Day 50: Manchester to Portsmouth, New
Hampshire
August 9, 2004
Miles: 60
The first half of today's ride had some rollers but nothing like
yesterday. We began by riding out of Manchester around its water
supply. This lake is marked as protected drinking water yet they
allow sailboats. I wonder if a sailor who capsizes his boat or
falls overboard would be cited for fouling the water.
Our goal was to gather at Rye Junior High School at 11:30 to ride the
final two miles to the beach as a group with a police escort.
That meant we had to cover 48 miles in about 5 hours--no hurry.
We stopped at several places for pastry and beverages.
At the school, those who rode all the way across the country and those
who were completing the trip begun in earlier years gathered for
photos, along with the staff:
Then it was on to the beach in a loose group:
Here is our first view of the ocean:
At Wallis Sands State Beach, we marched down through the bathers to the
surf to dip our wheels.
Here are the Piesdales:
After hosing the salt water and sand off my wheel and shoes, Andrew,
Judith and I headed off to the north to the Maine state line to bag
another state.
The steel grate bridges in this area are nasty. We've ridden over
a few on the trip and done fine. But these are patterned in such a way
that they grab your wheels, especially the rear wheel; you feel very
unstable on them.
We rode back through
downtown Portsmouth and then out to the motel. I rode over to the
local Hertz office to pick up a rental car. They don't seem to
put street numbers on their buildings and the only Hertz sign was a
poster in the storefront window, which made it difficult to find.
Some riders took their bikes to a local bike shop to be boxed up and
shipped home; others, boxed them up behind the motel, mine going into
its travel case. Then Andrew, Judith and I drove back over to
Maine for Lobster and blueberry pie (Maine blueberries are about half
the size of the blueberries we see out in California but sweeter).
On Tuesday, I flew back home, from Manchester to Nashville to Los
Angeles to Sacramento. I may be picking up a cold but otherwise
the flights were fine, just long. On Wednesday I went back to
work for a hearing before the Energy Commission. To make the
transition a bit easier, I wore my "formal" cycling socks with my suit.
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