Day 32: North Haverhill, NH to Naples, ME

The morning was a cool one, but thankfully there was no rain to accommodate the slightly weary bikers. After dropping them in North Haverhill, I went back to the motel to grab a small nap before hitting Wal-Mart for the last time (hopefully) of the trip.

Upon return to my vehicle, I remembered that I had forgotten my towel in the room. I glanced quickly at my phone, which I had left in the car, and saw an urgent text from Wes to meet them with dry clothing. I guess the towel was going to find a new home in Woodfeild.

As I was driving on route, I was a bit confused about the text I had received from Wes. Besides a slightly wet road, there had not been a drop of rain all day. Once I went over the first pass, it was quite apparent a storm had rolled through. Clouds were swooping low through the pass and blocked the view of the mountains on the other side.

I caught the bikers in Lincoln at the base of White Mountain national forest. The duo had grabbed a quick breakfast and dried off a tad, but still elected to swap out some clothing. The next 32 miles would not have any towns, so the duo packed in the cliff bars, gu shots and other nutritional foods. After the pit stop I stopped back in Lincoln to grab a bagel and mail a post card before heading up the pass.

About an hour after the first checkpoint, I rallied up the pass at a somewhat leisurely speed, stopping to take pictures of the cool scenery here and there. Eventually I caught the crew about 20 miles from the first stop. They grabbed some water, shed the rain gear and plowed on. I stuck behind to hit up one the state forest trails before heading out myself. I found a cool little 9 mile trail to the Rocky Gorge and back. Like the last state park I visited, my shoes got swallowed in mud, but alas I made it out alive.

As I crossed the border into Maine, I got an urgent text from Wes saying they needed to be picked up to make the 4pm closing of the post office. A package with supplies was shipped from home, medication supposedly, that had to be picked up by Wes. just 18 miles short of the destination, I grabbed the bikers and make it to the post office in the nick of time. Finally, relieved the made the drop, they got a quick lunch before heading back to the drop point.

In Naples, I found a motel on route and Wes elected to simply bike in and out to make it easy for departure the next morning. At dinner, the excitement was apparent. After 32 centuries in a row, the next would be special, because it would be the last. Tomorrow, they will ride to the Atlantic, coast to coast. Just 2 days, TWO DAYS until the riders take their final dismount on the Northern Tier trail.