Long Haul - Day 9 North Hampton - Boston 54 miles.
We got rolling this morning to what ended up being one of the easiest day to this point. The terrain was relatively easy, mostly rolling and pleasant. The first part was along the coast with the ocean a block away. The irony was that because the shopping center and homes were built so close, concrete barriers were installed to keep ocean surges at bay and therefore blocked the beautiful scenery was blocked from view. I guess some things are more important than natural beauty, however in this case I do not concur.
We followed some roads that were a bit busy but Massachusetts drivers are very bike aware/friendly. There were times that we were waiting to cross a street and before we realized, cars approaching from both sides had stopped to allow us to cross. That almost never happens in Indiana. Maine drivers were relatively courteous but it seemed that NH drivers were quite inconsiderate. I don’t think any of them stopped for us and it seemed they didn’t give us a lot of space when they passed us. We were on a relatively busy road/stop light in NH when we heard a car honking just behind Dana. When the car passed, the driver, (a middle aged women) yelled something to us. Neither of us understood what she was yelling. Later we decided to believe that she was honking to encourage us and as she passed she was yelling “you go! It doesn’t matter that you are both old, you can do this! I‘m proud of you both, and am jealous of you. Don’t let rude people get you down! Whooo Hoooo!“ We choose to believe that’s what really happened. :).
The weather this morning was pleasant but it got pretty hot by the time we arrived. Fortunately, we had quite a bit of shade during most of the day. We stopped for a final cool down and hydration before the last 7 miles. As we were resting in shade I smelled pot wafting in the air. As we
were just about ready to leave we noticed several men (50 - 60ish) just above us on a small hill. One of them yelled “where you headed?” I said “Florida” He replied, on those things. He might have enjoyed the blunt a wee bit too much. People have lots of different reactions to us.
3 states in 2 days, I’ll bet you’ve never done that. I’ve give up on seeing bears.
https://www.treesforgoshen.org/biking-for-bucks-expand-goshens-tree-canopy/
Today’s Ride Ratings
Weather 9 (cool overcast in the morning and pretty warm in the pm)
Temperature 69 at start and 89 at finish
Scenery 8 (Beautiful rural scenery along the coast with some beautiful homes)
Riding Surface 8
Terrain 9 (good for us flatlanders)
Positive outlook - I'm sure she was giving you encouragement! Can't think of any other reason she would yell at old people 😊😊