A single night in New Hampshire, camped off a small dirt track that dead ended at an electrical box that I assume was for the White Mountain National Forest, we woke early at the base of our biggest pass since Guatemala, Kancamagus pass. 2000 feet of climbing over 12 miles, not too difficult, only hitting a 10% grade for the last few miles. 7:30am departure time, and since we slept at the base of the pass, we started climbing right out the gate. These initial pedals can be tough because our legs burn from the multiple days of riding. It is funny how we both give an "owwwww" right at the same time. Our bodies are so in sync with one another.
45 minutes up and the clouds started coming in on us, sprinkling for a few minutes before the downpour set in. Our luck prevailed once more as the rain just started to come down, we came upon a large shelter at an overlook. We turned our bikes and gladly took shelter to wait out the storm for almost an hour. Much better than being soaked to the bone like the group of guys riding behind us that powered through the rain to the shelter and couldn't fathom how our bikes were so clean and we were so dry after being on the road for over two years.
The rain did not cool down the temperatures and only intensified the humidity, but it did make for a nice chilly descent what with us being pretty wet. Sustaining on carrots with peanut butter and granola, we were starved by the time we cruised 22 miles down to the town of Conway. Changing up our diet, we steered clear of the breakfast cafe and headed for Mexican one. It was nowhere close to the deliciousness in Central America, but it was a nice change for our taste buds.
A quick load of much needed laundry at the laundromat, and we were on our way into Maine via Fryeburg. These New England towns often date back to the 1700's. A lot of them are built around a central green with a white steepled church, low stacked mortarless stone walls lining the country lanes. House, barn and shed are all connected into one building. Being in New England differs greatly from the vastness of the west, offering beautiful beech, maple and oak trees that provide tremendous shade for us as well as the homes.
Waiting out another storm in Fryeburg at The Jockey Cap Country Store that had everything from pizza to coffee to puppets, we set out just after 7pm to find our home for the night. The mosquitoes were unlike anything I have experienced before, encasing us within seconds of stopping the bikes. We eventually just had to make a guess and sprint into the woods and begin setting up our tent while being devoured by these tiny blood sucking pests. It was more or less horrible, but thankfully my wonderful husband being the kind man he is, encouraged me to go in to make our bed while he suffered and finished the last bits of getting the fly and bikes situated. I was extremely grateful yet felt bad when we finally came in (and brought a good 25 mosquitoes with him) the tent covered in swollen welts on his shoulders and legs. Those little buggers were just as bad when we broke down our tent in the morning.
Today we slowly made our way through Maine, stopping often for either breakfast, a jump in the "pond" which is basically a lake and I am not quite sure why locals use pond but hey, who am I to judge? We also spent a few hours in Cafe Nomad in Norway, ME where they have delicious sandwiches on homemade bread and coffee. A fairly lazy day, only riding about 50 miles. Fine by me. Ride in the morning and at night, just perfect. As the night was closing in, we came upon an organic farm that our map showed as a b & b. We stopped out front and a young girl came barreling out the front door with a nerf gun in hand. She asked if we wanted to camp out back. Sure, why not? We brought our bikes around back and were asked in for a vegan dinner. What a night this turned out to be! This family is absolutely wonderful and we laughed for hours sharing stories and hearing of their five children. Being in the house sitting around a table capable of hosting 18 people, this is why I love our life.
45 minutes up and the clouds started coming in on us, sprinkling for a few minutes before the downpour set in. Our luck prevailed once more as the rain just started to come down, we came upon a large shelter at an overlook. We turned our bikes and gladly took shelter to wait out the storm for almost an hour. Much better than being soaked to the bone like the group of guys riding behind us that powered through the rain to the shelter and couldn't fathom how our bikes were so clean and we were so dry after being on the road for over two years.
The rain did not cool down the temperatures and only intensified the humidity, but it did make for a nice chilly descent what with us being pretty wet. Sustaining on carrots with peanut butter and granola, we were starved by the time we cruised 22 miles down to the town of Conway. Changing up our diet, we steered clear of the breakfast cafe and headed for Mexican one. It was nowhere close to the deliciousness in Central America, but it was a nice change for our taste buds.
A quick load of much needed laundry at the laundromat, and we were on our way into Maine via Fryeburg. These New England towns often date back to the 1700's. A lot of them are built around a central green with a white steepled church, low stacked mortarless stone walls lining the country lanes. House, barn and shed are all connected into one building. Being in New England differs greatly from the vastness of the west, offering beautiful beech, maple and oak trees that provide tremendous shade for us as well as the homes.
Waiting out another storm in Fryeburg at The Jockey Cap Country Store that had everything from pizza to coffee to puppets, we set out just after 7pm to find our home for the night. The mosquitoes were unlike anything I have experienced before, encasing us within seconds of stopping the bikes. We eventually just had to make a guess and sprint into the woods and begin setting up our tent while being devoured by these tiny blood sucking pests. It was more or less horrible, but thankfully my wonderful husband being the kind man he is, encouraged me to go in to make our bed while he suffered and finished the last bits of getting the fly and bikes situated. I was extremely grateful yet felt bad when we finally came in (and brought a good 25 mosquitoes with him) the tent covered in swollen welts on his shoulders and legs. Those little buggers were just as bad when we broke down our tent in the morning.
Today we slowly made our way through Maine, stopping often for either breakfast, a jump in the "pond" which is basically a lake and I am not quite sure why locals use pond but hey, who am I to judge? We also spent a few hours in Cafe Nomad in Norway, ME where they have delicious sandwiches on homemade bread and coffee. A fairly lazy day, only riding about 50 miles. Fine by me. Ride in the morning and at night, just perfect. As the night was closing in, we came upon an organic farm that our map showed as a b & b. We stopped out front and a young girl came barreling out the front door with a nerf gun in hand. She asked if we wanted to camp out back. Sure, why not? We brought our bikes around back and were asked in for a vegan dinner. What a night this turned out to be! This family is absolutely wonderful and we laughed for hours sharing stories and hearing of their five children. Being in the house sitting around a table capable of hosting 18 people, this is why I love our life.
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