July 23 – Day 51 – Manchester, NH
| Route:Brattleboro, VT to Manchester, NH | Distance:86.79 miles | Winds:ENE 5 – 10 mph |
| Weather:Rainy! | Terrain:Lots of steep climbs | Total Climbing:6142 feet |
Is this trip REALLY necessary?
That about sums up today. We quickly left behind the state of Vermont and entered our last state, New Hampshire. We knew from route rap and our cue sheets we would be having the second toughest day as far as total climbing was concerned, but heh, we were almost across America. On top of that, ABB wanted everyone in and cleaned up be 6 pm – not an easy feat considering we had 86 miles to ride. Oh, I almost forgot, it was probably going to rain, and any winds would probably be headwinds.
So, the cursory answer to the question was – Yes!
It began to rain right after Jane & I lunched in a small town called Antrim. By this time we had already made several climbs that were in the 10 – 15 % grade, or more (looking back on the Garmin information, we had at least 5 climbs in this category in the first 30 miles). The rain really didn’t help things as it appeared to be one of those soaking types of all day rains.
After the SAG and lunch things got worse. Jane was clearly tired before lunch, and then we hit one series of climbs that obviously were over 20% in grade, and I believe were closer to 25%. What we were doing on these roads, I really don’t understand. There was a painted sign on the road saying the party was over. Seems someone wanted to send us a message. Ok, on we plod (to Jane’s credit, she climbed every one of them – all day long!).
The rain seemed to let up a bit, but the climbing did not. We fought the hills the whole way into Manchester. I don’t think anyone was happy with the day. Jane & I were tired and wet. It took us a little over 7 hours of ride time to cover 86 miles, a whooping 12 mph average. On the day we were on the road for a grand total of 9 ½ hours (and we weren’t the last ones in). People we so late they had to postpone dinner for an hour. I believe the general feeling of the group was, why are we riding these roads? Is this the best ABB has to offer us? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I will be posing that shortly.
At dinner we had our awards ceremony, as this would be our last evening meal together. Route rap consisted of making sure we understood what was going to happen tomorrow as we got ready for our run to the beach.
Awards were fun! The ride staff gave out things to everyone that symbolized what that person meant to them during the trip. Jane & I, being the dynamic team that we are, got a bungee cord, because we are always sticking together. Probably the neatest award was given to Brian (UK). He got the signed US map that showed our route. He got it because he seemed to squeeze more out of the trip than anyone else!!
After awards, the staff asked each of us to share something. Some were funny (like Gary telling everyone that he really had heard EVERY lawyer joke they told him and he was faking the laughter), some were very emotional (Wayne talking again about his friend who died in one of the 9/11 planes – and the fact they had raised over $300,000 dollars as the result of his ride), and I think everyone felt this trip was necessary (even if we didn’t appreciate the day’s ride).
Tomorrow we ride to the Atlantic and dip our front tires. We expect to see some old friends, and say goodbye to our new ones.
Stay tuned!
So Happy for you both and what you have completed . Enjoy the rest of your vacation and celebrate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk to you soon