.October 8, 2006 Back in 2003 when I first started biking a lot, I attempted a century bike ride (100 miles in a day). It may not be a lot for Lance Armstrong, 7 time Tour de France winner, but it was a huge challenge for me. In 2003 I only attempted it once and fell short because I had not one, but two flat tires within the first few miles. In 2004 I was successful and since then I have been determined to get one century bike ride in per year. Lynn's Uncle Bob lives in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It works out great. I bike there and Lynn drives there while crewing me along the way. We visit with him, throw the bike in the back of the truck, and head home.
I am attempting it about a month later than usual this year in an attempt to catch the foliage. It was very cold this morning, just 33 degrees when I got up. That may not seem too cold, but try getting on a bike with shorts and pedal down a hill. It's freezing. I put off leaving until 8:00 am. Come along for the ride as I bike through over a dozen quaint New England towns.
Mile 0.0 - Leaving Home. Orange isn't the most flattering color but I want to be seen by motorists. Two years ago I got hit by car. It didn't feel too good.
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Mile 0.7 - Passing my place of employment. I've been spoiled these last 6 years living so close to work. Today is Sunday so I think I will bike on by.
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Mile 1.2 - Main Street in Norway
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Mile 2.8 - The fog was just lifting over Lake Pennessewassee. The name is too long so everyone just refers to it as Norway Lake.
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Mile 3.1 - Heading toward Waterford on Route 118
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Mile 4.2 - The trees are so beautiful with their mix of red, orange, yellow, gold, and green.
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Mile 5.6 - Passing Little Pennessewassee Lake.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Mile 14.0 -You can't go too far in Maine without passing some type of lumber/logging yard.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Mile 15.3 -I passed this somewhat famous spot. With all the towns in the area named after foreign cities and countries, this is used on a lot of postcards.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Mile 20.0 -The next few miles there wasn't much to see, but the leaves were beautiful
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Mile 24.6 -
Songo Pond
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Mile 27.7 - Entering Bethel. I just hit the side of the town and didn't go down Main Street.
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I reached Route 2 and took a left. I will spend the next 70+ miles on this road.
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Another 20 miles to Gorham, the halfway point.
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It's harvest time.
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Mile 31.0 -
West Bethel
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I'm out of the hills and into the mountains now.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Mile 38.0 -
This is the Gilead Picnic Area. It's part of the White Mountains but there are surprisingly no hiking trails here.
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You see a lot of these signs in Maine and New Hampshire.
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Mile 41.0 -
Entering New Hampshire
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Just after this I entered the White Mountains. Lynn gave me a couple of hours head start before setting out. This is where she caught up to me.
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Mile 41.7 - Entering Shelburne
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Mile 42.6 - I always get a kick out of this 'lake'. It shouldn't be named a lake or even a pond for that matter. At best it is a glorified puddle. Today, however, was the first time I went past it when it was completely dried up.
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Mile 45.2 - New Hampshire Welcome Center.
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Mile 46.5 - Here is where my hiking and biking hobbies intersect as I cross the Appalachian Trail. Mount Madison is in the background.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ A.T. Parking Lot on Route 2. Heading south on the AT will take you to the Carter-Moriah Range while heading north will take you to the Mahoosuc Range.
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I noticed this AT symbol spray painted on the road.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I biked past one white blaze as the AT follows Route 2 for .2 miles before turning right onto North Road.
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Mile 47.5 - Entering the Mount Washington Valley
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Mile 48.5 - A small area around this section of the road is filled with white birch trees.
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Mile 49.5 - Entering Gorham
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Mile 50.1 - Main Street in Gorham. I met Lynn at Subway on the right and we grabbed lunch.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I headed off and Lynn stayed in Gorham a while to give me a head start.
Mile 53.0 - After leaving the town, I had my longest hill of the day. This hill is over 2 miles long, but at least I will have a view of Mounts Madison and Adams at the top.
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Mile 49.5 - Near the top of the hill I entered Randolph.
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Mile 55.3 - Mounts Madison (left) and Adams (right)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Last week I drove past this same spot. I like last weeks picture better.
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Mile 56.6 - The Appalachia Parking Lot. As you can see from the overflow of vehicles here. This is a popular starting point for those hiking the Presidential Range. I've gone in this way a couple of times and Runtrails used it once to escape the bad weather she had when she was on Mount Madison.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ My speed slowed to a crawl. I had a lot of uphill and the wind picked up. Look at the flag in this picture. I was biking right into it.
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Mile 59.8 - Mount Jefferson
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Mile 61.7 - Entering the town of Jefferson
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Mount Washington. Notice the smoke from the cog railway.
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Mile 63.0 - I came across this old tower. At least I think it must have been used as a tower at some point. With the trees all grown around it, it must have been a long time since it has been used.
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Mile 64.4 - I passed a small amusement park named Six Gun City. It's closed for the season.
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Mile 66.9 - I am not sure which mountain this is, but I believe it is Owl's Head. There are two mountains with that name in the Whites. This is the one that is not a 4,000 footer.
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Mile 70.0 - I passed another amusement park. This one was definitely open. In an area so small, it surprises me that there are two theme parks just a few miles apart.
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Mile 71.7 - Entering Lancaster
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Mile 73.2 -One last view of the Presidential Range.
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This is where Lynn and I first discovered Maple Cream. It is 100% maple syrup whipped into a cream. Very yummy. Of course we don't have to drive to New Hampshire to get it. Maine is another state big on maple syrup. It is available at Smedberg's, just 2 miles down from where we live.
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Mile 75.7 - Main Street in Lancaster.
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Mile 76.9 - Crossing the bridge over the Connecticut River into Vermont.
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This is the first sign I've seen with St. Johnsbury on it. It's still pretty far away.
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Mile 79.7 - I'm glad it's not my job to keep this fence painted.
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Mile 80.4 - This would be a great river to kayak.
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Mile 80.6 - Vermont has its share of beautiful scenery.
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Mile 82.2 - Entering Lunenburg. This is one of the toughest parts of the ride. This area has a rollercoaster of hills. They ordinarily wouldn't be too bad but I've already biked 80+ miles.
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Mile 86.5 - Passing a small farm.
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Mile 92.7 - I crossed into North Concord without realizing it. Now that's one big wooden Indian.
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Mile 95.6 - Entering Concord
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This is Main Street in Concord.
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As you can see, it's starting to get dark. It has never taken me this long to bike this. Taking pictures has easily added about 2 hours to my ride. When hiking it is not so bad, but when you are moving along between 10-20 miles an hour, it takes time to come to a complete stop, get the camera out, take a picture or two, and get my speed back up. This only takes a minute or two, but I took about 100 pictures today so when you put it all together it's easily a couple of hours.
Mile 100.0 - Finally, 100 miles.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ You probably noticed the sign above reads East St. Johnsbury. I guess I forgot to tell you. It's actually 104 miles to St. Johnsbury so I've got 4 more miles to go.
Mile 102.0 - The Farmer's Daughter. This is a popular landmark just outside of town.
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Mile 104.3 - Crossing the bridge into St. Johnsbury. Don't go towards the light!!!
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Mile 104.4 - Downtown St. Johnsbury. Lynn's Uncle lives behind the Dunkin Donuts. Isn't that convenient.
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Sorry about the poor picture quality on the last couple. It's almost dark and the temperature has really dropped the last hour or so. My hands are half frozen and it's hard to keep the camera steady. My hands are also stiff from holding onto the handle bars for 100+ miles. My legs do all the work, but it's actually tougher on my hands since I don't get to keep them moving.
Mile 104.5 - Lynn and Uncle Bob
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Well, I did it. Another 100 mile bike ride complete. Thanks for coming along. It's pretty tiring, but all I can think of is how our new friends Jim and Sue actually RUN 100 miles in their ultramarathons. Now that's incredible!!
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