Cinco de Mayo arrived in southern New England with sunny skies, and warm winds, for my first NH-AMC sponsored gravel ride. I want to thank my mentor Doria who has been leading NH-AMC sponsored rides like this for many years, and who helped with yesterday's ride as my co-leader, and 2 other poster's to this forum- Harvey and Kevin - who also joined us, and helped make our first ride a success. As advertised, the ride took in the last ten miles of August's Rose Mountain Rumble, with an added 10 miles of added segments of the RMR, including the picturesque Cider Mill Road, and High Bridge Roads:
Our ride wasn't without some adventure. Some strong storm cells swept through our area on Fri. evening, leaving branches and litter scattered over many parts of the route. On one of our roads, a downed power line forced us to detour. Bouncing over some rough terrain, I managed to loosen my front der. clamp forcing a short stop to do some emergency repairs on my bike. No big deal. After all, this is adventure cycling. Expect the unexpected.
I'm already planning a similar ride next Sat. morning. I'll be choosing some different routes covering some of my favorite roads further north in the towns of Bennington, Antrim, and Hancock NH, taking in some of the more scenic gravel roads of the Contoocook, and Deering Valleys. Stay tuned. Hope that more of you can join us next week.
And here's the link to my full flickr album from the ride:
