New Hampshire and the Final Ride
I crossed into NH with tears in my eyes and spent my first night “home” in Winchester at the Arlington Inn & Tavern, a place where the food is great and bicyclists are welcomed by all the staff. The only problem was now that I had gotten here, what roads could I take the next day to get to Warner? Going through Keene and onto Route 9 would not be a good choice due to the traffic and the narrow, winding road. The Ashelout Trail was out as it was not suitable for my road bike, so my only choice was Route 119. BIG MISTAKE! Super steep hills, no shoulders, and lots of traffic including semi trucks. After making only 5 miles in one hour, I stopped at a house and was able to get a ride to north of Peterborough. This wasn’t my idea of how to bike in NH, but I sincerely believed it was the safest and smartest thing to do. I biked into my home town of Warner the next day.
Only one task remained and that was to bike to Hampton Beach so I could complete the coast to coast trip and dip my front wheel in the Atlantic Ocean. With the help of cycling friends, the mapping of the route was completed and after a couple days of rest, I was on my way.
The first day I rode 51.3 miles with ease even though there were some challenging hills. The second day was shorter, 31.3 miles, but as I got closer to the ocean, the winds were trying their best to blow me back to where I had started on the west coast. It was an emotional ride, proud to have ridden so far, happy to be home, but sad to see it end.
On September 10th, exactly 4 months from the day I flew into Portland, Oregon, and 2948 miles later, I celebrated with “a little help from my friends”.
And now I wake up every morning wondering if it was a dream or did I just pull off what so many thought was impossible. It was only because of the amazing people I crossed paths with each and every day, and with support from the friends back home, that this journey was indeed real and this was the adventure of a lifetime.
Thank you!
Believing strongly that no child should ever go hungry, I did this ride as a fundraiser for a Warner based nonprofit that supplies supplemental food for elementary aged children in the Kearsarge School District. Donations can be made at www.foodforthoughtnh.org or mailed to Food For Thought NH, P.O. Box 68, Warner, NH 03278
