Yes, most of the route was the same, but somehow my bike and I took a few different turns. Some were nice changes, but one brought me onto a busy road sooner than I needed to be there. I was rolling along on the north side of the Merrimack River when the road I was on headed straight up a hill - and my bike headed up that hill too. There was a right fork that I thought about taking, but that road was partially blocked off. Hmmm... As it turns out, that fork was the way I meant to go. No matter, I'll just ride that road tomorrow.
My dream of a spring temperature ride heated up a bit today. How hot was it? I don't know for sure, but my guess is that it was in the high 80s or low 90s. The wind kept me dry, but I must have been sweating; my face was caked with white by the end of the day. And the wind? The forecast was for wind out of the west, so I thought today would be a breeze, and that tomorrow will be hard. As it turns out the wind was out of the west and north. The short stretch where I was headed straight to the east was a wind-assisted breaze, but the north wind gave me a slower than usual ride. Slow, but filled with beauty...
It was a quiet camera day. The beginning of my day traversed roads that I ride quite often, the roads surrounding my house. I moved on to territory that I roll over infrequently, and my eyes were always looking, snapping photos in memory. Sometimes I just had to stop and play though.
A field of green decorated with a few bright orange poppies called out to me. My bike waited patiently while I waltzed into the field to play with my camera. There were just a few blooms, but there were many buds - some starting to open, some just spikey shades of green. I don't have high expectations for the quality of the photos though; it's a little difficult to capture flowers when the wind insists on constant movement.
My next stop was a visit with David and his dog. I had stopped to take a picture in front of his house, and he came out to chat. You know why, don't you? Touring is a part of his life too. As always, it ws fun to share travel stories.
One of my goals for today was to get through Hampton Beach without getting annoyed by the traffic. But - as I should have expected - Route 1A through Hampton Beach was a challenge yet again. I hit there in the early afternoon, and since the long weekend hadn't yet officially started I thought it would be a reasonable ride. Ah, I guessed wrong! The traffic backed up before the lift bridge on the southern ege of the town. The bridge wasn't up, so the stopped line of cars really surprised me. Slow, slow, slow. I was able to sneak by between the non-moving line of cars and a line of cars parked along the right edge of the road. And then... the road changed a little. There were still two lanes of cars moving (not moving!) to the north, and a line of parked cars along the right edge of the road. Between the moving and parked cars, a marked bicycle lane appeared. Awesome - I was able to move like a somewhat normal cyclist again. What caused the traffic jam? A fire truck in the right lane and an ambulance to the left, with no clue as to the problem that brought them there. And then I was back on a normally traveled and populated Route 1A. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.
I was hoping to have a chat with the mute swans today, but that apparently wasn't meant to be. As I pulled up to their swatch of water I saw a single mute swan sitting on shore. I stopped and parked my bike across the street from my friend the swan. By the time I pulled my camera out, he had apparently decide he didn't want to risk a human visit. A quick jump into the water, and he was swiftly paddling away. Silly bird! (OK, he's not silly at all; interaction with humans is probably not a good thing for him.) And the flock of ducks who were hiding behind a bush decided it was time for them to paddle away too. Maybe they'll pose for my camera tomorrow.
Hot, hazy skies, a quiet ocean, a good ride, time to dream of tomorrow...
