Day 4: Conquering the Kank! Tot: 175.4 mi


The day was bound to be a memorable one. We spent a restful night in Center Conway, New Hampshire knowing that our ride the next day would take us up and over Mount Kancamagus, the towering gateway into New Hampshire's White Mountains. 


Looking at the White Mountains from the Kancamagus

Allane and I have driven the Kancamagus Highway many times going from one place to another and it was always the kind of ride that the climb of the highway was the highlight of that particular journey. The "Kank" is one of those roads that conjures up a memory from whomever you are talking with, at least in New England. At a get-together with friends one of our group said, "What are you doing? Judd, it's the Kank!" I should note at this point that Judd has recently had both of his hips replaced.  The climb is memorable for its sheer length and grade, but it's the mix of beauty of the woods and rivers that frame the experience. 

How one is supposed to pronounce Kancamagus

The word Kancamagus, as I learned today, has been mispronounced by Mainers for as long as we can remember. So, just to set the record straight, a store front in Lincoln, NH provides visitors with a giant-sized lesson of the proper way to pronounce this monument of a mountain.

In slow ascent out of Conway we gradually realize this is will not be a run-of-the-mill ride through a mountain pass. We'll be working our way through New Hampshire's White Mountains and Vermont's Green Mountains for the next three days, but first we must get up and into the range. 

Judd and John W. leaving Conway ready to enter the White Mountain National Forest
 

I wonder how moose react to the color yellow?






Enjoying the Lower Falls of the Swift River along the highway


Lunch near the summit 

The Summit

Tomorrow will be our Down Day; a day to catch up on some rest, do a little laundry, and re-pack for the next couple of days.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 34 Davenport, IL to Dubuque, IL 83.4 miles Total 1,609.0 mi

Image
 Steve was up at dawn and left to ride starting in the less hot part of the day.  Allane slept in a bit and then packed up.  A visit to a local bike stop for some extra tubes, and a stop at the post office, and then on toward Dubuque.  Steve had ridden against the wind all morning.  He rode 9 miles on a crushed gravel road that shook his bones, finally choosing to get on the side of the highway for a few miles.  There are more hills than in Illinois, long and rolling.  After 48 miles, we met at the City Limits family restaurant in Maquoketa, a town whose name we have no idea how to pronounce.  The waitress was no nonsense, but obviously took pride in her ability to anticipate our wants and needs.  She definitely wins the top spot for Best Waitress so far on the trip, and she set a very high standard. Steve set out again, with 35 miles to go in the over 90 degree heat and relentless sun, hoping to find paved roads all the way to Dubuque. Allane stopped at Walmart for some more powdered
Read more

Day 78 The FINISH! Snohomish, WA to Brackett's Landing, Edmonds, WA 22.2 miles Grand Total 3,820.5 mi

Image
STEVE HAS FINISHED HIS RIDE!!!!!! Son Ben, with great grandson Chip, grandson Elijah, granddaughter Briana, Steve, grandson Jacob, DIL Alison, granddaughter Alyssa and Allane celebrate at Brackett's Landing Steve dips his tires as Ben narrates for the Zoom participants and Brian Soergel, the editor of the Edmonds Beacon newspaper, gets the story. Like 67 other mornings this summer, Steve woke up and got ready to ride.  It was not a long ride, but it certainly was a momentous one.  I actually left before Steve for the first time, intent of finding my way to Brackett's Landing in Edmonds and ensuring a parking spot.  It is indeed a busy place for walkers, beachgoers, Tai Chi practicers, and scuba divers.   When the wildfires west of Winthrop forced us to find an alternate route through the Cascades, Steve elected to come through Stevens Pass along Rt 2.  We needed to find a place (originally supposed to be Anacortes) where he could dip his tires into the waters on this western si
Read more