Hampton Beach is a seacoast town with a long stretch of sandy beach. Friday afternoon after we got there, Robert and I went for a walk along the beach. The tide was coming in and we watched the waves break and crash for a while. We saw plenty of seagulls, and then had fun watching 4 little sandpipers scurrying around looking for food. We also saw some really strange tracks in the sand - long lines of what looked like a bike tire, with little blips and blobs of sand to the side. We later saw a guy with a metal detector and a long-handled scoop - he was dragging the scoop in the sand, which created the lines.
Saturday morning we showed up for registration around 7:10 and got signed in. Robert did the Quarter Century this year - he has volunteered previous years. This is the 4th year that we have participated.
The first 15 miles head south into Massachussets and then return. It's not particularly scenic in comparison to the rest of the route, but there are some nice beach-front properties that people rent during the summer, and lots of salt marsh land. After returning to the state park (where the headquarters are located), the ride heads north through town. The first couple of pictures are from north of town - once you get past the main beach, the coast is rocky and rough.
The fall colors haven't hit this area yet - maybe in a couple of weeks - so it was the end of summer vegetation. Last year people were picking fruit off the bushes along the road. This year I saw the fruit - it looked like cherries or crab apples, but the bushes were scrubby and short.
A bit farther north there was a large ocean liner off the coast. You can see it at the top of these pictures:
After wandering along the coast for a while the route turns inland, where we come into Portsmouth from the southwest. We cross over a steel-grate bridge which we are supposed to walk over, and then there are some large hotels just after the bridge and lots of boats in the docks.
There is a big bridge from Portsmouth over to Kittery, Maine, which we are required to walk across. It's a steel-grate drawbridge, and in past years the bridge has been up when we got there, but luckily it was down this year and we could just walk across. There were some very nice boats tied up on the far side of the inlet that the bridge crosses.
After walking across the bridge, I tried to get back on the bike, and my right shoe wouldn't connect into the pedal. I tried two or three times, and finally realized there must be something in the cleat. Sure enough, there was a small black rock lodged between the cleat and the side of the sole, wedged in so tightly that I couldn't get it out without tools. A nice guy stopped and produced a small screwdriver, which popped it right out.
A bit farther down the road there were a couple of elders walking along the other side of the street. I whooped and hollered at them in true Melvin Glade fashion.
There are only 2 sag stops on this century. The first is at headquarters at Hampton Beach, and the 2nd is at Fort McCleary, in Maine. Here's a picture of me with the park in the background. The little brown building is the restrooms. They serve up cookies and peanut butter sandwiches, and fill up your water bottles.
The next stretch goes up to the Neddick Point lighthouse, also known as the Nubble lighthouse. The first picture below is taken from York Beach - if you blow it up, you can see the lighthouse way off on the point. Then there are some shots of the lighthouse with with me in front of it.
The ride is an out-and-back ride, with a couple of loops on the way back that aren't on the way out. I decided yesterday that I don't like out-and-backs, because as you are passing the places that you have passed before, you know how much farther it is to the end. That can be discouraging. We also had a really stiff wind coming along York Beach, and then some more wind as we went from Rye to Hampton Beach again. But all in all it was a beautiful day and one of the best times I've had doing this ride.
1 comment:
Sounds like it was a beautiful day, despite the stiff wind. At least you weren't sick this time!
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