Portsmouth
By Gary Gilbert
Monday, August 22, 2005
August 20, 2005
After I loaded up the car, and Lisa drove me to the airport.
I flew to Boston after work on Friday night and caught the shuttle bus to Portsmouth, arriving around 1:30AM on Saturday. The room I had been assigned to hadn't been cleaned and I was reassigned to a fairly smelly and stinky smoking room. Fortunately I was able change rooms the following morning. The excitement of the upcoming trip kept me away much of the night but I finally arose around 8:30AM. I started to get my bike ready and then had a minor problem. In tightening my seat post, I realized that the collar that holds the seat post in place had broken and somewhere between the shuttle bus and my room, I had misplaced my helmet. Witth the room, seat post, and helmet I've had 3 minor issues to resolve and now I'm done with such for the rest of my trip. On my way breakfast and to check in to the tour, I ran into Frank Chavez (Las Cruces, NM) whom I had ridden with on past rides. Fortunately there was a bike shop about 4 blocks from the hotel and I was able to make the necessary purchases. After getting settled, Frank and I hooked up with another rider, Tony (Bahamas). The three of us set off for a short ride and lunch.
Frank and Tony get ready to leave America's Best Inn. We headed downtown Portsmouth. We stopped to ask some local residents for sightseeting recommendations when we stopped near the Oracle House. This house is one of the oldest in New England built around 1702. It is named for one of the early newspapers in Portsmouth. I originally stopped by this house since it sits on Marcy Street. I wish I could say the street was named for my daughter Marcy. I guess I could say that but it wouldn't be true.
We stopped to look at Fort Constitution, the site of one of the first battles of the American Revolution. It was originally called Fort William and Mary. On Decmber 13, 1774, Paul Revere rode from Boston with a message that another fort had been dismantled and the British were coming to take over the fort. The Sons of Liberty raided the fort and removed gun powder.
http://www.nhstateparks.org/ParksPages/FortConstitution/FortConstitution.html
Fort Constitution is next to a Coast Guard Station and Lighthouse. Today was a pretty foggy and misty day. I bet this site is beautiful on a sunny day. As the horn blew at the lighthouse, Frank posed the question:
If a Tin Whistle is made out of Tin
What is a Fog Horn made out of?
We had lunch at BG's Boat House. We all had New England seafood; I tried the lobster roll. Frank the clam strips and Tony the scallops. We're getting in the grove of the upcoming ride although we had a short ride today. Tony had picked up the cue sheet at the bike shop earlier in the morning. At lunch Frank told the story of two socks that were lost in the dryer. When they finally escaped onto the clothes line they fell in love and got married. Even today those two socks tell everyone that they met On-Line. Frank and I have similar humor. I'm sure, much to the appreciation of our families, we're not home telling such stories.
We stopped later at the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion. This is the former home of the first Royal Governer of New Hamshire - Benning Wentworth.
http://www.nhstateparks.com/coolidge.html
We had to be back at the hotel for a pre-ride meeting but had time to make one more stop at a Civil War Monument. It isthe Sailors and Soldiers Monument - purchased for Portsmouth NH right out of a catalog. The Monumental Bronze Company was in the business of selling memorials to towns across the United States after the civil war.
http://seacoastnh.com/monuments/goodwin.html
At the pre-ride meeting, Mike Munk outlined this tour. This is the first ride of this route by America By Bicycle. We expect some hiccups along the way, but nothing we can't handle with a bit of humor. There are 53 riders, at least 7 of whom I've ridden with on some other rides.
After the meeting, 7 of us, Jack, Chris, Travis, Mack, Frank, Tim, and myself, headed off to a great dinner at Thai Paradise.
I organized my belongings and got the bicycle ready for the first day of riding. 89 miles to Worchester, MA; afternoon thunderstorms are expected.
