Hardest Day Of The Trip

I knew it when I laid the route out -- today was going to be the hardest day of all. Count 6 climbs of more than a mile each and 2 climbs which were five miles long (when will it end?). I could almost feel my heart jumping out of my chest on that first climb up to about 1200 feet. It was so steep that Diane decided early that it was best to park her bike in the back of the van and ride to the top.
The map said 75 miles but when our turn-by-turn directions had us going on to Mass. 202, I was 100 feet up the ramp when I noticed the sign which said no bicycles. OOOOPS.
Now what?
Well after scrambling for an alternate route and after speaking to a construction worker outside a pizza place we had lunch, we added 18 miles to the day and finished with 93 miles. Not exactly what I had in mind, but it's behind us.
We also got wet for only the third time on the trip, this time a short cloudburst in one of the numerous forests we rode though on our way to Nashua, NH, our final night on the road before hitting Maine sometime around lunch tomorrow.
Once again it was the people we encountered along the way which made our day. Outside a country store just across the New Hampshire line, a Vietnam Vet approached me after reading the banner on the back of the van. He said he lost a number of friends from cancer and was wondering when it was going to hit him as well. He said he admired what we are doing and wished us the best.