Day 18: Carroll County

Today was another overcast day. Perfect for a long ride. I started out at Center Tuftonboro and passed by a farm selling fresh eggs. There were many more farms the further I went along this road. Old farms. It was like riding through history because on one side there was an old sugar house which is where they boil the sap to make the maple syrup. On the other side of the road were these beautiful gardens ready to explode with the summers bounty; spinach, lettuce, lots and lots of greens!
I passed through Water Village. A very sweet church was in the center of town. Along the road I could see patches of wild raspberries.
Eventually I came upon signs for Castle in the Clouds and I knew I was in Moultonborough. Funny thing happened in Moultonborough. The sun came out! I continued to ride on route 171 for a while passing by many old farms. Some vegetable,blueberry and Christmas tree farms. Eventually the sun disappeared and the overcast sky returned so I turned back and headed for route 109 towards Melvin Village. Melvin Village is a little village within Tuftonboro. It is on Melvin Bay of Lake Winnipasakee . It is a quaint little village. When I was little, my parents used to drive us to a little penny candy shop called The Hansel and Gretel shop. It was surrounded by large wooden lollipops. The shop was located just outside of Melvin Village. There was a little fishing pond in the store. The pond was stocked with little red plastic fish. If on that day, my oldest brother and I had helped out around the house, we were allowed to "go fishing". I think it cost my parents about fifty cents each. If you caught one of the little plastic fish, you got a prize. It was quite a thrill! Unfortunately the shop was long gone but the building was still there!
I kept on going along route 109, passing lots of trees, not so many cars and a few antique stores. It was a peaceful, somewhat hilly route. When I eventually came to Federal Corner, I climbed a few more hills and was safely home. A nice 28 mile ride.

Day 19: Boot Camp

Back up to the mountains of New Hampshire for some heavy duty training. Time to ride the hills every day. Today it is raining but the air is warm. I like these conditions for hill rides because if you get hot, the rain cools you off.
I have a different bike today. A steel frame Independent Fabrication. It wasn't so great. The gears are old and need to be overhauled which made for a miserable ride up the hills. I should have checked on this earlier but was in such a rush to get up here and go riding. I was able to grind through 30 miles and celebrated with a swim in the lake. It was raining after all. I was soaked so why not go swimming? It was the first time I went swimming where the rain was beating down so hard, it was making the lake water dance! It was really beautiful and very peaceful.

Day 20: Hannah and Sophia's Birthday Party

A large inspiration for this ride definately comes from my nieces and nephews. Today a birthday party was held for two of my three nieces. I made them each their own cake. Their favorite colors are pink and purple. So, I made one pink cake and one purple cake. Today's ride was in the early morning. It was not very long as I had to get back to decorate the cakes. Today was a day to celebrate Hannah and Sophia.

Day 21: Off the Beaten Path

Today I took a 20 mile ride. Mostly in and around the Boston area. I am always amazed that even though you think you know an area so well, there are so many things that go unnoticed. For some reason on this day, while I was finishing up a loop through South Boston, I happened to notice a foot path. Since the sun was setting and I wanted a closer look at it, I rode my bike slowly down the foot path. It wasn't that long but wound around the Boston harbour a ways and revealed this really beautiful sky. The most interesting part of that path was that it used to be the location of an iron factory in the 1800's. There are remnants from the wharf which dates back to the 1800's. There are no longer any of the original buildings down there. In fact, the Edison plant is right next to the path which is a little creepy but still an interesting spot.

Day 22: The Orange Bike

I am selling the orange bike! A 15.5 Independent Fabrication, Special. I can't believe it. I have had that bike for about 8 years. I raced on that bike! I love that bike but it is time to sell it. I am selling it so that I can buy a bike for the ride. If you are interested, go to Community Bicycle Supply. It is located on Tremont St. in the South End. It is a great local bike shop.

RIP Orange bike. I'll miss you. Hope you find a happy home.

Day 23: Kancamagus Pass

On Wednesday of this week I rode the Kancamagus highway. I started on the Conway side and left at about 10:30am. It was raining but it was a warm rain so it was okay. The rain really makes things smell good. Every now and then I would get a whiff of spruce pine. What a great smell! I made it a game to see how far I had to go before I would smell it again. Crazy? Yes, but it's what I had to do to focus my mind on something other than the hills.

The first leg of the climb was hard. In fact, I wasn't sure if I could do it because it was a constant, gradual climb. I had no choice but to keep going. As I climbed higher, the views got more and more majestic. I could see the sun peeking from behind the clouds and this thick fog was wrapped around the mountains but slowly dissipating. Finally I got to the top of the mountain and stopped long enough to take a quick photo and inhale a Luna bar. Notice there is not a water bottle on my bike. Yes, that was a no-no. Never forget your water bottle.

The descent was heaven. I mean literally. At first, I cruised through some rain but eventually it was nothing but blue sky and sun! Well, maybe a few clouds in the sky but it was nice to finally see the sun. It had been raining for about a week. I found a little cafe on the side of the road, ordered a smoothie and rested for a bit. Riding back the hills seemed easier. Alot of that had to do with the fact that sun was at my back. What a great feeling! Once I reached the top, cruising down the other side towards Conway felt like it took forever. The rain had picked up and there was a stream of cars every now and again. Cars are a distraction particularly on this road. I kept looking at the mountains for inspiration. That worked. Eventually I made it back to the car. It was 5:45pm. A days work. Happy to say, I spent it riding my bike.

Day 24: The Ride

In 24 days I will be riding in the Etape de Tour starting from Montélimar (Drôme) to the Mont Ventoux summit, after 172 km or about 107 miles and four climbing stages villa (Côte de Citelle, Col d'Ey, Col de Fontaube, Col de Notre-Damede Sabeilles) ending in the of village Mont Serein. It is the same stage that riders will travel in the Tour de France.

Since I am realizing a lifelong dream I want to help others realize their dreams too. That is why I am going to raise money for Reach Out and Read as part of my ride. Reading is so important and with the tough economic times non-profits are getting hit hard. There is less federal and state money. People have less money to donate as well. I hope you will sponsor my ride and all the proceeds will go to Reach Out and Read.

Reach Out and Read is a national, nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy by making books a routine part of pediatric care so children grow up with books and a love of reading. Just like I did...

I have been training for a while now but thought you might be interested to know what happens in the last 24 days.