Day 49. Manchester, NH. 79 miles, 4,780 ft. climb

As I flew from Tucson to Boston, and then drove up to Portsmouth, NH, Terry and the ABB riders were on their penultimate ride, finally crossing into New Hampshire.   They knew at the end of the day, they would have their banquet dinner to cap this extraordinary adventure.

  My day had a few adventures of its own, due to weather delays and some concern that flights would be cancelled.  But I arrived at Logan Airport in Boston only a few hours late, picked up the rental car and drove up to Portsmouth through the fog, but without any problems.

Meanwhile, the riders enjoyed mild temperatures, light tail winds and the LAST of the hills.  They had some difficult climbing to do, but everyone was by now is top condition and form and had no trouble.  They could begin to smell the salty air coming from the Atlantic Ocean, and like horses to the barn, they sped up as they headed for home.

The route consisted of lots of ups and downs — no big, long hills, but hundreds of small ones.  Every turn introduced a new 100- or 200-yard hill.  Then it was down again, only to climb again after the next turn.   They  had perfect cycling weather — cool and cloudy. The roads were nice; the shoulders were exceptionally good. And the scenery — forests, small rivers, pretty little villages, and factories from the Revolutionary era — was exceptional. 



 In previous tours, this day included some tortuous hill climbs, but   ABB has actually changed the route slightly and eliminated the most tortuous of the climbs on this penultimate day.  It proved to be exceedingly difficult in the past, so they lowered the profile slightly.  Still, a few riders decided to take the old route anyway---they just couldn't get enough of it!

Steve, Dan & Dano Did The Original Route Climbs

 With the extra adrenaline push of nearing the end, most riders finished today's route fairly quickly and got in early enough to relax and get ready for the final banquet dinner.   This is a celebration of near completion of the journey, a chance to articulate just what this has all meant to them, watch Mike's slide show of photos from the entire trip, put on  skits and tell funny anecdotes of the trip and say preliminary farewells.  There were many laughs as well as tears as riders shared their thoughts and emotions.



Montreal Michel Finally Speaks Comprehensible English AND Gets A Haircut

Finally, all four Dans were together............ 

Dan (New York),  Dan (Tennessee), Dan (Ohio) and Dan (California)


There were a few honors given.   Lucy was awarded  the most upbeat and extremely positive attitude which brought such joy and smiles to others, and was given the Progress Map that had been kept and posted throughout the trip.  

Lucy Gets The Map Of Progress

Sharon (the one who feared descents) and our one-and-only Zippy were awarded the Most Inspirational riders!!!  Sharon, who worked hard to overcome her fear, and Terry who had been told by many on the tour that he was their inspiration--hoping they could ride like him when they're his age.  Admired for his zippiness, if you will.  And for capturing this award, Sharon and Terry were to be given the honor of pouring out the water from the Pacific Ocean (which had been carried all across country) into the Atlantic Ocean when they arrive at the beach tomorrow, where I and many other family & friends of riders will be waiting.