Newburyport-NH Coast-Portsmouth-Exeter-Haverhill Bicycle Tour 9/20/2015
Newburyport- NH Coast-Portsmouth-Exeter-Haverhill bike tour with popover and coffee stops and micro-brewery finale (variable distance: 25 or 58 miles ) (Meet at North Station 9:15 am)
Temps in the high 70's! Perfect Indian Summer! Join us for a great bike ride!
We'll meet at North Station (ticket booths) at 9:15 am and take the commuter rail (9:30) to Newburyport (arrival 10:30), a beautiful seaside town in the North Shore. From there we will cross to New Hampshire and cycle c. 22 miles on the stunnung NH coast -- all for us to enjoy now that the tourist season is over. We will end the first part of our trip in wonderful, gay-friendly Portsmouth NH, with lunch at Popovers on the Square (popovers are a special New England treat!) around 1:15 pm.
From Portsmouth we will move inland, stopping after c. 15 miles in quaint Exeter NH (home of Exeter Academy) for a quick coffee break at Ollie and Me's bakery around 3:15 pm. From there we will continue inland through quiet country roads to the MA border, arriving in Haverhill at around 6:00 pm. We will crown our day with beer and appetizers at the Haverhill Brewery (conveniently located across the MBTArail stop), before taking the commuter rail back to Boston at 7:20 p.m. (arrival back in Boston at 8:20 p.m.)
The total distance is 58 miles ( c. 91 km), but you can do a shorter route of 25 miles by coming back with the commuter bus (runs every hour and takes bicycles) from Portsmouth. (See www.ridecj.com)
This is not a race: we'll cycle at a steady but comfortable speed of c. 13 mph (c. 19 kph). (If needed, we will divide the group in a "faster" and "slower" group.)
This ride requires a minimum of four people, so please RSVP by Friday, September 18. The ride will be cancelled if there are not enough registered participants.
Do not forget to bring:
1) water and snacks
2) a bicycle with good working brakes and lights
3) light-color or bright jacket/shirt
4 ) desire to have fun!
Each rider assumes responsibility for his or her own safety.
Please RSVP to balmaced@fas.harvard.edu by Friday September 18, 2015. Please leave your mobile number in case of schedule changes.
Enjoy!
Prof. Margarita M. Balmaceda, Ph.D.