Monday, day 3, 10:30 PM Chez Gearman
Hiya Gang,
Due to a family situation, I had to leave the route to return home overnight. The Attitash Grand Summit staff, in their typical accommodating fashion, provided Jim and I a “Meal to go” when they learned we had to leave before dinner. It was a delicious baked rosemary chicken, with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.
I’ll tell you what I knew before I left, and tomorrow, I’ll fill you in on what we both missed when I return to the route.
We had 3 riders take light spills, one with a bit of damage to his bike- but all three rode on to finish, albeit with a few more bumps and bruises than they had when they started this morning.
In a show of continued defiance, the NH DOT decided (On it’s own) to just “Repave” about 5 miles of our route without even asking us if we minded. “Repave” is in quotations because what they basically did, was lay down some liquid tar, then spread very small crushed stone over the top so that the crushed stone would be stuck in the tar once it dried. It made for a lot of loose gravel on the shoulders, and covered up our route marks painted on the road (Including my artistic renderings of ice cream cones in yellow spray-paint just before Bobbi-Sue’s Ice-Cream).
Not even the courtesy of a phone call to see if we minded- they act like they OWN the roads or something…
The brief rains weren’t too bad, many of the riders actually enjoyed the 10 minute shower, but weren’t exactly crazy about the strong head-winds it brought as the front passed through.
Many riders got to enjoy the heated pool (92*F) and hot tub before dinner, as well as some *Ahem* “Coffee”.
I’m pretty tired, but I’d feel guilty going to bed when I know Jim is still on his way back to Attitash after dropping me off at the ADA’s Manchester office.
Thanks Jim, I owe you one.
I plan on returning to the NEC mid-afternoon, and will update as soon as I can find out what the latest scoop is.
Gearman
UPDATE:
BIG Thank-You to the guys at Red Jersey Cyclery in Intervale, NH (Right next to North Conway). Not only did they help our mechanics and riders out, they actually stayed open an extra hour to accommodate our needs.
Join us
Hope things are okay.
You’ll be happy to know I beeped the horn a few times going past our favorite former motel. Rain plus fog/steam coming off RT3 and 302 was so much fun.