Year 1 - Ride Day 7 - Portsmouth NH to Danvers (Peabody) MA - Sept 7
















Dan felt pretty good this morning considering the spill he took yesterday  I helped bandage him up for today’s ride. He said he was okay to continue, so off we went!

Our plan today was to stop at the USS Albacore Submarine Museum. It was only a couple miles from our hotel. The Albacore was a diesel boat used by the Navy to test different equipment designs. It did not even have any torpedo tubes! Several designs tried by this sub were the X fin design, the twin propeller, and the tear drop hull. It is a self-paced tour with audio stations throughout. 

It was great to have Dan along as he served in the Navy aboard diesel boats such as this. He would fill in all the blanks as we went through the tour. It is hard to believe that 50 men staffed this boat. There were 5 officers and the rest enlisted seamen. 

Much of the day was spent riding immediately next to the beach. The roads were wide with adequate shoulders such that we could ride in relative comfort along with the vehicles. 

We got a little tangled up with our directions in Newburyport! Apparently, I routed us on a unimproved trail. When we finally found it, the trail was nothing more than a walking path through the grass. It took us an extra mile or so and a trip around a very busy traffic circle on US Route 1 to get back on track!

Most of the rest of the day was spent on rural roads that made for relaxed riding. Then we turned onto the Topsfield Linear Common. This rail trail started out as a single track. As we progressed it turned into some double track. At one section, there were about 20 people on mountain bikes passing us from the other direction. The leader was older (middle age) and the rest of the pack appeared to be high school age. We suspected a school biking group. Man those guys were flying!

The trail kept getting better and better as we neared Danvers with crossing lights at roadway crossings. I am amazed at how drivers in MA stop at these crossings! 

Comments

  1. Melanie P.September 9, 2021 at 4:35 PM

    Looks like you are having a beautiful ride and good weather overall! Stay safe and enjoy the ride!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pauline ZimmermanSeptember 11, 2021 at 8:37 AM

    I am glad Dan could go onward in the journey

    ReplyDelete
  3. Diane FalkowskiSeptember 12, 2021 at 5:19 AM

    Glad Dan is feeling better. I bet that sub brought back memories. Riding along the beach and ocean much of the day sounds wonderful!

    ReplyDelete

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