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Mount Washington Century - 20 July 2013 click here for slide show |
 Hodgkins Park, Bartlett NH - Base of Bear Notch descent  The
Mount Washington Century
has been on my radar screen for a few years.
This year, the pieces fell into place--Marc, Betsy, and I slogged north through heavy I-93 Friday traffic and finally met Michelle for dinner and much-needed margaritas at North Conway's
Margarita Grill.
Saturday's forecast hadn't looked all that promising ... and that observation still held Saturday morning. Thunderstorms. Hail. Locusts. Death of the first born. And so on. Undaunted, Betsy and I set off for Conway and the ride start. Marc and Michelle being less OCD about following the (nearly) official ride route, the plan was to meet them at the top of Bear Notch (we'd be riding up from the south, they'd be arriving from the north) or failing that, at the first rest stop. An aside: had you asked us Friday night to predict the high point of the ride, we might have responded with Betsy's longest ride (by a little)/biggest climb (by a lot). Or perhaps we would have volunteered the first real test of Michelle's happening new machine. But never in a million years would we have guessed correctly. Having been warned by Michelle of the nasty climb to the Tin Mountain Conservation Center (TMCC) at the end of the ride, Betsy and I chose to park at the Kennett Middle School on Main Street in Conway. We rolled out around 7:20a and shortly found ourselves heading west up the Kancamagus Highway's steady grade. After 12 1/2 miles, we made the right onto Bear Notch Road and began the climb. We couldn't have timed meeting Michelle and Marc any better--they crested the summit just as we did. They U-turned to join us on what's one of my favorite descents anywhere and quickly pulled in to rest stop 1. Look, you're busy, I'm busy, let's hit fast forward. Betsy turned east on Route 302 to finish the 40 mile loop; Marc, Michelle, and I headed west for the 100 mile circuit. Crawford Notch (steeper than it is short). Rest stop 2. Right turn at Twin Mountain for uncharted roads (at least for Marc and me). Long descents. Punchy climbs. Rest stop 3. Gorham NH. The Peakham Notch climb and a bit of rain. Rest stop 4. The final ascent and then the long bombing descent down to North Conway. Michelle headed west on 302 to her car, Marc and I headed east for the final 10+ miles. Bypassed rest stop 5. Drafting each other along Westside Road for half an hour. Met Betsy at the school, packed up, met Michelle at the TMCC for a welcome meal. Michelle stayed in NH, the three of us headed back to MA. What's that? Oh, the high point of the ride? Almost forgot. At rest stop 1, Marc availed himself of the ride mechanic to track down and eliminate a clicking noise in his drivetrain. The culprit was a loose crank (not Marc, his bike), quickly tightened. And then it happened. As Marc donned his helmet, the mechanic stopped him short. And proceeded to give Marc a lesson on how to properly adjust his helmet straps. And by give a lesson, I mean, the mechanic put the helmet on Marc's head and did the adjusting himself. To Marc's credit, he didn't flinch--I probably would have melted into the ground in embarrassment. Now, I fully appreciate that the humor in this moment probably isn't coming through in the telling. Be assured, that's entirely a function of my amateur way with the written word--I was ROTFLMAO at the time and still chuckling now.
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