Day 16 - August 21 Week 2 recap, New England Take 2 & Reunited

It occurred to me that I was remiss in not acknowledging the end of week 2 on the post for Friday or Saturday.  So I'll do it now.  Here's the recap: We covered 2687.8 miles and covered 8 states and Canada. With cumulative mileage of 5550.8 miles we are nearing the half-way point of our estimated mileage. We crossed the mid-west and made it all the way to Maine, poised to reach the furthest northeast HD store, the second of the four corners Torrey is striving towards. With regard to weather, the Northeast held up the precedent that had been set by the Northwest.  Despite many forecasts that called for rain, we actually didn't get any rain while we were riding. It's pretty amazing to think that in 5550.8 miles, we've only ridden in 9 miles of rain.  We did ride away from a number of very dark clouds.  The scenery was as spectacular in this second week as it was in the first week even though it was different from the previous week.  All in all, we couldn't be more pleased with how the trip is going.  Here's to hoping week 3 carries on the awesome riding we're becoming accustomed to.

Shannon and the guys departed from Lincoln, Maine at 7:30am and it was sunny.  With the anticipated slow travel on Hwy 1 and the number of miles ahead, the choice was made to take I-95 to Portland, ME.  As it was Sunday, the HD shops in Maine were all closed and therefore bypassed. 

Near Portland the group took the Maine Turnpike, a toll road, toward Rochester, NH. The HD shop there was open and that made for a nice place for a break. 

From Rochester, NH it was Hwy 202 to Hwy 9 into Bennington.  As the final destination got closer the clouds above were getting darker and darker.  In fact they just missed a rainstorm near Keene about 50 miles out from Bennington.

I had a great time at the wedding on Saturday, but I was also excited to get back to the ride. It was drizzling when the plane landed in Albany. I was thrilled to find my bike exactly where I parked it in the manner in which I left it. I prepared for my ride, including donning raingear, and set out for Hwy 7.  As I exited the garage, the light rain had stopped.  Had I not put the rain gear on - it most certainly would have poured rain the approximately 35 miles to Bennington.  I arrived at the hotel at 4pm and I was happy to be dry.

About 25 minutes later the group arrived and the rain had just started to fall. It was good to see them, and within about 20 minutes Tim and Alan were dishing out the digs to me.  I took that to mean they were glad to see me too.  By the time we got the bikes unloaded and our belongings partially settled in the rooms, the rain was falling harder.  We headed out on a walk, without umbrellas, in search of dinner.  After a brief wild goose chase to a locally recommended restaurant that was closed, we ended up at TJ's Fish Fry.  It was still raining as we walked back to our rooms.  Our clothes were wet and with the humidity as high as it was, it was doubtful they would be dry by morning.

Total miles today: 416.7;
Time to travel that distance: 9 hours
Total Cumulative miles: 6350
Tomorrow: The Big Apple