Started at about 7am. Said goodbye to Ad, but will be seeing her in Portland three days from now.  

The ride was fine, but getting through the maze of Swampscott, Marblehead, and Salem was a navigation challenge. There is a mix of trails and streets intertwined and Garmin had difficulty keeping up. I had to check the RidewithGPS map frequently and lost probably 45 minutes circling around.  

The Northern Strand rail trail in Everett, Malden, Saugus and Lynn was a good familiar and flat warmup. The construction in Lynn continues, making things a bit hairy, especially at commuter time. I took my picture of the Atlantic Ocean at Nahant Beach, but did not feel like dragging the bike across the sand to put a tire in the water, which is a tradition for some cross-country riders, but for me, seeing it is enough.

Peabody and Danvers have a nice rail trail but I had to get off of it to get to my hotel, 4 miles away! It was not an easy last four miles. Route 62 traffic is heavy, you have to go under Interstate 95 and Route 1, waiting for the high speed traffic to turn off before crossing exit ramps. Then cut through the parking lot of North Shore Community College and finally up a pretty big hill, the biggest of the day, to get to the Doubletree. It was a mistake picking this place, but there are not many options around here.  

I made it here by 1pm, so 6 hours door to door with about an 30-45 minutes of time lost from being lost. Not bad. I’m definitely taking it slow. The front desk would not let me check in but after waiting an hour and a half, I pressed a bit harder, and they found me a room that was ready by 2:30.

Working out the charging and media transfer process and of course I want to stay faithful to the blog. 

Hampton Beach and Hank and Michelle (and dogs) tomorrow!!!

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Chuck CarneyOne additional comment. I have to give a big thank you to George “Bud” Hall who rode a very similar route several years ago. His blog entries were very valuable during my preparation. His videos and descriptions guided my itinerary and made me feel more comfortable in taking on this challenge. I look forward to trying to match what Bud and Doc accomplished.
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2 weeks ago

Susan CarpenterI named my bicycle after my father so I feel he is always looking out for me. All best for your journey, I look forward to following along.
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2 weeks ago

Nancy GrahamTo Susan CarpenterWhat a fantastic idea Susan. I love that.
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1 week ago

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