2 August - Day 58: Concord NH to Kittery Maine - 101.7 km @ 18.4 km/h

The human body is an amazing creation. Earlier this year I crashed my MX-5 and wrote it off. I got a concussion and minor whiplash but it hardly hurt … until the day after. Lis explained to me that the body produces a huge amount of adrenaline which masks the pain. Well, today was the day after my crash and sure enough I was feeling a lot more than I did yesterday.

I awoke shortly after 5 when I rolled over onto my hurt shoulder. Who needs an alarm clock? It really got my attention! I dozed for a while but then got up and had a hot bath to soothe the shoulder. There are advantages to not camping in terms of having a few more creature comforts!

After answering e-mails I packed my gear and made my way to the lobby. They had put my bike in their office and the manager retrieved it for me. He was a keen cycling enthusiast and had done his first century recently. We discussed my trip and how he had always wanted to do something similar. Holiday Inn have a programme where after 5 years service they get a 3 month sabbatical so he said in 3 more years he was going to do it with his brother. In the interim he was planning next month ongoing down to New York city where there is century ride next month. I said that I can’t think of anything less desirable than cycling 100 miles around New York but he said it would be fun to be with so many riders. To each their own …

I made my way east and there was a large shopping centre not too far from the hotel. I went to a supermarket and bought some provisions and while packing my bike Eric and Andy from Boston came over and chatted. They had also done trans-American trips and we compared notes. They agreed that drivers in New England are not the best; the day before Eric had almost been hit by someone who swerved out and stopped suddenly. Andy got even with him, he said that he slid into the back of the vehicle and left a dent. That is one way of doing it. I had images of New England drivers travelling about with small paintings of the cyclists on the side of their vehicle representing their ‘kills’. When I was told out west that the worst drivers were in Massachusetts I was sceptical. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that the disease covers all of New England. They really are shocking. I almost hit someone pulling out in Concord and over the next two days there were half a dozen over very close encounters. By far the worst drivers of my trip.

The ride east was very hard going. My body definitely didn’t want to be on a bicycle but fortunately, the road was slightly rolling and there was no headwind otherwise I wouldn’t have made it. It was one of those times when you have to put mind to the task at hand and push on. There was a misting rain which served to cool me down and keep me refreshed so I really didn’t mind it. After about 20 km I stopped for a rest. I think that there is something quite amiss with my left knee as well since that was acting up in spite of the anti-inflammatory pill that I had taken. At least it wasn’t my right knee which has had four operations and is much more fragile.

The countryside was much the same as I had passed through the day before. Rolling hills, with not too difficult grades, lots of forests, and old towns. There is a great degree of similarity in the architecture between towns, with most of the buildings being white weather boards. Each town also has a dominant church which is large with a high steeple. They are usually Congregationalist which reflects the independent nature of the New Englanders. There are also lots of bookshops about, every town seems to have at least two of them. My kind of places. There are few pleasures in life as nice as browsing a bookshop.

As I approached Durham I smelled the ocean. It had been a long time and I found it exciting that I was so close to my goal. It was now afternoon and my circadian rhythm was over-ruling my discomfort from the accident. I was actually feeling relatively perky. There was a lot of construction on Highway 4 and at each work zone there was a traffic officer with their lights on the patrol car flashing. At the third work zone I asked the police man if this was common practice and he said that it was essentially required and that the motorists were much more obedient and careful when there was a policeman about. Just one further indictment of the local drivers methinks.

The traffic was getting quite heavy as I approached Portsmouth. I pulled into a petrol station and asked if there was a less busy road into the city. Unfortunately this was the only route so I steeled my nerves and continued on. The worst part was at the interchanges where I had to cut across the lane with fast moving traffic. I waited until there was a big gap and then, after a quick prayer, peddled like mad. Obviously I made it since I’m writing this, but it was not pleasant.

I was a bit frazzled by the time I reached the city so I stopped at a computer shop for a distraction. Like most things in America it was huge, with a phenomenal range of products. Of course I enjoyed it immensely since I really am a gadget guy. We had won a project in N.Z. and I checked out some of the latest digital cameras to come up with some options for the guys. I also tested some computers and browsed the software. I got a program for learning foreign languages. It’s one of my great sadness’ that I am not very adept at languages …

Portsmouth was once a major shipyard for the US Navy, and they still have a large base in the city. As I approached the centre of the town I saw a submarine in a park next to the road. The USS Albacore was launched in 1953 and was a research submarine. It never carried a weapon or went to war. It was used for testing control systems, dive brakes, sonar equipment, escape mechanisms, and various innovative theories. It was the first submarine to have the streamlined hull shape of modern submarines.

p2600001.jpg (177381 bytes)

There was a self-guided tour of the submarine which I went on. It was quite different to the movies! As I expected it was quite cramped, but I didn’t appreciate just how little space there was for the crew quarters, or the total lack of privacy that most of the crew would have had. The engineering was impressive with the way that everything fit together into a cohesive system. There was also the smell of hydraulic oil which was all pervasive. Obviously I was not cut out to be a submariner. Particularly with a sore shoulder; it was quite hard crouching to go through the hatches!

The locals are very environmentally considerate, as evidenced by the sign below. What I wondered was whether there was such a thing as a fast duck crossing?

p2600002.jpg (176507 bytes)

Portsmouth was founded in 1623 and as a result the streets of the town are quite narrow. There are lots of old buildings and it was very scenic to cycle through. However, being a town I was careful not to gawk too much … less I have another close encounter of the worst kind with a car door. As I approached the bridge to Maine a mountain biker cycled up and started chatting with me. He was most interested in my trip so we stopped by the side of the road and continued our conversation. Like so many other cyclists I had met he was hoping to do a similar tip himself. I told him not to wait and to do it since it is such a rewarding experience. Tom was fascinated with my bike, particularly how I fitted the panniers to my front forks (1 x muffler clamp and a 10 mm bolt tapped through above the axle) and what gear was required (as little as possible).

Maine was across the Piscataqua River and I got two people walking across the bridge to snap my photo below the sign welcome to Kittery. I had come from California to Maine, and it was only a short run to the Atlantic Ocean, completing my Pacific to Atlantic ride.

p2600005.jpg (173787 bytes)

I had been advised that there were great views at Fort McCleary State Park so I cycled south along Route 103 to the coast. This took me past the large naval base, which obviously is still in use, and past many lovely old houses. These were substantial homes dating back well into the last century, or perhaps even earlier. With the large trees it was a beautiful ride. Eventually I reached the park which brought me to the Atlantic Ocean. I had completed my trans-continental trip. After 6242.7 km and 50 days of cycling (excluding rest days) I had made it.

p2600008.jpg (176217 bytes)

There were two women there with their children. Melissa and Lynne were from New Hampshire, up for holidays. Melissa was now living in Japan and asked what NZ was like for a holiday. I waxed eloquently about it and gave her my contacts in case she made it. They got photos of me with their kids and shared a delicious apricot with me before I went on my way.

I found a motel and checked in and then decided to treat myself to a special dinner. After getting lost in a maze of roads I found my way back into Portsmouth and found a nice Mexican restaurant where I had a vegetarian Fajita. That was the same dish I had the night before I started in San Francisco with David and Katherine Brown so I thought it was a fitting end to the trip. It would have been nice to have had friends to share the experience with, but that was OK.

After returning to the hotel I had a hot bath to soothe my shoulder and then worked the phone to organise my trip back to NZ. My wonderful travel agent Michelle managed to get me flying out of Portland instead of Boston and even got my Qantas ticket moved forward. This will get me back to NZ two days earlier which is appealing in many ways. With my shoulder and knee acting up I can’t enjoy my remaining time and I definitely can’t do my planned trip to Washington D.C.. It’s a bit hard to travel when you can’t lift your baggage! The plan is to have me check everything in at the Portland airport and it will go all the way through to NZ. Here’s hoping.

On to the Next Day or Back to the Home Page

loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loans loansloans loans loans loans loans loans loans insurance insurance mortgage mortgage