John White (and Creean) on a bike: We are moving along.

Cree says:

Well, today was so much better (don’t worry, it was still very defeating in some measures lol). This morning (thank goodness) came with very few sore muscles and a positive attitude. As the day moved on I felt A LOT more comfortable on the bike, got my shifting to work for me better, and had a few times were I was genuinely like “oh yeahhh, I could do this all day” (yes, even that feeling was during an incline). Hoping for more paths like that one!

However, the rolling hills of NH/MA are a beast. The sharp incline, pivot, sharp incline had my legs locked and pulled over to the side of the road most of the time.

I’m still feeling *relatively* motivated and ready for the coming days, just bummed our pace is much slower that originally thought!

Shout out: If I didn’t know before, Dad is an incredible teacher, cyclist, and leader!! Thank goodness for him!

He Says:

Way better riding in the sunshine and dry weather today. The shorter distance also helped. Like Creean said, the rolling hills are killer on the legs. Nothing like out west where you ride the same road for 40-50 miles flat out. Mostly expected, but this Atlantic Route is big challenge to navigate. There are a lot of turn points along the way that we end up stopping to check to make sure we are headed in the right direction. Starting to get a little better on re-routing to easier roads ( aka state highways) where the terrain is flatter. The traffic is heavier but the side of the road is much wider.

Still we are in very beautiful country, maybe about 60 miles or so inland where the trees/forest are dense. I can't help but wonder how people settled in the area 400-500 years ago with all the vegetation. It's challenging enough with a map winding around the area, let alone years and years ago.

We rolled through the cute little town of Exeter where we stayed last night. There was a small river running through it and a nice town square. Then on through Kingston which had about a mile long park running between 2 roads that were about 200 yards from each other. Very different and I don't recall seeing anything like that before. On in to Derry NH for lunch and a 45 minute work stop. Town had more of an agriculture feel to it with grain stores and such. Then down into Hudson and Nashua on a route detour to get us some easy riding for 6-7 miles. Crossed into Massachusetts and crossed the Merrimack River. Then some tough riding through the country for the last 15 miles.

Tiny's Diner in Ayer MA for dinner. I went all in on pasta AND mashed potatoes. Creean with the Hot Turkey. Both $12 portions where more like $25 anywhere else.

Stats:

Stats - 58 miles (128 total)

Calories - 2,862 (6,112 total)

Time - 7:45 (18:15 total)

Total Climb - 2,208 feet (4,044 total)
Room 134
Exeter NH - Ayer MA
Tiny's Dinner ( Hot Turkey and Spaghetti)

Again, hard to get pictures while riding ;(

Getting ready to head out