Day 71 Hancock, VT-Orford, NH

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 Day 71 (Oct 10): Cold cold morning at The Gathering Inn in Hancock, Vermont. We bundled up and walked over to the Old Hancock Hotel for breakfast at 8:10am (that's 8am-ish). Not open. So we waited outside, more hungry customers arrived so we talked to them while we waited. At about 8:25am the owner/chef/server arrived to let the crowd in. She was very nice and appreciated our patience. We waited an hour to get our blueberry pancakes, but they were delicious! We gave goodbye thank you hugs to Kathleen at The Gathering Inn, she is one special lady...the world needs more Kathleens! John was a fashion diva this morning, with his fancy hairdo and flash dance tights! Kevin, Alan and John took off for their chilly 67 mile ride today. Janut, Bob and I saw the birthplace of Joseph Smith (the Mormon prophet)...there is a tall granite shaft monument and a church...the message on the sign when you leave the park says "Thank you. We hope your visit was worth-while". Seems funny to say that. We saw Vince riding up a hill (he made it to our campground tonight, and joined us for dinner and witty conversation). We drove through a covered bridge on Tucker Hill Rd in Vermont (yay, we fit!). We passed the guys on the road and then crossed over the Connecticut River on a bridge and left Vermont and entered New Hampshire. But there was no "Welcome to New Hampshire" sign so we found another bridge and went back over to Vermont (we needed to get fuel and ice anyway). We crossed over the Connecticut River (again) on a bridge that had a "Welcome to New Hampshire" sign on the other side (we wanted a picture, and there was a big fat black cat next to the sign that came over to us and purred and rubbed against our legs...I think he wanted a ride in the sprinter van). We have a campsite along the Connecticut River at the Pastures Campground in Orford, NH. John's bike tights fell down so he had to show off his flash dance moves! There is a frost warning tonight, so we are layering and bundling up...burrrrr! Thank you Kevin for man-sewing the insulated curtains!
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Kevin Day 71Hancock, VT to Orford, New Hampshire 58 miles, 3,378 feet gain. This morning started with breakfast at the Old Hancock Hotel restaurant-last night we are dinner there, and asked when they opened for breakfast - the reply was "8ish". 8ish in Vermont is around 8:30, and service was less than speedy, so we finished breakfast and got on the road about 10. A chilly 38* start with a brisk north breeze of about 10mph. Skies were blue- a beautiful fall day! The miles went quickly and soon we were at the bottom of the day's big climb between Sharon VT and South Strafford-about 1,500 feet-a couple pitches at 14%, but not too bad overall. We bought some sandwiches at the general store and ate them outside, soaking up the warmth of the sun-high temps were in the mid 40's today. Then on to the towns of Thetford Center, Thetford Hill, and East Thetford. The climb to Thetford Hill was probably a mile or so of 8%, then down to East Thetford, the Connecticut River and into New Hampshire. A few miles of great riding along River Road brought us to tonight's campsite in Orford. The forecast calls for a low temp of 31' tonight-it will be chilly tomorrow morning when we start the day. The Kancamagus Highway and pass is tomorrow's ride.