Day 33 – Thursday 26th May 2011 – Keene NH – Amesbury MA

To use the immortal words of Sir Edmund Hillary, we knocked the bastard off. Neither rain nor snow nor wind nor hills nor potholes nor mis-read route instructions could prevent us from reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

The day started with breakfast at 6am at the hotel. This was again a basic affair including cereal, yoghurt, eggs, sausages, muffins, pastries orange juice and coffee. Some riders left early to get a head start.

The weather was cloudy but dry with a temperature of 16°C as we headed out of the motel just before 7am. Within the first two route instructions, the mileage was off by around half a mile which was a concern. However, we were on route and soon wound our way out of town.

There was plenty of climbing though none were as long as yesterday but some were as steep. We rode with a couple of other riders at a genteel pace as there was no hurry as all riders were re-grouping at 101.7 miles for a mass storming of the beach.

The first sag stop was at 34.4 miles and we waited there a while for other riders to arrive. From there, the rolling country continued with many tree lined roads. My eyes started to sting and I finally decided it was the tree pollen irritating them. This made visibility poor which meant I managed to collect another pothole or two, especially in the early morning shadows. Some of the roads were again of poor quality due to the winter weather conditions which meant low speed was desirable.

At 49.5 miles we turned onto Joe English Road which many riders have now renamed “Joe Bastard Road”. It was at least a 13% gradient and just under a mile long. Lasse, the always lost Norwegian rider and provider of memorable quotes, who was riding with us at the time, taught us some more Norwegian when he exclaimed to the effect, “Who the $&^#%^ put this $^%&&% hill in my way to ruin my $&$$^*@ day.” The translation I believe is, “I didn’t really enjoy that hill.” Other Lasse classic quotes include: on navigation “Keep the sun here” (about your right shoulder – only works when travelling east), on his dietary requirements, “I don’t need carbohydrates, I need fat”,  answer to the question, “Lasse, you are riding slow today” – “I ride slow today”, “Urgh” – the answer to all other questions.

Up the steep hill, Patrick also decided to stretch his legs and wound up the pace, especially when he heard the chasing rider puffing his lungs out. I just plodded along in my 39:25 at a casual pace.

Rolling on at a leisurely pace, we reached lunch at 62.8 miles which was held in a hotel carpark. Again, we took our time and waited until almost all the riders arrived before we set off. Patrick proved the licorice (twisters in American) to be a very popular sag snack but was more circumspect than usual in his final days consumption.

After lunch, the temperature rose to a peak of 31°C. The rolling country gradually became a little flatter as we approached the coast. We followed the navigation cues but ended up briefly one turn off route and saw other riders in the same place. They had asked some locals how to get back on route so we initially followed them. But, they then turned right up Route 107A for some bonus miles instead of staying on Route 107 so we left them to it.

We reached the rendezvous point in town around 2pm and were treated to a bonus can of soft drink left over from lunch. As the last rider was an hour or so away, we walked across the road to Dunkin Donuts for a drink, muffin and air conditioning. One of the ABB staff joined us. We were called back about 3pm and eventually the entire group left for the beach after the final rider arrived. It transpired that the slowest rider had managed to accrue 8 bonus miles today to get more value for his riding! Somewhere we crossed the state line into Massachusetts but there was no welcome sign.

The bunch reached the sparsely populated Salisbury Beach around 3:30pm and people and bikes stormed the sea. Photos were taken and congratulations given. The water taken from the Pacific Ocean was poured into the Atlantic Ocean and the official photo taken, including a gap for the “missing man” being the rider taken out by a car a few days ago on Monday. The beach temperature was a much noticeable and cooler 21°C.  Lasse was met by his wife at the beach – the consensus reason for this was so he can find his way home.   

From the beach, the route sheet was disposed with as one of the bridges was out. Instead, we had a police escort, complete with siren and flashing lights, who lead us directly to the hotel. We were told the pace would be held at 15mph which translated meant around 20mph (32km/h). This pace left the slower riders struggling as we rode straight through red lights and started traffic to our final hotel. We arrived there around 4:25pm after 183.7km of riding which we covered in 6hrs 50m at an average speed of 26.9km/h. With the light and variable wind, hill climbing, leisurely pace and some suburban riding, this made for an enjoyable day on the bike.

At the hotel, we gave the bikes and shoes a quick clean to remove all USA dirt and plant material. The promised cardboard bike boxes were not there so one of the staff was sent to get them. We quickly packed our boxes and everything came part easily. A man in the carpark asked what we were doing. When told we had just ridden coast to coast, he asked why? Did we need a reason? Because it was there?

The hotel had a supply of cookies which again vanished quickly once located by the cyclists.

The final “banquet” was held at a busy restaurant about a mile from the hotel. We were vanned there and back. The meal included bread and a single dish – Patrick and I had shrimp pasta. It tasted good but many of the riders stopped off for ice cream on the way back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, a final group gathering was held and a cake cut and eaten. Each rider had the opportunity to say a few words but the meaning of this varied wildly with some people going on for a while. All were entertaining though.

Numbers for the day:
Departure time: 6:50am
Distance: 114.2 miles (183.7km)
Riding time: 6hrs 50m
Average speed: 16.7 mph (26.9km/h)
Maximum speed: 38.1 mph (61.3km/h)
Vertical climbing: 6,181ft (1,884m)
Temperature range: 16-31-21 (beach)-29°C
Arrival time: 3:30pm beach, 4:25pm hotel
Weekly (Monday – Sunday mileage) to date: 478 miles (770km)
Rolling last seven days total kilometres ridden including today: 1,282km
Total kilometres ridden across the country: 5,584km