Day 50 / Aug 25 / Hancock, MA to Keene, NH / 87.4 miles and 6,975 feet / 80 degrees

We started with a nice continental breakfast at the Berkshire Valley Inn in their lovely community room. Anyone recognize the guy with the raccoon eyes?

The route today was full of several tough climbs, but the most challenging parts were not the ascents, it was the descents and the NH rail trail. One of the descents was on the worst road we have ridden on during this trip. It was so broken up and spot repaired that the riders had a difficult time choosing a path down and part of the descent was a 20% grade.

Our first water stop was at the Wigwam Western Summit Viewpoint.

The NH rail trails aren’t fit for bicycles. They might be fine for snowmobiling in the winter, but many of us did a u-turn and went back to the highway, preferring additionally climbing and a bit of traffic to the flatter trail.

We passed through Vermont this morning before crossing the Connecticut River and entering New Hampshire – so for me, I only have Maine and then I will have visited all 50 states.

There is a trail of covered bridges here in New Hampshire, but only one of them was on our route.

And finally…here are a few flower pictures…