Long Haul - Day 8 (8/24/21) Scarborough to North Hampton 53 miles.

myron466

Aug 24, 2021

2 min read

After taking several days off we were ready to get back on the road. We spent several days in Scarborough waiting for Henri to pass. We were just far enough north that we only got some rain and a bit of wind. It was almost tempting to think we should ride but we also knew that we would just get closer to the storm so we lay around and got lazy. There was a bike shop several blocks from our motel so I went and bought new head and tail lights. I charged them and installed them, all happy with the bright shiny lights. Last night we packed our bikes up and first thing this morning we hit the road. We had only gone several blocks and I was noticing my odometer was going crazy and Dana said hers wasn‘t working. We stopped and I couldn’t get them to settle down so we just kept riding. I got to thinking that the only thing different was the new lights. So while we were riding I took my headlight off and the odometer settled down. A bit later we stopped and I took Dana’s off and hers worked fine. Now I have to figure out where I can install them so they don’t interfere with the bike computer. The first 6-7 miles were on a hard packed gravel trail. It was beautiful and peaceful. We then hit 1 south and were just getting to the edge of a small town when I felt my back tire go flat. So we stopped and I found a screw poked straight through the tire and tube. I unloaded my bike and proceeded to change them both. Thankfully I brought several spares along. The thing is, I have maybe 400 miles on a brand new gator skin tire. This one bit the dust. We got rolling again and we made good time the rest of the day. At about the 43 mile mark we found some shade at a Dunkin and cooled off a bit and took refreshment. With only 10 miles to go we figured we would just crank it out but we were seduced by a wonderful ice cream place. We just had to stop. All in all we had a good day and finished early afternoon. sometimes when the hills get steep or the sun gets hot I just remind myself how lucky we are to be able to take this trip. It doesn’t lower the hill or cool the sun, but it lifts my spirit. We have left Maine and are in New Hampshire for the night and will be in Massachusetts tomorrow.

DID YOU KNOW? In Goshen, 15,194 public trees provide $1.47 million in benefits annually. #treesforgoshen #eastcoastgreenway

https://www.treesforgoshen.org/biking-for-bucks-expand-goshens-tree-canopy/

Today’s Ride Ratings

Weather 9.5 (cool overcast in the morning and pretty warm in the pm but we finished before it got too hot)

Temperature 72 at start and 82 at finish

Scenery 7 (I mean it was mostly along a highway but we did have some beauty early)

Riding Surface 8

Terrain 9 (good for us flatlanders)