Day 66: Mansfield, CT

Day 66: Mansfield, CT

August 17, 2016

Miles: 47

Average Speed: 9.8 mph

Maximum Speed: 34 mph

South Hadley, MA to Mansfield, CT


I woke up a little after 7am this morning.  Di was still sleeping, so it must have been the aromas of coffee and blueberry corn muffins that woke me.  Beth had already been to the gym and was now starting to prepare our breakfast.  Chris joined Beth in the kitchen and soon they had prepared a superb breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and blueberry muffins.  And coffee, of course.  Beth and Chris are both fine conversationalists, so Di and I enjoyed our breakfast talk much as we did our dinner talk last night.

Di and our gracious hosts

Di and I were finally packed and at 10am we said our goodbyes to Beth and Chris.  I must admit that I felt sentimental as we rode away.  Beth and Chris warmly welcomed us into their home and made us feel so happy and relaxed to be there.  We were spoiled with great food and any comfort we needed.  We loved it!  I couldn't help but remember the "youngster" I used to tease about not yet having grown tall enough to touch the top of Nanny's refrigerator.  You've grown tall now, Beth.  And it made Di and I happy to see how you and Chris have bought a house and turned it into your home.  Thanks for letting us be a part of your home for a little while.

It was cool today despite the sun.  And today we had a tailwind!  This must be the third or fourth day out of 66 days that we have had a tailwind.  Not that I'm complaining about all those days with headwinds, but a little neutrality in the wind department would be appreciated.  We rode for 25 miles, stopping only once for a brief moment to snap the following picture:

Sometimes interesting nature ends up as a boring picture (I blame nature)

We stopped after 25 miles because I remembered Beth had packed some blueberry muffins for us and the thought of them made me think that stopping to eat them would be more fun than riding.  Besides, it had been hilly, so even with the tail wind we were working hard.

Di getting ready to pounce on a muffin

Close-up of Beth's famous gluten free blueberry corn muffin

We rode for 10 more miles before we stopped at a Subway to grab some lunch.  While there, I had an uncomfortable experience with a gentleman who insisted on talking to me about the bible.  I told him I wasn't religious, but that only made him want to talk more.  The  reason he started talking about the bible is because immediately after he introduced himself, he told a bawdy joke.  He then told me he was very religious, but he didn't consider a bawdy joke to be at odds with his religion because of all the bible references to things not usually talked about in polite company.  He then proceeded to quote a number of these bible references.  He then asked me why these parts of the bible are never discussed in church.  I don't know - because we're all prudes?

I was happy to leave the Subway and the man who knew all the bawdy parts of the bible by heart.  We had only 12 miles to go to get to the Fitch House Bed and Breakfast and because those miles we mostly downhill, they were very pleasant.

The Fitch House

The Fitch House is a grand old house with high ceilings, exquisite moldings and windows everywhere.  It would be nice to have shown you pictures of the house, but alas, there are none to show.  I usually take between 60 and 80 pictures a day, but today I snapped only 11 pictures.  I think it was just one of those days where we just wanted to ride and not stop.

One hour after checking into the Fitch House

After resting for a bit, we walked a mile to the Maharaja Indian Restaurant.  There were absolutely no cars in the parking lot, which usually doesn't bode well, but our meals turned out to be good (though not superb, like the food at Beth and Chris').

The lonely diner eats Indian food

No, really, it tasted much better than it looks

Our waiter took this shot (he had nothing else to do)

Thus endeth our penultimate day.  (I read the part of a writing book of Beth's last night that says never use long words when short ones will do and don't use archaic or rarely used words.  I shan't nevermore.)  Tomorrow we ride 56 miles to home!  I am very anxious to see Andy and Jen and the rest of my family, so even though it signifies the end of our trip, I'm hoping the ride goes by quickly.