Pedalpalooza

PHOTO: Sharon at the start of the Pedalpalooza ride hosted by the Northern Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce. The 22 mile ride began at Lancaster’s Mechanic Street Covered Bridge. Built in 1862, NH covered Bridge #31, spanning the Israel River, still carries cars. The bridge is just a short distance from Lancaster’s busy Main Street.

by Amy Patenaude
Outdoor/Ski Writer

I saw an advertisement for Pedalpalooza–a 22-mile cycling ride from Lancaster to Stark over three covered bridges.
The first annual Pedalpalooza was hosted by the Northern Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce. All types of bicycles including e-bikes were welcome to join in the fun.
My hiking pal Sharon has an injured knee and an e-bike. She can ride her e- bike but she can’t do much else. When I suggested we should head north for the organized ride she agreed it sounded like a fun thing to do.
Sharon was able to get her bicycle into the back of her car with help from her friends. Lifting anything with a bum knee is nearly impossible.
I was going to ride my mountain bike but when my backpacking pal Julie offered to let me borrow her new e-bike I couldn’t have said yes fast enough.
I also borrowed my husband’s rig and his bicycle rack that fits on the trailer hitch. Sharon and I were able to easily load the e-bikes on the rack.

We drove around the busy Lancaster Farmers’ Market, held every Saturday from 9 am to
Noon, before we found the Welcome Center behind the Lancaster Hotel. We registered for the event, paid twenty dollars and we received a goody bag–a reusable shopping bag filled with lots of fun things from the Chamber’s sponsors–including gift cards to the local movie theater and the Lancaster Hotel.
After we unloaded our bicycles at the Welcome Center we drove to drop off our car at the end of the ride in Stark. When we returned to Lancaster we had time to grab lunch. On Main Street we decided to order a sandwich from the Polish Princess Bakery. We ate yummy chicken salad sandwiches on fresh baked bread at the tables outside of the Bakery on the sidewalk.
We walked our bikes down the Main Street to Mechanic Street to join other cyclists at the Covered Bridge over the Israel River. From there we rode up North Road to Grange Road past farms with big views of the White Mountains. At the Grange a Chamber volunteer served us cold bottles of water.
We continued up Lost Nation Road. It is a beautiful quiet road, I don’t think a car drove past us.
We pedaled up a big hill; this road is sandwiched between Hutchins Mountain and Cape Horn.
The e-bikes assist helped make the uphill a lot of fun. The big downhill carried us all the way to Grovetown’s covered bridge.
The white covered bridge spans the Upper Ammonoosuc River. This bridge no longer carries cars, only pedestrians and bicycles now. Another volunteer served us more cold water bottles and sweet fruit cups. It was nice to meet fellow rider Maryanne Borowsk, she is the founder of the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail (xnht.org). We told her we were planning to get out to ride it maybe this October and we appreciated the maps she sent us.
On the other side of the covered bridge we followed the north bank of the river across the railroad tracks to Northside Road. Northside Road is not paved but it is a nice hard packed gravel road. It was very pleasant riding along the river’s rushing waters.
We passed by some people working with their horses and we soaked in the grand views of the ledgy summits of the Percy Peaks. The sun was out and it was one of the nicest days of the summer. Good weather puts everyone in a good mood.

The road returned to pavement at the intersection of Emerson Road and we rode past the intersection of Nash Stream Road. Sharon and I chatted about hiking all the nearby peaks and the fun hiking trails. Percy Peaks, Sugarloaf and the Unknown Pond Trail that we took to Mount Cabot. The Cohos Trail crosses through Stark from the Percys to the Kilkenny Range.
Behind and above Stark’s covered bridge are the vertical granite walls of Devil’s Slide. There is a path to the top of Devil’s Slide beginning about three quarters of a mile downstream of the covered bridge.

At Stark’s covered bridge we could hear music! The song was Ghostbusters! There was a DJ on the bridge. Later there would be a Fireman’s Dance on the bridge. A craft fair and food trucks were already set up and people were gathering.
The ride took about two hours. We posed for photos in front of the bridge. We cheered and we all cheered when another rider crossed the bridge.
We’re going to do it again next year.
Have Fun.