The High Five Ride

Because sometimes you just have to high five someone who lives 80+ miles away without using gasoline at all.

This idea originally spawned in the Fall of last year when Strava did some weird challenge promoted by BMC that required a 79 mile ride in the span of 24hrs to commemorate some 79th anniversary of something.  I actually looked into trying to do this one because it was the first one ever that was actually attainable by mere mortals with full time jobs.

In my search for a route that would work I randomly realized that it was almost exactly 40mi to the Maine border from one of the parks I sometimes start road rides from to avoid the dirt of Chemungville.  Ride to Maine and back...seemed like an interesting way to complete the challenge.  Then I figured what the hell Pog is riding a bunch now I wonder how far it is to the border for him.  Well look at that! 40 miles!

The High Five ride was born.  Ride to the border. High five. Turn around and we both get a Strava challenge completed. BOOM.  Long story short we weren't able to pull it off that weekend, I ended up doing another ride to fulfill the challenge with Clint but the idea seemed to good to just let fade away.

So we let it simmer and waited for an opportunity.  Millstone 12 didn't materialize this year and this Saturday opened up.  Pog was available, weather looked good.  LETS DO THIS.

I mapped out a little double out and back with a little loop in the middle.  I don't ride out that way much and I had never been on Rt. 171 through Tuftonboro but it was great.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pics because its one of those roads you can tick right along and once you are in that groove I find it hard to stop.  Cut through Ossipee and over to Freedom, NH and the border.  That section of Rt. 25 is a wide open flat drag.  It was nice heading out but I had a sweet head wind coming back.

We documented things with some pics at the border.  And probably looked very sketchy doing so.  My favorite was holding the high five while the camera's timer went down.  We then refueled at the Freedom Market and went our separate ways.  Me into the wind and Pog onto his first century.  My route was pretty flat all told but the wind made much of the way back feel like a 2% climb.

Got back to the house took a quick shower and then immediately went golfing.  Then immediately went to Common Man Ashland and ate food and drank beer on the patio.  Unfortunately today my wrist doesn't work so I'm reduced to blogging and not much else in hopes of getting back on terms quickly.  I'm hoping that eventually my body will realize that ain't nothing gonna break-a my stride, nobody's gonna slow me down, OH NO. I've got to keep on moving.