New Hampshire – Biking 100

Mount Washington, Cog Railway

August 28, 2020

Riding the Cog Railway was a wonderful adventure. We took the 10AM train and spent about an hour at the summit.

*Ready for our ascent. We had a beautiful clear day.*

*View from our coach heading up the mountain.*

Due to Covid restrictions only a limited number of visitors were permitted in the visitors center. We acquired a ticket online and welcomed the opportunity to get some hot chocolate and get out of the cold wind for a few minutes.

*Tip Top House, an original summit hotel dating back to 1853.*

*Leaving the summit we had a good view of the Engineer.*

*They estimated visibility to be about eighty m*iles.

We had beautiful clear skies. We could see Wild Cat Ski Resort where Lenny used to snow board while in New Hampshire on business. Tuckerman’s Ravine was also visible – Lenny climbed Tuckerman’s in the past. Good memories for him.

*Waiting for a train headed for the summit.*

Mt. Washington is home to the most extreme weather observatory on Earth. The only months of the year Mt Washington has not recorded a below zero temperature are June, July, August and September. The morning before we visited it was 32 degrees. The wind at the summit when we were there was 25 mph. We were on the observation deck for only a short time and the wind and cold was unbearable.

Northern Rail Trail Franklin, New Hampshire # 41

August 26, 2020

We finished our ride on the Franconia Notch Trail had lunch (PBJ of course) and decided to put in some more miles. We only needed a few more miles to reach our 100 mile goal. Tomorrow, Thursday, there is a chance of rain and Friday we have planned a trip to Mt Washington. Saturday is supposed to be a wash out.

We had hoped to ride Lincoln Woods Trail which is close to our condo. It’s a short trail but right on the Pemigewasset River. We arrived at the trailhead to find it packed. Parking lot was full. The trail must have been really busy.

There are many miles of the Northern Rail Trail yet to ride so we headed for the trailhead at Lake Webster in Franklin.

The wind was really blowing and there were white caps on Webster Lake – named for 19th- century statesman Daniel Webster. We rode in fairly dense forest on a rail bed raised high above the forest floor.

*Remnants of retaining wall along trail.*

We both enjoyed this picturesque trail. Always love the views of forest from raised rail bed.

There was a more noticeable uphill grade in this area then what we rode yesterday. Our return was fun. We both felt like we could ride that all day – slight downhill and wind at our back.

*Another view of rock that was cut away.*

Boscawen – end of trail to Franklin our 1st ride. Franklin to Andover our 2nd ride.

August of 2019 we road 58 miles of trails in New Hampshire. Landen was along for the ride in tow behind Lenny’s bike. Many of the trails transitioned seamlessly into one anotber.

Trails with Landen from August 2019. Derry R/T, Winham R/T, Salem Pathway. Londonderry R/T. WOW Trail, Lake Winnisquam Trail. Franconia Notch Trail

Mural on bathhouse on WOW Trail. August 2019

We’ve ridden 48 miles the past 2 days to complete our New Hampshire 100. Yay! 41 done and now there are 7! We celebrated with carryout from local Thai restaurant.

Franconia Notch Trail – Lincoln, New Hampshire

August 26, 2020

It was a cool morning as we headed to Sport Thoma to catch the shuttle to Canon Moutain for our ride on Franconia Notch Trail. Arriving at Canon Moutain we were met with a cold wind and sunny skies. Our gators (Covid wear) provided much appreciated additional warmth. We rode this trail last August with Landen in tow.

The tramway at Canon Mountain was closed due to pandemic. Sport Thoma would normally have bike rentals available here but now only shuttles from their shop in Lincoln.

*Landen loved his ride up the mountain in Sport Thoma Van. August 2019 – we miss him.*

The notch is a mountain pass between the Kinsman and Franconia Ranges. The trail runs thru the Franconia Notch State Park in the White Mountains.

Before heading south we rode north to above Echo Lake. There is a small RV camping area above the lake. No crowds to contend with around here.

The trail drops 750 feet from foot of Canon Mountain to end of trail at Flume Gorge. Don’t be fooled there are some good climbs along the way. My max heart rate was 162. Gasp!!

We took a ride thru Lafayette Place Campground. We both enjoyed the smell of campfires wafting thru the campground. Much busier in this area as well as further south at a trailhead parking lot. Still no traffic on bike trail.

*What, walk my bike? We actually heeded this sign.*

We stopped at the Basin and took a short hike along the Pemigewasset River to the Basin, a huge granite pothole.

Once again no pictures of The Basin as there were too many people gathered around.

Back on the trail we left the crowds behind and headed for Flume Gorge where the parking lot was filling up. We had a little more than 2 miles to get to our car – on road and down hill. It was a scream. Imagine going 31 mph on a bike. Exciting, exhilarating and a bit scary. When I slowed to 26 mph I started pedaling – outrageous!! 🤪

Northern Rail Trail, Boscawen, New Hampshire

August 25, 2020

We arrived in Lincoln, New Hampshire Sunday evening August 23rd after an 11 hour drive from Ohio. Once again we packed food, water and all supplies needed for the week. It’s our Covid MO. Only made 2 stops for gas and that other necessity.

View from our condo – thunderstorm on the way.

We had a thunderstorm in the evening. We were thankful we had the bikes inside before it arrived. Enjoyed watching storm move in over the mountains and hearing the thunder.

We spent yesterday getting our bearings and setting up a shuttle for Wednesday morning to top of Franconia Notch Trail.

New Hampshire’s longest rail trail – 57.6 miles between Lebanon and Boscawen, built in 1847 by the Northern Railroad.

We began our ride in Boscawen about an hour from our condo in Lincoln. The trail is an uphill slope from here to Lebanon. We always attempt to ride uphill going out and downhill on return.

It was a warm, sunny day with widely scattered thunder showers predicted.

Merrimack River – looked refreshing on this hot day.

We followed the Merrimack River north and east from Boscawen. At times we were high above the river, other times almost on the bank and still other times we could not see the river.

The trail surface was crushed stone and very well maintained. Even with storms the evening before we road, the trail was dry.

Railroad ties – remnants of Nothern Railroad.

Turntable once assisted in changing the direction of locomotives.

Because of limited diameter of turntable it could only accommodate the American type. 4-4-0 locomotive pictured.

With the downhill slope, our return was a bit easier. The temperature was about 91 upon our return to the car. We loaded the bikes and were ready to get on the freeway when we noticed some very dark clouds headed our way. We turned around and stopped at a gas station to cover the bikes. Wish we had a video showing our struggles to get the cover on the bikes. We did get them covered and sat out the storm. As we head back to the freeway a tree had fallen over the road. So thankful it missed us.

The trail guide said the trail ended in a corn field. They weren’t kidding!!

We will be up early tomorrow morning to catch the shuttle to Canon Mountain and the start of the Franconia Notch Trail.

Hobo Train, Lincoln, NH

August 27, 2019

Today was all about Landen. We left Ames Brook Campground for Lincoln where we had reservations on the Hobo Train.

Landen wasn’t too sure about the conductor. He did give him our ticket to be punched.

Never a bad time for ice cream. A train ride and ice cream – he couldn’t believe his good fortune. Not a time for him to feed himself.

Joy, the clown, made Landen a balloon turtle. As people were leaving the train another passenger gave him a balloon flower.

He was amazed by the balloon turtle. He preferred siting on our lap at first but eventually felt secure enough to stand and look out the window.

Fascinated by the world going by. The scenery was beautiful. We crossed over Pemigewasset River on a trestle bridge.

Landen holding his turtle sees another train.

Leaving the train balloons in hand! Landen would have stayed for another ride.

Sadly it was time to leave the train behind.

The train ride was about 90 minutes long. All the children aboard had a great time. The balloons were a real hit with everyone.

We hopped in the motorhome and were off to Scarborough, Maine to spend a night at Cabelas. We have reservations for the following 3 nights nearby and have some rides planned in Portland.

Franconia Notch Recreation Trail, White Mountains, NH

August 26, 2019

We were on the road early to catch the shuttle up the mountain to be begin our ride “down” the Franconia Notch Trail. Sport Thoma in Lincoln provided the shuttle.

Kudos to Sport Thoma. we were early for our scheduled shuttle so they took us up the mountain while delivering bikes to Canon Mountain. Landen loved the ride in the van and they provided a nice clean car seat. The driver gave great safety advice and tips on the best sights to see.

Preparing for our ride at drop off at Canon Mountain.

Echo lake, where we started our descent. You can see some of Canon Mountain ski runs.

Taken from Echo Lake. You can just barely see the aerial tram to the top of Canon Mountain.

Some of the down hills were quite exhilarating but we were caught off guard by some of the very steep climbs.

Interesting tree along the trail. I was certain I would seen a gnome around somewhere.

Landen took a little nap before lunch. He missed out on some fast down hill riding and beautiful scenery.

We had a beautiful spot for lunch along the Pemigewasset River.

This was a waterfall near the Basin along Franconia Notch Trail. No pictures of Basin too many tourists putting toes in water.

The trail was forever changing. Our descent was very rapid at times.

This was a tough climb. Hard to tell from picture but our hearts were pumping.

We had such an awesome time. Scenery was beautiful. The ride was fast and fun at times but had some challenging climbs as well. The ride from the end of the trail to Thoma Sport where our car was parked was over 2 miles of downhill. AWESOME!! Fun for all!

We have ridden 58 miles in New Hampshire.

WOW Trail, Lake Winnisquam Scenic Trail Laconia, NH

August 24. 2019

We arrived in Ashland, NH about 3:30 yesterday. The drive north was slow due to Friday afternoon traffic. The area is beautiful, heavily forested, narrow winding roads. It is much cooler here, feels great. We are staying at Ames Brook Campground for 4 nights.

Landen was looking forward to a swim Water was very cold. Both were chilled but Landen just happy to be in the water.

We were off to Laconia to ride the Wow Trail and the Winnisquam Scenic Trail the next morning. Beautiful drive through forest to reach trail.

We parked at the Laconia B&M Railroad Depot. Depot is now restaurant on one end and sort of abandoned on the other.

The city of Laconia is in the lakes region between Lake Winnipesaukee and Lake Winnisquam. Lake Winnipesaukee is a glacial lake with 258 islands.

This was at the beginning of the trail in Lakeport. WOW was so named for the 3 bodies of water it passes by, Lake Winnipesaukee, Opechee Bay and Lake Winnisquam.

This trail did not disappoint. The ride was beautiful and the weather perfect.

The two trails came together seamlessly. The Winnisquam Senic Trail is relatively new. The trail surface was some of the best we’ve seen.

The Winnisquam Trail had some big hills. A blast going down but made the muscles burn on the way up. And Lenny was pulling Landen, who didn’t break a sweat by the way.

More of the Winnisquam Trail. Twisting turns, up and down hills made a fun ride.

Ha! Ha! Saw this in a yard on our way to our ride. Good topic of conversation throughout the day.

We ate lunch at a picnic table at the end of our ride. Landen cried when we loaded up the bikes. Gotta love him!!

Londonderry Rail Trail, Manchester, NH

August 22, 2019

This was a short trail but had many of the things we like to see. First there was some shade – hate to be redundant but it’s another HOT day.

There was road construction at the trailhead so we parked in a school across the street. Glad we weren’t driving the motorhome, there would have been no place to park.

Some parts of the trail were on the raised rail bed which is part of the original infrastructure. We always enjoy these rides.

These benches are memorials to fallen heroes. This young man died in South Vietnam in 1967. These same memorials are numerous along Derry R/T.

We have completed 33 miles of our New Hampshire 100. Tomorrow we will be in the lakes area of New Hampshire near the White Mountains.

Relaxing following an afternoon on the trail.

Derry R/T, Windham R/T, Salem Bike Path, New Hampshire

August 20, 2019

We packed and moved on from Boston Minuteman Campground to take our first ride in New Hampshire. We parked at the Winham Trailhead and rode north on the Derry Rail Trail.

This took us into the quaint New England town of Derry. The paved part of the trail ended in Hood Park where there was parking and a large pond for fishing. The trail was mostly forested with areas of wetlands. We saw many of the stone walls tumbling into the forest.

Boston and Maine C-16 caboose near Windham Trailhead.

Lunch at restored 1849 Windham Depot. From here we continued our ride on the Winham R/T.

Landen really enjoys our traditional PB&J lunches.

The Windham R/T travels thru shaded forests, marshes and wetlands. Much of the trail is on a raised railroad bed which we really enjoy. The raised railroad bed enables good views of woods, wetlands and valleys below. We both agree that this was our favorite ride in New England so far.

Riding thru these areas of cutout stone the temperature would drop at least 10 degrees. Unfortunately the mosquito population in these areas was overwhelming.

A closer look at one of the cutout areas.

One of the many stone walls we saw along the trail. I am really fascinated by these gray walls. They are everywhere on the backroads and trails here. They date back to when the pioneers began clear cutting the New England forests.

It’s good to have begun our New Hampshire miles. There are so many trails here but most are gravel, dirt, cinder, ballast, sand or some combination of these. We are sticking to asphalt and cement while having Landen on tow!!