Nova Scotia Bicycle Tour -- Day 2 White Mountians

Nova Scotia Tour

Day 2 White Mountains

We awoke to another picture postcard day. Sunny, mid-70's, dry and windy. After another big breakfast, we set off for the days big ride.

A view from the Kancgamangus Highway.

This time we headed West on US 302. We turned South on Bear Notch road for the first of the three big climbs. Bear Notch is one of my favorite roads. It's a quiet shady road with a gradual (5-6% grade) climb and several really nice views.

We descended to the Kancgamangus Highway (NH Rte 112). We turned West into a wicked headwind for our second long climb up Kancgamangus Pass.

When we arrived at the top of the pass, we stopped and put on our jackets for the long descent to Lincoln. I encountered gusty crosswinds on this descent.

When I arrived in Lincoln, I found Steve on the side of the road working on his bike. Steve blew out his rear tire about a mile from Lincoln. Steve got a ride to town and purchased a replacement. The narrowest tire he could get was 28 mm. We had to disconnect his brake cable get the tire past his brake pads.

Steve installs a wheel
Steve installs a new tire.

After taking care of the mechanical problem, we had lunch at a bagel shop in Lincoln.

After lunch, we headed North on US Rte 3 to Franconia Notch and our last big climb. Unfortunately, Rte 3. merges with I-93 in Franconia Notch where bicycles are prohibited. We took the Franconia Notch Bike Path through the notch. This bike path is the worst designed bicycle facility I know of. To make matters worse, we rode it at mid-afternoon on a holiday weekend. The path was severely over crowded. I almost got wiped out by a couple of helmet-less teenagers on Huffys. See my essay on vehicular cycling for more on bike paths.

We left the bike path and continued North on Rte 3 to US 302 East in Twin Mountain. This area has magnificent views of the Mt. Washington and the Presidential range.

Dave Baugarner and Mt. Washington
Dave admires the view near the Mt. Washington Hotel.

Kathleen and Steve
Everyone has a good time at Steve's

We enjoyed a fast descent down Crawford Notch. This descent continues for 20 miles all the way to Steve's place in Barlett. We got 91.3 miles for the day.

We met Kathleen at Steve's. She had gone for a short hike in the morning and spent rest of the day relaxing. We had enjoyed HUGE pasta dinner at Steve's. The fun and camaraderie continued well into the night.

Continue to Day 3.