Newfoundland Trip Day 2

I covered 756 km today according to the GPS. Somehow it was easier than yesterday’s ride, although I admit to a sore butt a couple of times. Again I only stopped for a couple of photo-ops.

The ride today was from White River Junction, VT to Sussex, NB. There were no real twisties, but some beautiful sweeping roads, and some beautiful scenery, especially in Vermont and New Hampshire.

I got a bit of a later start than I anticipated. The GPS was acting up and I had to sit for a while in a parking lot until it acquired the satellites. Also, my computer battery or it’s connection died. So this thing only works when I’m plugged into the mains.

There are some echoes from the past: our ride to SEVROC back in 2003 was deemed “Ride through the Red Zone” because every night on the weather channel, there were dire predictions of violent weather wherever we were but none of it came true. Last night, the Weather Channel talked about massive rain storms, dumping up to 12” of rain. For what It’s worth, I did put the rainsuit on yesterday – for about 30 minutes and it just sprinkled.

I got some good pictures of a roadside waterfall near Lisbon, NH. My route took me past Franconia Notch and through the Mount Whiteface valley. I didn’t stop – it was still a “get there” day. I spotted some people training with cross-country ski simulators. Their coach was yelling at them in Parisian French. Unfortunately I got there a bit late and only got a couple of shots. Just down the road was a beautiful vista, where I stopped for some more pix.

As soon as I crossed into Canada, the temperature dropped and it became very foggy. I stopped to put on a denim shirt, then again for my JR liner and warmer gloves. After a couple more pictures, I got back on the road.

When I came into Sussex, I stopped at a tourist info place to find a motel. They were decidedly un-helpful. I found one myself. Prices are higher than I expected – looks like I’ll be paying $60 to $70 per night. And dinner was a problem again. It was tasty enough (baked haddock and Caesar salad) but cost a lot for such a small meal. Oh and no WiFi here: when I asked, the clerk said, “WiFi? What’s that?”. I knew I was in trouble!