Day 64 - Lowell to Portsmouth - Two Far 2022 Reunion Bound (the long way around)

June 12, 2022

Day 64 - Lowell to Portsmouth

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We had a long 56 miles ride today, but less than 2000 feet of ascent, so it wasn't hard. It was another day of almost perfect weather.

Just north of Lowell, we went past this lake. I don't know the name of it.

We also rode past a large cemetery which had paved paths running through it. We saw walkers and cyclists on the path The first town we reached after Lowell was Andover. We didn't go by the Andover Academy, but we thought about our friend Ken of Gass Powered Tandem, an Andover alumnus.

We stopped for a rest break in North Andover. While we were there, we met Irene and Steve. We had a lot of fun getting acquainted and sharing stories. Steve Cooper is an anchor and reporter on Channel 7 in Boston. He thought we might make a good story. We'll let you know if that happens.

We enjoyed some good cycling roads - without almost continuous rolling hills!

Excellent cycling between Andover and Newburyport. We saw numerous cyclists on the road today.

Most of the homes we saw along the way we the classic New England style.

But this very contemporary one stood out. See anything interesting in the window?

The last town we visited in Massachusetts was Newburyport. There were a lot of boats!

I couldn't get above the railing, but I'm posting this picture anyway.

Newburyport is a very busy tourist town - especially on this June Sunday. The vehicular and pedestrian traffic were both heavy. We were lucky to find a good place for lunch where we could sit outside and keep an eye on the bike.

We stopped at a maritime museum housed in the old Custom House.

This was hanging just inside the entrance.

I think this is a cool thing. They called it a "knot board". (You need to zoom in to see all the details)

It's hard to read, but this is the information about it. It doesn't say how long it took to make.

A couple of old furniture pieces from the custom house - I really like old desks. I like to think about what work has been done at them over centuries.

Lyle Gun. The gun was used to shoot a messenger line to a ship.

A Faking Box consisted of a box and a board with pegs attached to it. Faking referred to the method of carefully winding the line in a specific pattern so that it would not tangle then the canon was fired. The line was wrapped around the pegs and then turned upside down and placed in the box, after which the board with the pegs was removed. The line was then attached to a 19 lb. projectile in the canon.

Women served as reserves in the Coast Guard during WWII. They were called "SPARs". We puzzled over what SPARs could be an acronym for. We know about WACs and WAVEs, but what could SPARs be? It turns out that SPARs is not an acronym at all, but a shortened version of the Coast Guard motto "Semper Paratus" - always ready.

There was a sculpture gallery of important people in Newburyport history. This one recognized the roles of women in the town in the 18th century.

Leaving Newburyport, we crossed the Merrimack River and headed east to the Atlantic. These coastal marshes are the first we'd seen since Cape May.

A peaceful interlude before we get to the busy shore towns.

We rode through Salisbury, MA before we got to New Hampshire. Salisbury had very run down houses and apartments along the beach and terrible broken up roads. It was surprising to see an oceanfront town in such poor condition. That all changed immediately when we entered New Hampshire.

We entered Seabrook, NH and had good smooth pavement and a bike lane. It was a very welcome change.

From Seabrook to our destination in Portsmouth, we were in sight of the ocean most of the way.

Hampton Beach was crowded and busy with beachgoers.

North of Hampton Beach, large estate homes appeared. I think this area is Rye Beach.

until we rounded the bend and saw this one!

It was a long day, but a good ride. We have a short ride tomorrow to Ogunquit, ME so we can enjoy a lazy morning before we start out.

Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 2,188 miles (3,521 km)

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