Rounding Newfound Lake

There's nothing like the beautiful mountains and lakes of New Hampshire to make for a great afternoon - and a great bike ride. Last weekend, we had the pleasure of visiting friends up near Newfound Lake. This brought with it two new biking experiences for me: 1) dealing with the hills of New Hampshire roads and 2) biking with another person who is seriously into riding.

First, the hills. Anyone who lives in NH or has done this route before, probably wouldn't find the hills so bad. And since our route involved biking around a lake, how bad could they be? But there were hills and they were much bigger than I'd ever dealt with. Clearly, as I discovered on the first major hill, I need more work in this area, both physically and mentally, since there is a whole psychology around dealing with big hills. But I did make it up them without getting off my bike or falling over from lack of speed. The payoff? Big downhills! I clocked my fastest speed to date on my bike on this ride - 34 mph.

Second, riding with my friend, Drew, who I would describe as a "trained professional" in this area, was a real learning experience for me. During our ride, he gave me tips on getting up the hills, being in the right gear for my body, maintaining spinning consistency and riding in general. He also pointed out potholes and scenic views and taught me a few things about signaling. With him ahead of me, the ride seemed easier, and at times it felt almost like he was pulling me rather than I was pushing myself. All of my rides to date (with the exception of the Minuteman Bikeway with my son) have been solo jaunts - all 360+ miles to date. So this was a real treat, a great learning experience and something I hope to do again.

The only disappointment of my ride was the lack of good pictures I took. I wish I had stopped for more shots of this spectacular lake, but the act of stopping and digging out the camera often takes away from the whole experience. I was able to capture a view of the town of Hebron, though. This is a very scenic, idyllic town with a big green, white church and surrounding buildings and a general store. An antique car actually drove through when we stopped for this picture, but my camera battery died on me.

Below is the route we took around the lake. Although it is only 17 miles long, it is a beautiful, scenic ride. I look forward to doing it again sometime.