Sunday morning, we have little choice about where to eat breakfast (we’re leaving early) and end up at the Coffee Pot Restaurant. Strictly plain coffee here – none of that fufu espresso baloney. Both the coffee and the food were good. Jim had French toast with blueberries on top and real maple syrup; Len had Mike’s special: potatoes and egg with gravy; you probably ought to avoid this one.

The waitress/jack of all trades/and probable owner of the café defined the Energizer bunny. It was like she had 4 arms and she was a bundle of boundless energy. Len asks her about her energy, and she says, “This is the way I am. I’ve been here 15 years. When I get home, I stop.” No wondering “why?”.

The Coffee Pot Restaurant is filled with “regulars” uniformed in baseball hat’s proclaiming Viet Nam Vet, Korean War Vet, and some various tractor and excavating companies.  In the corner an older couple sits.  The husband wearing the Korean War Vet hat twiddles his coffee in distraction while his spouse tries to explain that she has a “g address” on the Internet.  One of the regulars stops by our table and gives us candy.  Len asks for a marijuana gummy, you know, to treat the pain. The gentleman politely says no. This is the town that states it has the Longest Candy Counter in the world.  So as the Utah Supreme Court said in “Samms vs. Eccles, “There is no harm in asking?’

We look forward to a day with less milage and less climbing. However, the map shows a place on the way up to Crawford Notch that supposedly features a 10+% grade for about 0.2 miles. We’re dreading that. The day begins with the usual assortment of short steep climbs but soon levels off to rolling hills for many miles. We pass a golf course where Jim spies the largest mushrooms he’s ever seen, at least 10” in diameter, if not larger (was that Little Miss Muffet sitting on her tuffet?)! As we pass the golf course, we see another hill at the end of a half mile downhill. We’re both thinking, why can’t the road just be flat? The hill is followed by a very long downhill on recently paved road with a large shoulder. Again, we encounter rolling hills which allow easy riding. Route 302 through Crawford Notch is obviously a higher end tourist area.

Prior to approaching the climb, we were dreading, we stopped at an upscale gas station convenience store to fortify ourselves with chocolate milk and replenish our water. Up the road a mile or two we see the Mt. Washington Hotel. What a site! A beautiful old hotel nestled in a valley surrounded by the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. The day was cloudy and cool, and Mt. Washington was covered in clouds. The scenic view of the hotel was at the foot of the climb we were dreading so we linger for a while taking pictures and reading the sign boards telling the history of the hotel. We are reminded that this was the site of the Bretton Woods post World War II monetary conference that set up the IMF and set the US Dollar as the world reserve currency.

Soon, we know we must face the climb and set out. We keep wondering where the steep hill is and even the top where we were supposed to be climbing a 10% grade is benign. Could it be that we’re finally becoming accustomed to the steep? We reach the top to find a small lake and lots of hikers. The other side of the mountain promises a steep downhill and we aren’t disappointed. The sign says 13% and both of us easily reach 40 mph. Len’s front end starts to wobble, and Jim decides he’ll make it to the bottom of the hill regardless of speed and slows down to 38. We look forward to a 27-mile downhill run with only a few bumps along the way. A light rain gets us a little wet but not enough to put on rain gear initially. A few miles out of North Conway, the rain increases, and we stop to put on rain jackets. The rain doesn’t last long, and we arrive in North Conway on wet streets but not much precipitation. After showering, no, the rain wasn’t enough, we head across the street to the Sea Dog Brewing Company and enjoy a couple of beers and some calamari. Dinner is Thai a few doors down from the hotel.

Though less tired than on prior days, we follow our acquired habit of lights out between 8:30 and 9:00. We sleep in until 7, knowing that Jim’s wife Bev won’t arrive until 9 am to pick up our paniers. We look forward to riding the last day from North Conway to Lovell Lake without paniers.