Day 19, Thursday, July 20, 2000
White River Junction, VT to North Conway, NH
102 Miles, 6300 feet of climbing
by Roger Pierce
Our last parking lot breakfast of the tour, temperature 45 degrees, the coldest of the tour. Light fog as we rode out.
Our youngest rider is Steve Holmberg, a 30 year old senior at Dartmouth College (he was 22 when he started the tour, but we have thrown numerous birthday parties for him at restaurants throughout the tour – you know, a ring of waitresses singing a cute ditty over the thoroughly embarrassed victim). As our ride passed by Dartmouth today, he gave a group of us a guided tour.
Lon was riding with us on his single speed bike, as he has every other day for the whole tour. Many of us with our 27 speed bikes cannot keep up with him.
The side trip through Dartmouth (with the fast group) soon left me near the back of the pack, and on the dreaded “list.” As the support vehicles drive up the route, they list the first several riders they pass so that they will know who will be the last riders that need service at the rest stops. With a lot of hard work, I made it off the list by the second stop.
This is also our last day in the true mountains, and they were spectacular. Our first climb up a little used back road was perhaps the steepest of the tour (though by no means the longest). The second climb to lunch was longer but not as severe. As we were in a National Forest, there was no commercial clutter to mar the superb scenery. Many riders sunned themselves during an extended lunch break high up in the mountains.
When we first saw the motel, we grumbled about the long climb up the driveway, that is, until we realized what a class place we were checking into. Indoor pool, outdoor pool, spa, glasses (not plastic) in the rooms, an expansive lawn. Most of us signed up for the all you can eat affair on the lawn thrown by the hotel, higher quality stuff than we get in our normal all you can eat place. Then amble back inside to watch the Tour de France.