Hitting the open road

For the last several days there has been no Internet access; this is the first, a library in Lebanon, NH. Today was the first day we dealt with rain and it was rather uncomfortable. It started out as a sprinkle and by the time we got to lunch it was pouring, pelting down on us like bullets. I opted for the $10 glasses back in Florence, KY and they fog up terribly making it difficult to see in the rain - we'll see what happens.

We left this morning from New London, NH which appears to be a small resort town in the hills of New Hampshire. The church we stayed in was nicely air conditioned and the "women's society" fed us quite well. It rained most of the afternoon after our ride and in the evening it was incredibly foggy.

The first day of the ride - Saturday - we started the morning by peddaling to the Atlantic where everyone gathered to dip the back wheel of our bikes into the water. We will do the same thing on the other side when we dip our front wheels in the Pacific. Following that several of us decided to cycle up from Porstmouth into Maine right across the bridge really only for the sake of saying that we had biked from Maine to Vancouver. From there the goal was the catch the last riders from the other group so everyone was together. After making a wrong turn and going nearly 25 miles out of my way I managed to meet up with everyone at the lunch stop. We then rode in Concord, NH (state capital) where we spent the evening in the town square at a multicultural festival.

So what have I learned?
1. Quick dry towels are weird, it feels like you're drying yourself with a piece of saran wrap
2. Earplugs are a great invention
3. NH has a lot of rolling hills: fun going down, not fun going up...
4. Pelting rain against bare skin on a downhill is no fun
5. Going 50mph on a downhill is fun when it is sunny
6. Tan lines will be quite interesting by the end of the trip
7. I'm sick of NH and I want to start crossing some state lines

I don't know when the next time is I'll be able to post, in time. Write comments, drop emails, whatever, stay in touch.

IK