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No, that's not a misspelling. The "Hampster" trail, so-called because it extends (nearly) the length of the US state of New HAMPshire, is a route laid out with the intention of staying on unpaved (dirt) roads as much as possible, and allowing the rider to travel on these little-known and often abandoned back roads all the way up New Hampshire to the Canadian border.
I took a couple of days off last week, thus extending my weekend, and set out to ride as much of this trail as I could manage. Since I started out riding alone, I expected to reach what is usually considered the halfway point, then turn back and retrace my path the next day. As it happened, I encountered some other riders at the hotel where I spent the night, who were doing the same thing (they were likely only a few miles ahead of me on the route), and the next day we all continued further north. The pictures below are from the first day, since I was alone and therefore had more time to stop and take pictures. Images from the second day will be forthcoming once I pull image frames from the many video files I took of the ride. I'll be stitching those videos together and uploading them to my Youtube channel soon as well. Meanwhile, enjoy the back roads of southern New Hampshire:
Here's a layout of the gear I carried on my trip (can you find Ganesha?):
The rest of the gear: That big saddlebag is freaking heavy when loaded:
Loaded up and ready to ride:
A couple of views of an old railroad trestle, note the massive granite blocks supporting the span:
A view of Pat's Peak ski area in Henniker, NH
A quiet lake, with a lone fisherman:
An elderly church, gently sleeping in the forest. The village it supported has long since disappeared:
The lupines are blooming:
A remote farm with an astonishing view:
The view:
The only real Redstone rocket on civil display anywhere in the US (all others on display outside of museums are replicas). Erected in Warren NH as a monument to Alan Shepard who was born in New Hampshire, and who rode one as the first American and only the second man to reach space:
An old covered all-wood bridge, built in the late 1800s, and restored in the 1980s. Still in service. One car at a time please!
A last beautiful vista at the end of the first day's ride: The White Mountains.
Some scenes from the second day will be coming soon.
I took a couple of days off last week, thus extending my weekend, and set out to ride as much of this trail as I could manage. Since I started out riding alone, I expected to reach what is usually considered the halfway point, then turn back and retrace my path the next day. As it happened, I encountered some other riders at the hotel where I spent the night, who were doing the same thing (they were likely only a few miles ahead of me on the route), and the next day we all continued further north. The pictures below are from the first day, since I was alone and therefore had more time to stop and take pictures. Images from the second day will be forthcoming once I pull image frames from the many video files I took of the ride. I'll be stitching those videos together and uploading them to my Youtube channel soon as well. Meanwhile, enjoy the back roads of southern New Hampshire:
Here's a layout of the gear I carried on my trip (can you find Ganesha?):
The rest of the gear: That big saddlebag is freaking heavy when loaded:
Loaded up and ready to ride:
A couple of views of an old railroad trestle, note the massive granite blocks supporting the span:
A view of Pat's Peak ski area in Henniker, NH
A quiet lake, with a lone fisherman:
An elderly church, gently sleeping in the forest. The village it supported has long since disappeared:
The lupines are blooming:
A remote farm with an astonishing view:
The view:
The only real Redstone rocket on civil display anywhere in the US (all others on display outside of museums are replicas). Erected in Warren NH as a monument to Alan Shepard who was born in New Hampshire, and who rode one as the first American and only the second man to reach space:
An old covered all-wood bridge, built in the late 1800s, and restored in the 1980s. Still in service. One car at a time please!
A last beautiful vista at the end of the first day's ride: The White Mountains.
Some scenes from the second day will be coming soon.
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