Day 31: Middlebury, VT to North Haverhill, NH

I wish I could say the weather was good today, but it was far from it. It's not easy to start a ride in the pouring rain. It's also not easy to start a ride when you know today may be the most difficult century yet. But with no fear, Wes and Will started on time at 7am.

While I had been to Vermont before, I really hadn't seen the part of the state that makes it famous. After stopping at Middlebury College for a run around their cross country course and a sneak peak an their new field house, I caught an urgent text from Wes which prompted me to get on my horse and head up route.


As I headed up into the mountains, the weather changed drastically. Ran came sideways, the winds swirled around and the road was easily the steepest of the trip. After 30 minutes on the road, I arrived in Hancock at a homey cafe that reminded me much of a ski lodge. Soaked completely, but now warm, Will and Wes changed out of everything. After an hour of rest and breakfast, Wes was again eager to hit the road.

The storm had calmed and the rain subsided. The road itself was quite beautiful from then on out. Much of the route followed a stream and was surrounded on either sides by mountains. I could see why people liked to stay in these parts come winter time.

Because of the wet riding conditions, Wes determined that it would be better if there was no pause in the day for lunch, fearing that the century would be in jeopardy if the ride were to stop for too long. Therefore, I stuck close by at all times, not allowing myself more than 10 miles in front of behind them. In the town of Hartford, the route turned northward once again and crossed the Connecticut river into New Hampshire.

Much like the entrance into Montana earlier in the trip, after crossing into New Hampshire everything went very quite. The roads were quiet. The towns along the river were small farm towns with a small two lane road connecting them. I suppose it also helped that it was a Sunday. 15 miles out from North Haverhill, I connected one last time with the bikers before taking off to scout out a spot.

The main roadway I took to the hotel was called Dartmouth College highway. I followed it until the town of Woodsville, a town north of North Haverhill. I quickly booked the room and zipped back south to pick up the tired wet bikers. They hit 100 miles just as I approached them on the road.

At the motel, Wes made the realization that they were basically out of clean riding gear because of the clothing change in the middle of the day. I talked to the motel manager who directed me to the local laundry mat just a quarter mile down the road and, thankfully, still open this late. While Wes and Will cleaned up for dinner, I started what I hoped would be the last load of laundry I'd have to do on the trip. During dinner, I had to switch the clothes to the dryer before returning to by food being ready just in time. Finally, after a quick dessert, I dropped Wes and Will at the hotel before grabbing the clean and dry clothes. At that point in the day, my body could no longer physically be awake and I fell asleep while Wes and Will talked about the final days ahead.