Today was a top ten weather day of the year. And if you disagree, then you probably should not be living in New England. The weather simply does not get any better.
My ride today was a combo trip to North Conway. A Bear Notch Road Loop has been on my mind all season. And I was in need of a reputable shop that could mount Dynafit bindings. I dropped off my Fischer Watea 94s and Vertical 12s to be mounted at Ragged Mountain Equipment and proceeded to the public parking area on River Road to begin my ride.
The Three Notch Century just happened to be this weekend. I was unaware of this coincidence until I reached Route 3 and saw both riders and signs along the road. I may do this suffer fest next year. The timing of the event is difficult due to my work schedule in early September. I have only been able to ride three times in the past three weeks due to working sun up to sun down at least six days per week. That made my performance today significantly less than my peak last month and gave me pause to considering doing this century next year.
My ride began with a short downhill on River Road to West Side Road. West Side Road is an awesome stretch of road that is perfect for road biking and satisfied my expectations in every way. Far too soon, West Side Road gave way to a short cut through on Allens Siding Road to Passaconaway Road where the climbing began. This narrow beauty is well treed with a steady up hill pitch that parallels the Kanc and Swift River. Soon I was crossing the Swift via a covered bridge and turned right onto the Kanc.
The easy grade of the Kanc during this lower elevation stretch is similar to but not as steep as Route 49 to Waterville Valley. My legs were starting to feel the vertical due to limited time in the saddle recently. I soon reached Bear Notch Road with more than half of the loop’s vertical already behind me. The recently repaved Bear Notch Road was a great ride. Taking the loop clockwise gave me the easier push up the notch. Views were excellent and I took my time making many stops.
The return to North Conway via Route 302 to West Side Road was anti-climatic after the great views from Bear Notch Road. Route 302 provided good biking despite the car traffic. I was surprised to see that Attitash was removing the Alpine Slide in favor of a mountain coaster. The few short miles on the northern half of West Side Road were simply brutal as my leg muscles were tired.
This was a phenomenal ride and great way to spend the afternoon. This loop does not disappoint and is highly recommended.
The new Samsung TL-350 was used to capture photos of this ride. This camera definitely has a learning curve, as the photos can attest. This camera does not perform well in so called “Smart” Auto mode. When I get the settings just right, the pictures are sensational. However, I am still learning the settings and take substantially more bad shots than good shots at this point. Additionally, this post also allows me to show off the new formatting features of the latest WordPress build.
