Yesterday was the most beautiful day of the trip but today ran a very close second. The majority of today's route was on the Kancamagus Highway. This road is very similar to the southern portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway in that there is very little development up close to the roadway. As a result, the scenery is completely unspoiled. The fall colors today were stunning, by far the best of the trip. The sunshine and the mountain vistas and the crystal clear streams following the highway were amazing. It got cold up on Kancamagus Pass, 51 degrees. I froze on the descent but when I got back down to the valley it warmed back up to about 61. It was actually trying to rain up on the Pass and there were a few drops on my glasses. A heavy rainstorm up there combined with that temperature would have meant nearly instant hypothermia so when it starting spitting rain I rode down off the mountain as quickly as I could to get to warmer temperatures in case it poured. As we came in to Conway it started raining a little more but by that time it was warm enough that it wasn't an issue.
We had an optional 12 mile round trip up a mountain and back that a group of us did. There was an overlook near the top that was incredible. You could see a sea of color as far as the eye could see as mountain after mountain rose in the distance. Even with the extra mileage we still ended up in Conway by 2 pm.
Unfortunately tomorrow is the last day of our journey. I'm being pulled two different directions now. My body is telling me very clearly that it is time to rest. But my mind and the adventurer in me wants to continue northeast and ride to Bar Harbor and Acadia and maybe on up to Nova Scotia. Maybe that will be part of another trip someday. Tomorrow will be about a 100 mile trip down to the coast and then along the coastline to Portland to the finish. The forecast is calling for yet another beautiful Fall day in New England for a bike ride.
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