Detours and Scenic Routes

The downside to staying in hotels is that I tend I to stay up much later than I would otherwise do when sleeping in a tent. I get a little caught up in the luxuries and distractions of things like, oh … I don’t know … furniture, lights, and TV. Last night was no different. I finally called it a night around 1:30. I suspected this would have an impact on my plan to be on the road by 8:00.

I woke up around 6:30 and finally crawled out of bed shortly after 7:00. I didn’t even bother pretending that an 8:00 departure was realistic. It’s not like I had a specific reason to leave early.

The upside to staying in hotels is that they generally include some sort of continental breakfast. Generally, the selection at such breakfasts is rather limited; however, two big bowls of Frosted Flakes, 2 muffins, 2 yogurts, 3 glasses of orange juice, a banana, and a toasted bagel with jam did a nice job of filling me up before my ride. I grabbed another banana, apple, and muffin for the road too.

By 9:15, the banana, the apple and I were on the road, heading south. The muffin didn’t make it past the elevator. It was really good. I didn’t really have a planned destination for the day. Portsmouth was the most likely candidate but it’s only 80 km from Portland, so I figured once I reached Portsmouth I’d start looking for camping options as I continued down the road.

The ride today turned out to be great and so much different than pretty much any of the rides through Canada. It seemed I was never far from a significantly sized city. I’m guessing there are a few reasons for this – not the least of which being the fact that there are ten times as many people in the US than Canada. And they have a lot less real estate. Also, the major US Interstate highways don’t allow bikes so I was on smaller highways that connect all the cities as opposed to bypassing them on the Interstate. I think the novelty of cycling through so many cities made the ride go particularly quickly. Plus it was a beautiful day to be on a bike. There was a bit of a headwind but nothing like those of my rides through the maritime provinces.

The most direct route south through Maine is Highway 1, so I rode that all the way to Portsmouth. Actually, Portsmouth is in New Hampshire. My first crossing of a state line by bike. Anyway, once there, I never really considered staying. It was just too nice of a day to stop. I was doing a good job of staying nourished and hydrated so carrying on just made sense. If I stayed on Highway 1 for the rest of the day there was no reason to think I couldn’t be in Newburyport (Massachusetts) by the end of the day. Then I looked at the map.

Highway 1 is the most direct route to Newburyport. However, route 1A is only a minor detour over to the coast. And since I’m on this trip to enjoy myself and the scenery and not just to make good time I decided I would head over to the coast. I mean, how could I not check out Hampton Beach.

My first scenic detour through the US hit a bit of a snag when a bridge closure forced me to add a detour to my already established detour. Not to be deterred, I followed the new detour and eventually found myself cycling along the coast of New Hampshire. Definitely the right decision. At times it was a bit ridiculous – some of the houses along the coast are massive. If you’re familiar with the houses in Toronto’s Bridal Path area, well … take those houses and add an oceanfront view.

I stopped a couple of times along the way to take some pictures of the beaches at which point it occurred to me that I hadn’t eaten in a while – not a LONG while, but long enough. Not wanting a repeat of my Halifax experience I pulled into Little Jack’s Seafood Restaurant – which advertised $9.95 Fish n’ Chips. As I was getting ready to go inside I had another interesting conversation with one of the locals – Michael. We chatted about my trip, my route, my destination. It turns out he used to do hang gliding as well before moving on to fixed wing flying. Anyway, as we were parting company he mentioned that I could set up my tent beside the picnic table on the far side of the parking lot. It turns out, he owns the property. I have to say, I couldn’t believe my luck. How could I not take him up on his offer? I mean, for one night I’ll have a place at Hampton Beach.

So, with my accommodation suddenly taken care of we can get back to the $9.95 Fish n’ Chips. It turns out that was for the “regular” order. Given that I had been cycling all day, I opted for the larger “1/2 pound” order. It seemed like a good idea at the time – until I realized that I had no idea how much fish a 1/2 pound really is. For the record, a 1/2 pound of fish is a LOT of fish. Also for the record, it would seem I was really hungry and a 1/2 pound of fish isn’t as much as it looked. Either that, or I’ve become a glutton.

After dinner, I relocated to my campsite across the parking lot and began the usual routine of drying out, airing out, and setting up my tent. The only thing missing from my evening was the ever-elusive chocolate popsicle. I decided to bike down the road to see if I could remedy the situation. Well, to make a long story short, the answer is no. However, I decided a Klondike Bar would be an adequate substitute. All things considered, today was a very good day.

Today’s Totals:
Distance travelled: 115.70 km
Time on bike: 5:32:26
Maximum speed: 44.75 km/h
Average speed: 20.88 km/h