Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - NH White Mountains Ride Photos

I had been planning on taking a day off of work mid-week and doing a ride up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The weather has been getting colder and the days are getting shorter, so I figured this week would have to be it. I surprised my wife by reserving a room at the Woodstock Inn and brewery Wednesday night - we stayed overnight and I went for my ride during the day today. In addition to a growler of Woodstock's Autumn Ale, I came home this afternoon with sore quads and many great memories of this ride.

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The ride started from the inn in North Woodstock and just a few miles north I took the Franconia Notch bike path - which as you can see from the elevation profile gains 1,000 feet over about eight miles (!). It was a balmy 38 F when I started the ride at 10:30 AM, and I came across semi-frozen puddles (and lots of slippery leaf patches) here and there on the path.

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Heading North on Route 3 toward the start of the Franconia Notch bike path.

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The Basin: http://www.newhampshire.com/nh-attractions/basin.aspx

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Gratuitous bike photo.

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The mountain tops are already starting to get snow.

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More photos in the next post...

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On the Kangamangus (Rt 112) heading back to North Woodstock

Although this ride was "only a 40-miler" it still kicked my butt and I finished with a whopping average speed of just over 12 MPH. Climbing is rough on us clydesdales!

Enjoy,

Scott

Great pics! I've become a weather wuss since moving south, and I probably wouldn't even think of riding at 38 degrees.

great pics a few years back i did some work outside of North Conway NH. we were there the month of july beautiful country. i hope to go back there soon.

Good job on getting out there and doing it before the snow flys. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Bonus points in the romance department for surprising the wife with a trip. I assume she enjoyed it:thumb:

Breathtaking.

Thanks
Jay

Beeeeeutiful:thumb: Lived in N. Conway as a youngster! Looks like a memorable ride:D

Nice!! Makes me wish I were there.

Nice post. I love the Whites.

Awesome!

I went to High School at Tilton School in Central N.H.

Great area, the paths look excellent.

Michael

Again, gorgous shots. I need to come out east and ride with some of you folks out there.

Has NH been evacuated or something? I don't see a single car. What great roads!

Thanks for the photos!

Awesome pics. We camp in that area when we can get away. (about 4-5 hours north of us)
What's that mountain called in pic #5? Is that the one you see from the highway heading up there....Ever do the Mt Washington ride? That's crazy. I hiked up it when I was younger...and lighter. Can't imagine riding up it.

Awesome pics. We camp in that area when we can get away. (about 4-5 hours north of us)
What's that mountain called in pic #5? Is that the one you see from the highway heading up there....Ever do the Mt Washington ride? That's crazy. I hiked up it when I was younger...and lighter. Can't imagine riding up it.

I'm pretty sure that's Canon Mountain.

I think the thought crossed my mind once that it would be really awesome to do the Mount Washington hill climb. Then I realized to prepare for it I'd need to spend a year losing 40-50 lbs and doing six months of intense hill repeats. It would be an awesome goal to shoot for, but it's not on my plans for now. :)

Traffic during the middle of the week now that foliage season is over is dead up there. It will be a bit busier on the weekends until there's enough snow for skiiing.

:thumb: Well done! Including the bike pic! Any place along the route where one might cast a fly line? (I'm thinking possibly "Tour de Trout"). Again, thanks!

Nice pics! How long is that bike path?

What a beautiful trip! Thanks for sharing the pics

Nice, thanks for sharing the pics.

Beautiful pictures and area.

Thanks everyone for the comments.

billydonn: I'm not into fishing, so I have no idea about trout in these rivers. I'm sure there are many breathtaking areas where you can fish in the White Mountains region.

1bluetrek: The Franconia Notch bike path itself is around 8 miles long. Here are a couple of links describing the path:

http://john-s-allen.com/galleries/franconia/index.htm

http://ebent.wordpress.com/2006/09/20/franconia-notch-bike-path/

That's some beautiful scenery. I live in a nice part of the world, but nothing as spectacular as that.