The clamor of my bikes, with Rover (my touring mascot) joining in... It's spring, it's time to wander, it's time to tour.
I've been spending some time dreaming of biking, and trying, trying, trying to come to a decision about where I want to tour later in the year. September feels like a good time to take a couple of weeks to wander somewhere with my bike. Right now I have three ideas percolating, but no decision yet. And that's really OK. It's good to dream, and I'm happy with my plans (or maybe I should call them non-plans) for later.
But - I'm feeling a desire to travel now. While a short trip won't remove my wanderlust, it sounds like a happy entry to this year's touring. And the weather forecast for this weekend looks promising. The forecasted temperature in the 60s is more than acceptable, and while there is a chance of rain for tomorrow, I'm hoping that it if it rains it doesn't bring an excessive amount of water.
Ah, that decision was easy to make, wasn't it? A weekend tour leaving from home... What direction? I'll be heading to the north and east, in search of the Atlantic Ocean. I'll hit the coast in Massachusetts, follow it through New Hampshire, and then cross the Piscataqua River into Maine. My home for the night will be in Kittery, and then I'll reverse direction the next day. Yes, I know that I don't have to do this as an out-and-back ride (along the same route) - but I really enjoy riding along the New Hampshire coast. And if you haven't already figured it out, New Hampshire has the distinction of being the state with the shortest ocean coastline, with 18 miles of coastline. (Well, I suppose the states with no coastline could qualify as having a shorter coastline, but I don't really think a coastline of zero miles should count!)
See, this camera is just the right size for me! I think I'll take pictures while you are pedaling.
OK Rover, I guess you want to ride in the TailRider so you have access to the camera and to the snacks. But I thought you were going to take notes for my journal. Oh, you'd rather take pictures?
If you haven't met him before, this is Rover. He insists on touring with me, and while he doesn't have enough weight to him to really help me pedal, he is happy to ride along, to take pictures(?!), and to eat chocolate at any time of the day.
The enchantment of wandering along the coast with a camera... nature-made plus a little bit of man-made thrown in too.
