Tracy is a HUGE Robert Frost Fan and one of the reasons he is doing this ride is to find interesting places along the way across America. Well, when he saw the Robert Frost Farm, the bike magically turned that direction!!
Day 14 - 4 Jun 24: Day started out great - a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes and OJ. Just what's needed for a day of cycling. Cycled south down Weare Road and through the little village of Weare, NH. Weare is the hometown of Gary Chag, a very close friend from my Air Force days whose name, unfortunately, is at the top of my friends "In Memory of" shirt. Once again today, I had a Warm Showers host who had confirmed that I had a place to stay in Derry, NH, so my destination was set and my mind was at ease. I was cycling back south, not in the direction of my general destination, but I had seen something on the map that I could not "unsee" - Robert Frost Farm State Historical Site. Robert Frost has been my favorite poet since my early teens and I couldn't pass up the chance to see his farm. I was making good time to get to Chris McCallum's home in Derry, NH, very near to the Robert Frost Farm, until I took a bike trail. Once again, a nice paved trail for a ways, then unpaved, followed by extremely loose sand and gravel - treacherous for a fully loaded road touring bike. I ended up having to walk my bike through certain areas to avoid falling in the loose sand and gravel, or unrideable rocky surfaces. I've decided to piggyback on Forrest Gump's phrase - "bike trails in New England are like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get". And I think I will be looking to spend more time on paved roadways and less on bike trails, because you never know what sort of surface you're going to end up with. At 41 miles, I arrived at Chris's house, had some great conversions about cycling, route planning and several other topics. Chris had a bike stand, so I tried deflating and re-inflating my rear tire with the "hop" and had no success. Took a nice warm shower and, once again, slept like a log.
Day 15 - 5 Jun 24: Got up to watch a 6:00 AM Rugby
League game from Australia (Chris's home country) and some more good
conversation. Chris had to leave for work way too early, I think we could
have spent several hours discussing lots of topics. I left to go see the
Robert Frost Farm (pictures). This is a Robert Frost trip - I have taken
many roads that are less traveled, and it seems like I constantly have miles to
go before I sleep. And today, I am supposed to make Portsmouth, NH and
meet Gary Chag's two brothers, Mark and David, and his other daughter,
Melody. Not quite having learned my lesson on bike trails, I ended up on
another one where I had to walk my bike through the loose sand and gravel and
it became apparent that I would not get to Portsmouth by our agreed meeting
time. It also turned out that something came up at Melody's place of work
and she would not be able to come. Mark and David agreed to drive out to
Newfields and meet at the General Store. As I pedaled up the road, I
spotted two men sitting at a table outside the store and knew immediately that
they were Gary's brothers. There must be some strong genes in the Chag
family - the resemblance among the 3 brothers is remarkable. We spent a
great couple hours swapping stories about Gary outside the store and then in
the car as we sat out a pretty severe thunderstorm. We also got to talk
with Melody for a bit on the phone. Our time ended much too soon and it
was time to pedal off to Portsmouth - a good share of the ride in the
rain. 43 miles got me to the Portsmouth Hilton Garden Inn. I went
across the street to Legends for dinner, showered and slept.
Day 16 - 6 Jun 24: Promise of a good day.
Known destination - Bruce & Janice White in Saco, ME. Bruce and I
worked several assignments together over the years, but we hadn't seen each
other for probably a decade. Through the grapevine I got his number,
called him up and we're set for a reunion. They had already given me a
choice of lobster, steak or pasta for dinner and what else could I choose in
Maine but lobster? One of their neighbors is a cyclist and wanted to meet
the crazy guy who was on a trip to circumnavigate the US, so his family came
over and I learned a world of information about the technical side of
cycling. Bruce & Janice's neighbor is very analytical about most
things, including cycling. After the neighbors left, Bruce and Janice and
I discussed various topics, and Janice, being a bit of a cyclist herself,
recommended the Gorham Bike Shop as a place to get my tire with the
"hop" fixed. It was great to see Bruce after too many years and
a pleasure to meet Janice.
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