Day 72 Orford, NH-Conway, NH

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Jo Day 72 (Oct 11):  Frosty morning at the Pastures Campground in Orford, NH.  There was frost on the bikes and tents!  36* outside, 46* inside.  Kevin turned on the heater in the van and it warmed up to a toasty 65* inside the van. Outside warmed up slowly, very slowly.  Everyone welcomed the sunshine. Alan stood guard as the sun dried his tent.  Super John wore his red jersey like a cape.  My long down jacket is warmer than my 25 year old sleeping bag, LOL!  Kevin, Alan and John took off for their 78 mile ride.  Not much sightseeing today.  We pulled into the viewpoints and took pictures of the fall colors,  a couple rivers and water falls...we saw the guys on the road quite a bit today.  We had beautiful blue skies!  It actually got pretty warm, we didn't need our jackets when we walked the streets of Woodstock, NH.  The guys had lunch at the Truants Taverne and Restaurant in Woodstock, NH.  Janut and I ate sliced cheese and bread in the van...we are very thrifty!  We are camping at the Eastern Slope Camping Area in Conway, NH.  They charged us $75.99 for a campsite...geez, for $75.99 we should get a cabin with a view...instead we got a view of the lawn and the shower doors at the bathhouse closest to us are zip-tied shut.  What a joke!  I guess the joke is on us because we paid for it.  We enjoyed a tasty dinner at the Black Cap and had a fun time talking to the bartender and Nancy and Steve, a really nice couple from Boston.  The weather is improving, it won't be as cold as last night...thank goodness for that!
Jo's video 

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Kevin Day 72 - 10/11/16: Orford to Conway, NH. 77 miles, 5,071' gain. A cold morning start-frost on the bikes, but sunny and clear. The first couple hours on the bike were pretty chilly-frozen toes! We stopped for coffee in North Haverhill, then off towards the Kancamagus Highway. Rolling terrain, blue skies and near peak color on the trees. A pretty good climb before North Woodstock ( fairly consistent6-8% grades for nearly 1500 of gain), and a fast descent into North Woodstock for lunch at Truants Taverne- a funky place down in a basement. After lunch we rode through the tourist/ski town on Lincoln and the climb of Kancamagus Pass begins right away. It was a beautiful ride through a corridor of fall color-and lots of car traffic because of it. The climb itself wasn't too difficult; maybe because we have ridden over 4000 miles to get to this point? Some great views along the way-probably great hiking too. Soon we were at the summit, and another long fast descent towards Conway. There are some nice looking crags around Conway that look like good rock climbing. Tonight we are camped at private RV park just outside Conway-with crazy stupid pricing-$75 for the night! But options are limited this time of year. We had dinner at a nearby restaurant- good food and good conversation with some folks from Boston. Today we passed our last mountain hurdle of the trip, tomorrow we enter Maine, and expect to be in Bar Harbor on Saturday.