My analytical brain can’t resist the urge to look at a few stats from our Grand Gaspé Cycling Tour. Naturally I kept detailed notes on the trip, and Rich was amazed and amused at some of the obscure information I was able to assemble. Here is a sample:

Days and Mileage. We planned to cycle an average of 60 miles a day and take one rest day a week for a overall average of 50 miles per day. In reality, we weren’t very good at taking rest days, but we did take some “rolling rest days” with short mileage. We also cut back on miles when cycling the tough stretches with hills or headwinds.

• 54 total days, 2,354 miles
• 5 rest days with NO cycling
• 43.6 miles per day total, 48 miles per cycling day
• longest day 74 miles (rainy ride to Machias, Maine)
• shortest day 9 miles (finishing day to Exeter, NH)
• 6 days with rain – only one of those was a rest day

Lodging. We hoped to camp 1/3 of the time, use Warm Showers1/3 and stay in motels 1/3. We were disappointed not to be able to camp more, but cut back when each of us got sick and when the weather turned cold and wet. We were pleasantly surprised how well we did with Warm Showers, given that many areas were very sparsely populated.

• 7 nights camping
• 15 nights in Warm Showers homes
• 5 nights in Inns, gîtes or B&Bs
• 26 nights in motels

Repairs. We fared extremely well in this department. Our bikes were trusty steeds indeed.

• 3 flat tires – inner tube replaced (Rich)
• 1 tire ripped – replaced (Rich)
• Slipping gears – derailers fixed (Molly)

Weight we propelled. It wasn’t until the night before the last day of our trip that we thought to ask for a scale to weigh our gear. We knew we were traveling light, but had never quantified it before.

• Molly – 30 lb gear + 27 lb bike = 57 lb
• Rich – 33 lb gear + 30 lb bike = 63 lb

The fun stuff.

• 11 lighthouses visited (we saw a lot more than this)
• 18 ice cream stops (we fell behind on this when it turned cold and we began to substitute soup breaks)
• 7 coffeehouse stops (lattes for me)
• 1,045 pictures taken (keepers)
• 106 blog posts (between the two of us, to date)

Overall rating. No matter how you slice and dice it, it was a fantastic trip.

Progress to date: 54 days, 2,354 miles

We divided our last 53 miles of the Grand Gaspé Cycling Tour into two days. Not out of necessity. More for the timing of our grand finale.

I will be the first to say the initial leg was not inspiring. Leaving Concord, traffic was heavy and there was not much in the way of scenery or interesting towns. We passed almost 30 miles that way and I found it rather depressing. The weather was beautiful, but I just could not generate much enthusiasm for the ride. It's hard to say what contributed more, the mundane route, the lack of coffee or the impending finish to our trip. I suspect the latter had the most to do with it.

Finding happiness at The Big Bean in Newmarket

The day brightened considerably in the second half. Turning off onto smaller roads, we lost all the traffic and wound our way through delightful countryside populated with orchards, farms and pretty towns. The sunshine became warm and the fall colors shimmered in its light. And we mostly coasted downhill. The world became good again, especially when we reached Newmarket in the early afternoon and found a delightful coffeehouse. Re-caffeinating with an excellent latte accompanied by a hummus wrap of equal quality, soaking up the sun and local scene was just what I needed. It's amazing what a salve food and drink can be. And ambiance.

With extra time on our hands before our Warm Showers hosts were home, we meandered around the pretty former mill town. The mill buildings had been converted into condos and eclectic shopping areas, making them an enhancement to the town center.

Mill condos and shopping area decor

Relaxing in our hosts' yard

Our Warm Showers home provided a delightful final night's stay. We were adopted not only by our hosts, Heidi and Cliff, but given a warm welcome by Heidi's mom, Lucy. We shared a birthday dinner for Cliff with their son and long term friends and duplex neighbors. Naturally, they are all avid cyclists and runners, so there was no lack of material for conversation. And as always, we were inspired by their pursuits.

Beginning the last leg of our trip

With the dawn of the inevitable last day, we had to face it. The last nine miles of cycling. We set off just like any other morning of our trip, but in contrast to the other days, we completed our journey – and our trip – in under an hour.

Before we knew it, we were in Exeter. Where we started 54 days and 2,354 miles earlier. It was a quiet entrance as we meandered across the Academy campus. But things soon picked up. Rich granted another interview, this time for the Academy newspaper. And we stopped to visit with the wonderful staff members in the Alumni and Security offices who arranged the logistics of leaving our car there for two months. The warm welcome and congratulations extended all along the way boosted our spirits and helped ease the finality of our arrival.

A pretty route to enter Exeter

Interview for The Exonian

Finishing where we started on August 3

The true finish line

It felt strange to be reunited with our car and load up the bikes. Our daughter left us a voicemail that morning, reminding us just how cars work – in case we'd forgotten. The best part is going up hills, she said. “Just push down on the right pedal – no additional effort required. You just won't have the wind blowing through your hair,” she advised. As appealing as it sounds, I know we'll miss the cycling. We're already contemplating our next cycling trip. Just not right away.

With the end in sight, and not wanting the adventure to be over, one way to delay the inevitable was to slow down our progress. Since there was some rain in the forecast, we could also justify our shorter distances in order to beat the showers. And in fact it did rain later in the afternoon two days in a row, well after we were snugly ensconced in our accommodations.

The Connecticut River

Adopting a leisurely pace, we didn't rush as we continued along the Connecticut River, still. We stayed in a lovely Warm Showers home that was once an old parsonage and backed up right to the river. There we happily wiled away a good portion of the afternoon with Paula and Tom, relaxing on their porch solving the problems of the world. Paula pampered us with a delicious dinner featuring fresh local produce, and accompanied by a red wine that went down oh so nicely. We were so comfortable, it was easy to linger in the morning before moving on for the day.

Such a welcoming Warm Showers host home

The site of amazing coincidences, in front of the coffeehouse in Hanover

Since Rich went to Dartmouth, it was a natural to spend some time in Hanover, New Hampshire to visit campus. Somewhat of a local celebrity, Rich enjoyed being interviewed by one of the students about our trip for the college newspaper blog. It was in Hanover that we had some amazing coincidences. Standing outside the favorite local coffeehouse, we ran into one of Rich's classmates. Not only that, but he was also a member the rowing team with Rich. While they were reminiscing, a young woman approached us and said, “Excuse me, I think I last saw you on the end of the Gaspé Peninsula.” Sure enough, we both remembered well talking to her, a fellow long distance cyclist. She was traveling in the opposite direction laden with gear having ridden all that way from Vancouver. What a surprise to run into her again in a totally unrelated place!

Rich and some current students on the Dartmouth campus

With just about 100 miles to go, there are no obvious detours to take without climbing into the mountains. And we've done enough steep hill climbing for one trip, thank you. So even though I find the 60-mile days more satisfying, I'm willing to slow things down to prolong the trip. The end is coming soon enough.

The Connecticut River continues to be our friend, carving out a valley for us to cycle in between the mountain ridges. Since it forms the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, it was easy to flip over to the Vermont side for the day. We are now far enough south that we are back into civilization again, with pretty New England towns to peruse as we pass through. Many of them date back to the 1700s and are proud of their history.

We had only a short 28 mile distance to cover, so we didn't even start cycling until mid-morning. By then, the villages along the river had come to life. The beautiful Saturday morning brought everyone out, and each village center was teeming with activity. Folks were out gathering in small clumps to talk. Kids were playing soccer on the local field. Girls had a table set up outside the general store for a fundraiser. Yard sales were in full swing. It was a good day for doing just about anything. Even the dogs were out, waiting patiently while their master ran into the post office.

Patient dogs awaiting their master

In Bradford the church ladies were all set up for a chicken feed. We were a bit early, but the women recognized a good customer when they saw one, and rushed to fill a generous plate for Rich. I didn't think I was hungry, but it tasted so good I didn't hesitate to help him consume the tasty meal.

Great grilled chicken and fixings!

Next to that the weekly Farmers' Market was set up. There were some mighty good looking jellies, veggies and crafts there. One couldn't help but feel the community spirit of the buyers and sellers out on the lawn under the fall leaves.

Bradford Farmers's Market

On the edge of the villages, spanning the rivers and streams lie pretty covered bridges. This seems an appropriate place to include some that we have seen over the past few days.

Covered bridges in Groveton, Lunenburg and Woodsville NH

Indeed, it was a good day to be out and enjoying life. Village life. And cycling.

The Connecticut River continues to be our friend, carving out a valley for us to cycle in between the mountain ridges. Since it forms the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, it was easy to flip over to the Vermont side for the day. We are now far enough south that we are back into civilization again, with pretty New England towns to peruse as we pass through. Many of them date back to the 1700s and are proud of their history.

We had only a short 28 mile distance to cover, so we didn't even start cycling until mid-morning. By then, the villages along the river had come to life. The beautiful Saturday morning brought everyone out, and each village center was teeming with activity. Folks were out gathering in small clumps to talk. Kids were playing soccer on the local field. Girls had a table set up outside the general store for a fundraiser. Yard sales were in full swing. It was a good day for doing just about anything. Even the dogs were out, waiting patiently while their master ran into the post office.

Patient dogs awaiting their master

In Bradford the church ladies were all set up for a chicken feed. We were a bit early, but the women recognized a good customer when they saw one, and rushed to fill a generous plate for Rich. I didn't think I was hungry, but it tasted so good I didn't hesitate to help him consume the tasty meal.

Great grilled chicken and fixings!

Next to that the weekly Farmers' Market was set up. There were some mighty good looking jellies, veggies and crafts there. One couldn't help but feel the community spirit of the buyers and sellers out on the lawn under the fall leaves.

Bradford Farmers's Market

On the edge of the villages, spawning the rivers and streams lie pretty covered bridges. This seems an appropriate place to include some that we have seen over the past few days.

Covered bridges in Groveton, Lunenburg and Woodsville NH

Indeed, it was a good day to be out and enjoying life. Village life. And cycling.

Today's milestone was crossing the border and returning to the US. Never mind that we were a mere 4 miles from the Maine border. That wasn't part of our plan. Our route called for heading west until we were positioned over New Hampshire, and then dropping down into the US.

Right out of the shoot this morning we faced steep hills to climb. The westward stretch took us up and over numerous ridges, and we could often see the road stretching out in front of us in the distance – a long ribbon rolling down and up the hills. With a West wind in addition, the miles passed at a snail's pace. But the brilliant blue sky and temperatures that quickly warmed with the sun provided such a beautiful day that we could hardly complain.

What goes down must come back up again...

At the end of that leg, we took a welcome break from the wind and the hills. Stretching out on a sheltered patch of grass, it was a joy to sit in the sunshine for a picnic. We haven't had warm enough weather for that in weeks!

Turning south, the hills moderated a bit. Until we neared the border, that is. We resumed our uphill climb with a few warm-up hills. Then we came to the biggie. There were numerous warnings to drivers, and we didn't have a prayer of making it up the hill cycling. It was just plain too steep and too long. We stuck together and slogged up step by step. It easily ranked up there with anything we climbed in Gaspésie. At least there we had twists and turns to break up the inclines. This was a perfectly straight shot up. And at the very top, perched on the summit was the border crossing. The customs official told us that even the cars strain to get up that hill, so we didn't feel too bad about our own struggle with it.

The big hill stretches out in front of us

Caught in the act! Slogging up the hill to the border.

Once we were in New Hampshire, it was all downhill – literally! Rich had hoped that by choosing the road through the Upper Connecticut River Valley it would be less hilly, but he had no idea that we would be treated to such a long glide down. All the elevation that we gained in the last two days played out in front of us for a gradual drop over 20 miles! In addition, it was a smooth road with no traffic. Ten miles went by before the first car passed us. It was a cyclist's dream!

Back in the USA!

Cycling past beautiful lakes

Time out to enjoy a peaceful scene

More nice scenery - First Connecticut Lake

Our photos illustrate the beautiful countryside and give you some idea of the hills. But there's nothing like cold hard data to prove the day's ups and downs. So I give you today's ride elevations. Just for fun.