Dear AdventuRiders,
I can still hear the weather gods laughing behind my back for Monday's lack of ride canceling rain :-( Hopefully they have had their fun for the week and the forecast for Thursday will be right.
The Portsmouth weather for Thursday is looking SPECTACULAR! It is forecast to be about 60 degrees, SUNNY, with a WNW breeze (mostly an off-shore cross wind) when we leave. On the way back it should still be SUNNY, near 70 degrees, and still on off-shore breeze.
I need to pick up my kids from school at 3:30, so I am going to move the start time to 9:30 AM so we won't be in a rush. Also, by leaving at 9:30 we can get to Portsmouth before noon and beat the lunch crowd.
Here are some possibilities for lunch:
- Pub lunch with fresh microbrew beer (and yummy mussels in butter sauce) at the Portsmouth Brewery.
- Lunch on the deck overlooking Portsmouth Harbor at River House Restaurant.
- Lighter fare at Popovers on the sidewalk in bustling Market Square.
Surprisingly, lunch is not the highlight of the trip! The NH seacoast, the Isle of Shoals, and New Castle are among the most beautiful places in NE.
If people are interested in carpooling, RSVP and I will put you in touch with other interested riders. I will probably just drive myself since (a) I'm a guy, and (b) I can blast off straight from Hampton Beach to Parker afterwards if we have too much fun.
On THURSDAY, May 17th - Portsmouth
- We can meet at Shaw's in Groton to carpool at 8:15 AM. Here is a map.
- The Exploration Ride will leave Hampton North Beach at 9:30 AM. Here is a map.
- We will return to Hampton North Beach by 2:00 PM.
- Starting Point - Hampton North Beach (not to be confused with North Hampton Beach!).
- Route Map - Hampton North Beach to Portsmouth
- Distance = 31 miles.
- Elevation Gain = 310 feet (basically flat).
- Unpaved = none.
- Equipment - I plan to bring my real road bike.
AR Index = Roughly equal to 31 flat, smooth miles.
Hope to see you there,
Bill and Carole