Bike Gorham to Pinkham Notch (35 miles)

We’re now staying at Timberland campground, and loving it. For an extra $3/night ($23 versus $20 at Dolly Copp) we get hot showers, a solar-heated swimming pool, and a rec room with a book exchange and free wifi. We’re also sandwiched between route 2 and a railroad track, which some might find distracting. The train only passes once a night, but when it does, the sound is terrifying. The noise fills up your whole brain, and yet the train is cloaked in complete darkness. Not the kind of sound one expects to come from the peaceful woods at night.

First day here (10 minutes from Gorham, NH) I decided to bike down Route 16 while Louis worked on his thesis. We’ve seen a ton of bikers on this road, and the bike lanes are like a dream 98% of the time. What I did not realize upon setting out, and only fully understood more than half-way into the trip, was that Route 16 between Gorham and Jackson includes about 1900 feet of elevation gain over 17 miles. I honestly did not realize how uphill I was biking, despite the fact that I was averaging 8.5 mph on the way out (up). I figured I was having an off day, physically. I checked a couple times to see if I was riding with the brakes misaligned, but there was daylight between the rims and the brakes, so that wasn’t it. So it was with great delight and surprise when, on the return trip, I was able to maintain 20+ mph almost continuously. Since most of my serious biking experience has been on the streets within a 25 mile radius of New Haven, I have to say, this was the most incredible bike-ride ever. It is hard to express the joy of being able to coast for 17 miles on a bike, honestly, it’s worth a trip here just for that. Oh, and you know, the views are pretty OK too.