IBTS14 9/30 EPILOG or EPI-BLOG

Was this a successful tour?

• We rode 13 of the 15 days and covered 571 miles.  Not once did we stop for a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream! So that seems like a failure, but be did have good local ice cream on two occasions.  And plenty of good meals.

We had good lodging, although we don’t quite understand why it was usually at the top of a big hill.  Italy this is not, so why the climbs?

As mentioned several times, the road surfaces were terrible.  We think the ride description should have mentioned this; we might not have gone had we known.

What about the routes? First you have to understand that I hate routes in which all you do is climb one (or two) mountains all day.  Climbing a mountain is too hard on my old, worn out, out of shape body and going down a mountain is too scary.  This was particularly true in New England with it’s bad road surfaces.  Going downhill at 30-40 mph with rough pavement is dangerous; it’s no fun.  And early in the trip we had several of these days.  But I love roads which do not have all-day mountains. Hills, even steep hills are ok just as long as I can spend most of the day riding with a decent cadence.  And the last half of the tour was like this.  In the mountains, I can’t keep up with Brenda so mostly ride alone. (Ahh, the price you pay for a younger wife!) But where the road allows “normal” riding, I can keep up.  So we rode most of the last week together, which I enjoy.

 

BRENDA’s ? BIOS

John McManus & Brenda Cole

Note: When we were riding in France earlier in the year, Brenda interviewed John McCoy and Linda Stewart.  Then John interviewed us; this is his report:

JOHN MCMANUS AND BRENDA COLE (Dallas, TX) Biking Blogger John and his bio-writing-bride Brenda both retired from Mobil Oil Corp in 2000.  John spent his career as a computer geek; Brenda was an accountant and financial analyst.  Since their retirement they have been on 50 BAC tours of which they’ve led 14 (Texas, Ireland and Italy). They’ve also led tandem tours for their club (DATES-Dallas Area Tandem Enthusiasts) in England, Nova Scotia, Italy and Ireland. Brenda is a gourmet cook; John obviously enjoys the fruits of her hobby.  When in Dallas, Brenda works part-time at  THE CONTAINER STORE  and John works part-time as a salesman at the  THE RICHARDSON BIKE MART .  Their new lifestyle includes 2 or more months each summer at 9,000 feet in Frisco, Co; how else to get out of the Texas heat? This photo is from Truckee in July 2010. 

 

The next blog will probably not be until Germany, in September 2015.

 

And, finally, our group picture.

 

IBTS14 9/29 Amherst, MA to Simsbury, CT

The last day was a great riding day.  Most of the 50 mile route were on bike paths, away from vehicular traffic.  And the paths were pretty smooth.  It appears that Massachusetts and Connecticut spend more on Bike Paths than Vermont and New Hampshire do on their main roads!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the road more downhill than uphill and no challenging climbs. we make good time and are back at the tour’s starting point, The Simsbury Inn, by 12:30.  We have lunch, start laundry and start disassembling and packing the bikes.  We’ve developed a good process, each doing what we are best at.  We have both bikes packed and weighed to assure airline compliance in 90 minutes.

 

BRENDA’S BIOS

 

DOUG AND COLLEEN GANT

Doug and Colleen have been married for 42 years and they have 4 kids. Two boys came along first then twin girls. We may meet one of the twins tonight.

The Gant’s have been on about 12 BAC rides and were introduced to the club by John and Sara Blakeslee. We met John and Sara in 1999 and the Gant’s and Blakeslee’s went on a trip led by Sid and Caryl Rusack in 2000. Their first trip was Venice to Munich and they had some horrific cold rain, but nonetheless, they persevered and are still riding with BAC today.

Both Doug and Colleen attended University of Washington. She became a licensed Registered Nurse and he a physician, specializing in OB/GYN. She initially worked in a hospital setting and specialized in ICU and dialysis. Doug completed his residency in Fresno, CA and they moved to the Tacoma, WA area. He opened a practice in Puyallup, WA and practiced there for 30 years. Colleen left hospital work and worked as a nurse in his practice. They sold the practice and building about 4 years ago and moved into Tacoma. They bought 2 condos and combined them into one lovely home.

Their hobbies outside biking include skiing, hiking and reading and tending to their grandkids. Doug is also a master at mushrooming.

 

TODAY’S RIDE

IBTS14 9/28 Keene, NH to Amherst, MA

Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County (although the county seat is Northampton). The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, three of the Five Colleges. Amherst consistently ranks as one of the most progressively liberal regions of the United States, due in large part to five colleges within the area. The Amherst-Northampton region is known as the Happy Valley due to the art and music communities, progressive ideas, prestigious colleges, and large student population.

Our planned ride is 54 miles but some of us are looking at a shorter (48 mile?) route.  This is the penultimate riding day and many are getting anxious to go home.  Brenda and I certainly are; we’ve only been home 11 days since June 20.It was a pleasant ride after the fog burned out, about 10:15.  If fact it got so warm that I stripped down to cycling bibs and a short sleeve jersey. The warm Sunday brought everyone out, especially the motorcycles.  Does anyone know why Harleys are so loud? It should be against the law to make that much noise.

At first glance, Amherst appears to be totally occupied by the University of Mass and Amherst College.  The only thing that separates them is Pleasant Street.  And as you might guess this street is wall-to-wall eating and drinking establishments.

We’re staying in The Lord Jeffery Inn on the Amherst Common.  They have a “GRAVES MEETING ROOM.”  Surely this is not  in honor of Dr. Clifford Graves who sponsored this ride fifty years ago.  Do you think?

 

 

Amherst was first settled by the British in the 1730’s and was incorporated in 1776. Noah Webster, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Frost all made Amherst their home.  On the right is a photo of the Dickinson Homestead built by Emily’s grandfather in 1813.  She was born here in 1830, lived most of her life here and died here in 1886.  The homestead is a National Historic Landmark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRENDA’S BIOS

Tom and Edel Meyer

Tom and Edel have been married for 39 years and they are riding a tandem on this trip. This is their 8^th BAC trip. They had been on bicycle tours with other companies also. Tom’s favorite touring trip is in the Dordogne area of France and Edel would pick riding in the Pacific NW as a favorite.

Edel’s profession is a Registered Dietician and for most of her career she was a consultant for school systems in helping craft physical activity and nutrition programs. Tom has a Ph.D from Penn state and spent his career as a Chemist. He did some post-doctoral work in Austin where they both decided they wanted to spend more time in the Southwest area of the US. After a few more moves they landed in Albuquerque and that was 32 years ago.

They are both very active in retirement. Edel has recently become interested in created fused glass. She is still experimenting the colors, shapes and techniques. Tom volunteers about 1 day a week at the Nature Conservancy in the Geographic Information Systems area. They both are interested in birding.

 

 

TODAY’S ROUTES

IBTS14 9/27 Keene, NH

Our arrival in Keene was “jarring”.  Coming into town pretty fast all of a sudden the road surface deteriorated.  Of course we’re used to this by now; Vermont and New Hampshire surely have the worst roads in the country. But we’d been on smooth roads and the sudden “pot holes loosely  connected by tarmac” was an unwelcome surprise.  As I tried to find a good place to ride, I almost lost it.

But closer to town was pleasant; large older homes all well maintained.  This has not been the case in northern VT and NH – it appeared to me that most of the homes were not well maintained.  Seeing a freshly painted house was a pleasant exception.  But Keene seems different, a much more prosperous and lively town than most we’ve visited.

Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County. Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest.

There is a town square and adjacent streets are tree-lined boulevards with many shops and restaurants.  We parked our bikes before going to the hotel and had a delightful lunch, sitting outside at Luca’s.  The weather was perfect, sunny and temperature in the 79’s.  Our hotel room wasn’t ready so we walked around town, stopping at the ice cream store.  The Lane Hotel has a happy hour at 6:00 and most of us had dinner at an award-winning Thai restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Downtown Keene.  Below, opulent interior of Bank of America and a tribute to Robin Williams.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below one of the tree-lined boulevards.  And when is the last time you’ve seen an anti-war protest?

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I walked up Washington Street to photograph the beautiful old houses I saw on the way into town yesterday.  It turns out that about 80% of them are now businesses – Dr’s, lawyers, architects, contractors, counselors, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Since most of what we’ve seen of northern Vermont and New Hampshire has seemed very rural, even by Texas standards, I was curious about the population density.  The results surprised me: persons / square mile:  New Hampshire – 148, Texas – 101, Vermont – 68.  So NH is more densely populated than TX and VT is less dense.  From our experience, I would have guessed NH and VT to be about the same, but NH is twice as dense as VT.  There must be large cities in NH which we haven’t visited.

I also wondered about road surfaces since I believe these have been the worst roads I’ve seen.  Getting data on this is not easy but one rating agency rated Texas as number 11, New Hampshire as no. 18 and Vermont no. 28 (up from 42).

BRENDA’S BIOS

Ed and Karen Haas

Ed and Karen live in Reston, VA and have been married for 19 years. Ed, retired for nearly 10 years, worked for the Food and Drug Administration in an Economics Group. Karen, still working, works for the Department of Defense Military Hospital System as an IT Systems Project Manager. She is seriously considering retiring, hopefully within the next year.

Ed and Karen have been on 15 BAC rides and have also lead a number of rides. The next ride they are leading in in Northern Spain and will be announced to the club on October 1. Ed’s favorite BAC ride is either Huff and Puffers or Discovering the Heart of Southern Italy. Karen’s favorite is Costa a Costa (organized by John and Brenda).

Ed loves photography, especially wildlife. He spends time most days walking and photographing then editing his images. He also rides his bike 3,000-4,000 miles per year. Karen is planning on doing more quilting and reading when she gives up her day job.

They have 3 grand daughters, ages 10 months to 11 years.

 

Molly and John Mazzella

Molly is a virgin, at least as far as BAC is concerned! Welcome to the Bicycle Adventure Club. This is John’s 3^rd BAC ride. They met on a local bike ride and have been married for just over 2 years. They each have 2 kids from previous marriages and Molly has 2 grandchildren.

Molly taught 3^rd grade and has been retired about a year. John spent his career at IBM, working in the department of Engineering and Ergonomics. He retired in 2001 at the early age. They are both active in the ACTC local bike club. John has been leading rides for this group since the early 1990’s. In retirement, in addition to riding, they love to garden and stay in touch with family and friends.  Molly is fluent in Spanish and tried to teach us a little song in French last night.

IBTS14 9/26 Sunapee to Keene

Last night we had a guest for Happy Hour and Dinner.  Ann Hiltz and her late husband Fred first rode with IBTS in 1974 and knew Dr. Graves pretty well. Ann mas modest and didn’t want to talk much about Dr. Graves but did tell an amusing story.  Any tine Dr. Graves had a flat tire, Katherine would fix it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We woke up to fog but it lifted quickly.  This was an easy, 40 mile day so we waited a while before starting.  Last night the tour leader told us this was the most boring day.  This was not the case.  We had more fall color today than in the previous days combined. Red, and orange and yellow were everywhere.  The ride was fast, 40 miles and mostly downhill – 1,676 feet of ascending and 2,494 feet of descending.  In spite of our late start, we  were in Keene by 12:20 pm.  Tomorrow is an optional ride day; we’re going to rest since we’ve ridden the previous 6 days.

BRENDA’S BIOS

Valerie Butler

Valerie spent her career teaching science to mostly 7 & 8^th graders. Her favorite science subject is Earth Science which she did teach for a few years. She grew up in New York and met her husband there. They first met during high school but then reconnected a few years later. She must have had a fondness for him because during her freshman year in college she placed a phone call to his home and coincidentally he was home on leave from the Navy. The rest is history.

Valerie and her husband now reside in California and have two daughters and 2 granddaughters, Madison, 9, and Chloe, just over 1. Currently she and her husband are full-time nannies for their youngest granddaughter.

Valerie rides with the ACTC club which is a local bike club and has also gone on trips with Women’s Tours.

 

 

Vickie Smith

Vickie Smith is married to Frank; however, he didn’t join her on this trip.  They have been together since 1979.  She is from Michigan and still lives there.  Her household includes Frank, Buster and Peanut.  Buster is a 9-year-old Jack Russell Terrier and Peanut is a 4-year-old parrot.  Peanut, because of his life span, will get mention in their will to appoint his successive parents.  

Vickie has an undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University in Library Science and a M.S. from University of Michigan, also in Library Science.  Most of her career was spent as a Medical Librarian in the Veteran Affairs system.

This is her 26th BAC trip and like many others, her favorite ride is Mallorca.  When not biking her  hobbies include involvement in bike related volunteer positions.  She was on the Board of Directors of BAC for 4 years and she also works at the local and state levels in Michigan with both Pedal Across Lower Michigan and also with the Ann Arbor local biking club.  Other hobbies include volunteering as an usher for local theater groups and as you might imagine she is a voracious reader.

The photographer apologizes to Vickie for taking her picture with wet hair.

 

TODAY’S ROUTE

IBTS14 9/25 Merideth to Sunapee

This is predicted to be another 50 mile, 3,000+ feet day.   Ignoring rest/optional ride days, we have completed 9 days of riding and have 3 more left.  Brenda and I took a detour today to avoid unpaved roads.  Also we believed this alternate route would avoid the climb between miles 35 and 40. But we didn’t escape the climb.  But this should be the last day with over 3,000 feet of climbing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We left early this morning; it was cold and foggy.  Check out the shoes and t-shirt on the dock in the left-hand picture.  Is someone swimming in the lake early in the morning? The air temperature is 45 degrees; I have no idea what the water temperature might be.  The sun is out by 10:00 and the temperature reaches 50 degrees and 60 degrees later in the day.

The end of the day’s route to Dexter’s Inn is circuitous and hilly.  And the inn is in the middle of nowhere.  To make matters worse, they don’t have a liquor license; but of course we find a way around this.  Photos below are from the inn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRNDA’S BIOS

Ruth Maule

Ruth lives in North Bend, Washington with her husband, Darrell. They have been married for 27 years and have a total of 5 children. Just 2 weeks ago they took their last daughter to college so are now officially empty nesters. She spent her career as a software engineer for various companies and retired about 10 years ago.

Ruth has been on about 15 BAC rides. Her favorite so far is Val d’Aosta. Her next BAC trip is to Solvang in February.

When home she likes working on projects around the house. In particular, she likes woodworking projects. She recently lined all the closets and pantry with either cedar or pine and also likes to redo the wood baseboards and door trim.

Ruth is a strong rider and loves to climb mountains.

 

 

TODAY’S ROUTE

IBTS14 9/24 Snowville to Meredith

We had no big climbs today but we had A LOT OF smaller climbs – about the same elevation gain as yesterday.  An incident early in the day could have been serious but was not.  At about mile 6, after a steep climb, Brenda and I stopped in a parking lot – of a school I think - to take off our jackets.  My jacket was off and I was standing in the parking lot, startling the bike, when a backing up motorist hit my rear wheel and both the bike and I hit the pavement.  Fortunately neither of us was seriously hurt. 

At mile 30 we found a great place for lunch, The Inn At Mill Falls.  No longer an inn, the 1850’s building is a restaurant and pub. I had Seafood and Mushroom Bisque and a BLT.  Both were very good and got us through the last 15 miles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRENDA’S BIOS

 

Kate Gordon

Kate has been on 7 BAC rides, so she is kind of a newbie, but a great addition to BAC. Her favorite BAC ride is Mallorca. She grew up on the east coast but has also lived in Alaska and Pennsylvania but now resides in Bend, OR. In addition to raising her son she spent her career as a librarian.

Kate has quite that adventurous spirit. Early on in her married life, her late husband decided to leave medical research and go into a neurology medical practice, in Alaska. He flew to Alaska and Kate and her son drove 5,000 miles to Alaska to join him. Collin was only 1 at the time; they also had 2 dogs. Then Kate planned a vacation in Australia for them. They flew to Australia with 2 bikes and a Burley trailer and planned to tour on the bikes in Queensland. They were horrified by the traffic so they put their gear in storage and chartered a sailboat. As a family they owned several sailboats including a 32 ft. sea-going boat. After her husband died 7 years ago Kate decided to sell the sailboat and returned to pursue her passion of bicycle touring.

An interesting fact is that one Halloween party Kate went disguised as Dr. Clifford Graves!

 

TODAY’S RIDE

IBTS14 9/23 Lincoln, NH to Snowville, NH

Brenda and I ate at “The Common Man” restaurant; I liked the unusual name.  The restaurant has been in business since 1971 (the first year I rode a bicycle 100 miles); They have a very large menu.  I ordered Bison Meat Loaf (excellent); Brenda had a small steak and sautéed shrimp.  I think it was the best dinner of the trip so far.  There weren’t many breakfast choices but the bagel shop had several gluten free choices so we ended up with a good breakfast.  This was needed; we knew what was ahead of us.

Yesterday Brenda stopped at a sandwich shop on the way into town.  The clerk advised her NOT to ride up the Kancamagus Road – “there is a mile of 18% grade.”  And our map advised “Kancamagus Hwy is a long winding road with very steep grades.  No services are available for 33 miles.”   So where did our route take us?  To Kancamagus Pass.  A 13 mile climb right from the hotel, a total of 2,000 feet of climbing.  As I climbed I did notice one positive thing, the road was unusually smooth and the shoulder was wide.  Of course this didn’t last all day.  I also notice as I climbed that the miles were clicking off faster than the elevation gain.  This could only mean that it got steeper at the top. 18%?  I made mental calculations of what the last two miles could be.  But the fears did not materialize; a road sign confirmed that the last 3.5 miles of the climb were 9%.  We were at the top earlier than projected.  The other thing not mentioned is the beautiful scenery.  Going up one grade by a road barrier, there were many red trees on my right.  An ideal picture but I knew that if I stopped, I’d not be able to get back on the bike; the grade was too steep.  By the way, on the original ride 50 years ago, this was some riders’ favorite day.

 

Left photo: A pass? A gap? A notch?  It depends on where you’re from.  In Vermont, it’s a gap; in New Hampshire, it’s a notch.  What is it in Maine.  And why was today’s climb to Kancamagus Pass?  Third photo:  We were in the National Forest most of the day and there were no services.  We know that Dr. Graves group had a picnic lunch 50 years ago. I imagine they all bought them in Lincoln and carried them in their handlebar bags.  We had better service; Ida brought picnic supplies to us at Sabbaday Falls – see photos below.

   

The last 1/2 mile to the inn was a SIGNIFICANT CLIMB, one you think you can’t make. But walking it is no better an option.  Is this our 18% grade?

 

BRENDA’S BIOS

Rick Hill

Rick has spent most of his life in Oregon, from Portland to Salem to Seal Rock where he currently lives with his wife of 44 years, Mary. They have 1 son, Ryan. Rick spent his career as the Director of Oregon Youth Authority. I guess his background makes handling BAC business seems easy! Rick is currently the Chairman of BAC and his term will expire February, 2015.

Other hobbies include kayaking and hiking. Rick does volunteer work with a bike coop and does bike repair work but also teaches at-risk kids the skills to repair bikes.

 

 

 

 

 

Jim and Ida Nystrom

Jim and Ida have been married for 45 years and have 3 daughters, Elizabeth, Sarah and Lindsey. Only their eldest daughter has picked up their love of bicycling.

They live in Holden, MA and spend their summers in the Adirondacks at a log cabin that was originally purchased by her great grandfather. It is quite the family meeting place during the summer months. Ida has a degree in American Studies from Mt. Holyoke College and spent her career as a museum teacher, a career she pursued after her children were in school. Jim received his undergraduate, Masters and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Wooster Polytech. He worked 15 years for Wooster Polytech and when Alden Research Lab was spun off from the university in 1986 he and some colleagues bought the company from Wooster. He was partner in Alden from 1986-2007, when he sold out and retired.

Ida is currently on the BAC Board Of Directors;  has been Lead Tour Reviewer for the past 2 years and plans to remain in that position for her final year on the board. Other hobbies include hiking, skiing and snow shoeing. Jim’s favorite ride is in New Zealand and Ida’s is Cooperstown, which she has and will lead again. The upcoming rides they are leading are Cooperstown, and 2 back-to-back rides in Scotland.

 

TODAY’S RIDE