My favorite state motto is “Live Free or Die”. Down east in New Hampshire, they live their motto and I love it here. Before we commence on recounting the events of my day, here's some useless trivia you probably don't know: It takes 50 gallons of maple sap to create one gallon of maple syrup. No wonder it's so expensive.
I set-out this morning under dark grey skies and temperatures in the 40’s. I wanted to see the Citadel, Plaines d-Abraham and Chutes Montmorency [falls]. As I entered the Citadel, it started raining and I got to tour Plaines d-Abraham Park where many battles were fought between the French and British. I opted to pass on the falls since the rain was coming down in sheets and the falls were 15 miles north, when I was planning to travel south. I rode out of town over a suspension bridge spanning the St. Lawrence Seaway and the rain was relentless. The bridge looked like the Golden Gate, but it was smaller and made of gray concrete. At least I was warm and dry with rain gear and new Under Armor I got for my birthday from my cousin Gail and her family. Riding in heavy rain requires intense concentration and the kilometers seem to fly by, but at day’s end you feel how much energy was expended focusing to see and stay safe among the trucks.
I stopped for lunch at Tim Horton’s and had a fantastic bowl of cauliflower and formage soup. After 175 miles I arrived at the Vermont border crossing; the rain had stopped and the weather was noticeably warmer, so I changed into summer gloves. I accidentally got into the truck lane through customs and the border agent is a biker who thought I was nuts for wandering so far from home, but after a few minutes of running my plates through the computer, he chuckled and waived me through.
The ride through the Green Mountains of Vermont was fantastic, but they’re really more like rolling hills than mountains. Anyway, fall colors were on full display, but the colors were muted by the grey skies and dry summer. There were no good places to pull over and snap photos. By 7:30 it was getting dark and I started looking for a place to stay under clear skies and a nearly full moon. I landed at a Super 8 in White River Junction in southeastern Vermont. The town sits on the Connecticut River that divides VT and New Hampshire. After unloading my stuff and shedding my rain gear, I rode 2 miles to Lebanon, NH and had dinner at Chili’s. Tonight I still need to decide where I’ll ride tomorrow, but I think I’m going to pass on back-tracking northeast to Boston and Maine, since I’ve been there and done that several times. I’ll probably head towards NYC or maybe Philadelphia.
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