temps near 70 today, and my finally getting a digital camera equals my first ride report.

1 and 2. started out just cruising down by the beach at the local lake. don't think we'll be seeing snowmobiles out on the lake anymore. a day or two more like we've had this week, and there's gonna be open water.

3. shot of the old covered bridge pilings from the new bridge. think it was July 4th weekend the bicentennial year,1976, when a bunch of losers from Mass(we call them Mass-holes) decided to have their own fireworks and torched it.

1. closer shot from the end, which is now a small park.

2. the railroad trestle down stream. good spot for jumping from in the summer.

3. left the bridge and headed toward town, and Kearsarge Road. doesn't look like too many people out enjoying spring skiing at Cranmore Mountain.

continued onKearsarge Road.

1. anyone who's seen Return of the Secaucus 7 might recognize this ski lodge. served as set for most of the exteriors and interiors of that film.

2. the intersection with Hurricane Mountain Road. I won't be climbing this today, mainly cause I don't have the legs, but also because.........

3.

1. hard to make out because of the hazy blue skies today, but that's Mount Washington off in the distance. I won't be climbing that either. :D

2. another shot. my fave bike shop, the Red Jersey off to the left.

3. heading out of town and toward Attitash ski area. will be turning off the main road about half a mile before I get there though.

made the turn and am now heading back toward town on the upper West Side Road. up and down, not major climbs, but enough. really kicked my butt when I first started riding, and still makes you work a bit.

1 and 2. going up

3 annd 4. heading down again

1 and 2. I have no idea of the history of this. I just assume at some time in the past, someone decided to carve an arch out of the rocky cliffside.

3. headed back toward town, and another shot of Cranmore off in the distance.

stopped at First Bridge. so named because it's the first of three bridges right after each other along this stretch of road. popular swimming spot in the summer, and also a place where people jump from into the river. the cops will fine you if they catch you though.

and a couple shots of the Sirrus, all decked out in winter/rain bike mode, and kinda nasty at this point.

headed back toward home on West Side Road. this section is pretty flat, and a popular road for running, walking and riding. saw a guy rollerblading today.

1. almost back home, and it's covered bridge time. this is the Swift River Covered Bridge. closed to traffic.

2. turn to my right, and downstream there's the Saco River Covered Bridge, still in use.

3. another shot.

i'm minutes from home, but not ready to stop riding yet. I decide to head up the Kancamagus Highway as far as Lower Falls, and then head back down.

1. shot of the Swift River

2. I love riding down along this section. one, because it's cool cruising along these supports, but also because it means I'm getting close to the end of the road. but right now, I'm still going up.

3. shot of a popular swimming spot along the Kanc

4. just to the right of the previous picture

Lower Falls. about 7 miles up the Kanc, and a popular spot in the summer. These rocks would be covered with people, swimming and sliding down the falls, which at the moment are iced over.

1 and 2. shots of the falls

3. the cliffs above the parking area

4. ice formed along the rock ledges along the side of the road.

5. same ledges, just the opposite direction.

headed back down, and about a mile below Lower falls, turned on to Passaconway Road. If I took this road, it would bring me back down to just about the same spot where I took the picture of the Swift River Covered Bridge above.

1. here's a shot of the Albany Covered Bridge. My original plan was to do the ride over this road to connect with the Kanc here. But then I realized that this road would be closed and gated as well.

2. as you can see.

that's it. headed back to the Kanc, and down to home. even got caught in a small rain shower. had that spring/summer rainshower smell to it also, which was really neat to smell this early in the year.

Nice pics!

Hard to believe you had temps near 70 with all that snow still on the ground. That must have seemed odd.

The arch... obviously you got a better look at it than me. Do you think it's man-made or natural? It almost looks like a gigantic geode cracked open.

Awesome report, thanks for posting.
Whereabouts were you riding?

nice post

This is the Mount Washington Valley, in NH. I basically took the tour of towns, from Conway over to Center Conway, then through North Conway over to Glen, up towards Bartlett, then back toward N. Conway and Conway, and then up the Kancamagus. pretty much a giant loop, with the up and back on the Kanc.

as for the arch, I'd say a little of both. I'm guessing it was a cave mouth, that someone did a little work on, to shape the mouth and entrance into an arch shape. don't know what the purpose was, whether there was some grand design behind it all that was abandoned, all I know is when I first noticed it there, it blew my mind.

not that much snow left here, really. the past week it's been in the mid to upper 40's until yesterday's jump to near 70, and we've probably lost about a foot of snow cover to melting. my small front lawn is almost completely bare. and this weekend, forecasts for snow. global warming at work.

I love that area, though I've never been there in winter. Gotta get back up there sometime soon. We're planning a trip to Maine for Sept so maybe we'll spend a few days in the White Mtns too.

Great pictures. Thanks.

We're planning a trip to Maine for Sept so maybe we'll spend a few days in the White Mtns too.

Great pictures. Thanks.

If your coming near Mt. Desert Island/Acadia and are bringing that nice Strong of yours drop me an e-mail and I'd be happy to meet for a ride and show you around up here.

singlecross

Spring?

Where are all the crazies on the MUTs and the Cherry Blossom tourists?

I don't think so.

our springs are a little different than those of you sissified southren folk. :p

MUTs? we don't need no stinkin' MUTs!

nice pics...a bit cooler where you are...

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