us another ride. Hope to see you then.Here's Susan to bid you all a fond farewell: I am so glad "Mikie made me do it!" It was a wonderful experience for me, and I really enjoyed getting to know each of you and riding with some of you. I want to do it again. I will be back, so you come back, too, and we'll ride another ABB ride together. In the meantime, if you ever have reason to pass through Stillwater, OK, drop in and we'll ride a scenic OK route. And, yes, there are hills in OK . . . mountains, even.
HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:
"Come in and get a faith lift this Sunday." [On a church sign]
"The ocean, O joy!" [This is what Lewis and Clark said on first sighting the Pacific Ocean]
PHOTOS OF THE DAY:
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| Eager to prolong the final day, riders stop at their last roadside cafe on their way to the beach. |
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| Final group shot at the high school |
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| "Hi, Ma, I'm here with Dad only three miles from the beach and our wheel dipping ceremony." |
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| Bracketed by the police and Red in front and Green and Box in the rear, riders enjoy their final miles to the Atlantic |
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| A jubilant foursome (Julie, Jesse, Liisa, & Lynn at Wallis Sands Beach. In the larger version of this photo, you can practically put names to the crowd of riders reflected in Julie's and Jesse's sunglasses |
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| Bike's light as a feather . . . |
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| This your last pic, Mike? |
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| Before riders could reach the Atlantic they had to navigate through a sea of beach-goers. |
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| Maine son & father did it . . . and on mountain bikes, too! |
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