Day 45 Hanover to North Conway

Dodging Leaf Peepers on the Penultimate Day!

We left the Hanoverian seat of Dartmouth College and headed out on what on paper looked like to be one of the more difficult days of the journey. The profile looked interesting (above) with a crescendo of five climbs followed by a sixth smaller climb. Of course this would come at around eighty miles into our day!

The ride started inauspicious enough as we were greeted by a combination of cold, rain and fog that followed us until just before the first rest stop. Our group rode together to the first rest stop but Michael skipped the stop and headed onward, wanting to stay warm I’m sure! As we progressed through the climbs we did get spread out a bit but the weather continued to improve. North Conway is the jumping off point for those wanting to enjoy the fall colors and one can certainly see why this is the case. Almost every where one looked was a pastel of reds, oranges, yellows and green. The hill climbs were rewarded with colored vistas and along with the improving weather had me in fine spirits. The screaming descents after each climb also would lift anyone’s mood.

Somewhere near the top of one of the climbs, I managed to catch Ron. He will be the first to admit that he is not the fastest climber. However once we crested and stopped for some photos, I headed on down at full speed. Ron soon passed me, exhibiting that his down hill skills are very impressive indeed. Typical of him, when we stopped at a stop sign near the bottom he apologized for passing me!

Our last dinner as a team only was just across the street from a hotel. It was a bar/restaurant and most of us sat in the bar. Although I have saved any alcohol consumption on this trip for the evening before the rest days, everyone was in good spirits and I found myself at the receiving end of a few rounds of beer. Thank everyone! Tomorrow is the end of the journey. Bittersweet but looking forward to completing the task and joining my other family again!