After 859 miles total on the weekend, home safe and sound... I'll post up some pics after a shower and some sleep. Thanks again Fred for a fantastic guided tour.
Bill,
Really glad you and Chrissy could make it. Like I said, it's much better when you get to share this with someone for their first time.
I hope that the ride back home yesterday wasn't too soggy.
Well, I didn't notice too many other folks wielding cameras on Saturday. Maybe theirs were all acting up, like mine was?
Good for us, Josie's little Canon was in good working order and she was able to get a few shots, so we have some
evidence to share...
The day started out pretty cool, the outside thermometer in our kitchen window was hovering right at the the freezing mark when we geared up to ride over to Hancock. We had decided that we could have a quick breakfast at home and delay our departure by a half hour or so. In retrospect, had I known it would be so chilly, I'd have started the ride an hour later! We arrived at Fiddleheads Cafe to find a good number of bikes and riders milling about, finishing up their breakfasts. After a quick meet and greet we headed out for the "tour".
We started out taking some nice back roads, the kind with no lines painted on them, from Hancock down to Peterborough. I really love that little area, especially in the fall. But alas, as you will see, the foliage was less than spectacular. I think the rain and high winds we have been having stripped a lot of the reds and oranges off the trees already, so we were left with a bunch of yellows and browns. Still, the air was crisp and totally clear, as autumn days often are. In fact, don't think we saw a single cloud, even a fluffy white one, all day. These are the kinds of riding days that make one really glad they choose to be in New England.
A bit further down the road we passed the south side of Grand Monadnock. This mountain is a "monadnock" (doh!) which is the Algonquin Indian word meaning "isolated mountain". The term is generally used now for any mountain that stands significantly proud of the surrounding area.
Finally we made it to our first of many covered bridges of the day. This one is Carlton Bridge in Swanzey.
After bagging 4 more bridges in Swanzey and Winchester, we rolled in to the fiorst rest stop of the day, at perhaps the fanciest covered bridge in the state, the often photographed Aschuelot Bridge. It is here that we try and get a group picture each year. This one is thanks to Mr Bill's camera and a willing passer-by.
Next we rode up Rte 63 through the villages of Chesterfield and Westmoreland, past Spofford Lake, then through some pastoral back roads and into the picturesque village of Walpole.
Lunch stop at Diamond Pizza was quick, tasty and warm sitting in the big sunny windows
Back out into the cold, we'd find some even more rural roads (translation = dirt) and get some views that most people never get to enjoy
After a few sportier sections, Rte 123A (the curviest road in NH. Unfortunately also one of the bumpiest) and Brook Rd, we arrived at Sunapee Lake, and stopped for a short rest at the State Park beach area (closed for the season) at the southern end of the lake.
After the break we took Rte 103C up the west side to the north end of the lake, then south back down the east side on 103A to nearly where we started at the beach.
Time for bagging some more bridges, and some more dirt roads!!
And the traditional anti-climactic ending after passing over the Hopkinton Dam, stopping to say good byes at the Dunkin Donuts on Rte 202.
For the full barrage of all 68 of our pictures, you can
watch the full TMJ slideshow here.
Did anyone else see the turkeys on Newmarket Rd? And for NERDS bonus points and a
chance to win a million bucks
... which of the 13 bridges on the route did we fail to get a picture of?
This ride is always so bittersweet for us. It's usually such a beautiful one, and we generally have a fun crowd to share it with, just as we did this year. :thumbsup: But it also unofficially marks the end of the organized group rides for the year in Northern New England. Last year we got a few more in before the onset of the evil white stuff, and even after that with the unusually mild winter many of us were able to stave off the PMS with a ride now and then. Let's hope we get a repeat of that, eh? But there is really no use trying to plan a group get together until spring as most likely you would be disappointed.
Thanks to all who participated in this ride and any of the others this year. Be safe, and we will look forward to more fun rides next year!!
