We can smell the Atlantic...

I'm sitting in Burlington, MA, a mere 18 miles from Revere beach, where we will ride to tomorrow. It's hard to believe we've come this far.

AND ROY MADE IT!

Today's 92 mile ride took us through three states and lots of classic New England terrain. There was also lots of steep climbing on old New England roads, with grades as high as 12%. However, we could smell the barn at the end of the road. Greg and I powered through the route, our determination evidenced by no stops for coffee or pastry. Since we were in tourist country much of the day, the temptations were many, but we persevered. We also passed on homemade ice cream, "mile high" apple pie and numerous other forms of cardiovascular stimulants.

The quick ones among you already figured this out - since we were in three states, there were two state line crossings today.

New Hampshire is still sticking with their classic "Live Free or Die" motto. Most people assume that this goes back to the revolutionary war. Actually, it wasn't adopted as the state motto until 1945, although it is a quote from a toast in 1809 written by General John Stark, a hero of the battle of Bennington. So it's some fairly recent new Hampshirans who thought this was a good way to promote their state. Don't hire them for your own marketing campaign.

Massachusetts wins the award for plainest sign. No imagination whatsoever. Even the font screams "we're boring".

I have a suggestion for the Massachusetts government. Add the following motto - "Live free but die if you try to ride a bike here". The roads are narrow, the pavement poor, and the drivers clearly consider cyclist endangerment a sport. It was "interesting" getting to Burlington. Maybe it was appropriate for our last big day.

Please refer to blogs from the Midwestern states to understand the difference between folks here and there. Simply insert a negative and apply it to the drivers of Massachusetts.

This makes a total of 15 states visited on our tour. 35 left to visit by bike some other time.

Here are a few shots of typical New England scenes. This is from Brattleboro, VT last night.

And this is from Ashuelot, NH today.

We also pedaled through Concord and Lexington today. We made sure to point out to the Brits on tour how badly they got their butts kicked. I think we don't appreciate what's nearby, opting instead to go to Italy or France to cycle. There's lots to see right here in New England, and it's different when you see it by bike. Having said that, I hear that Montenegro is a great place to cycle...