Tuesday, August 25, 2015

The Lost Nation Loop 9:30 am

Thursday, August 27th, 2015

Thursday looks like a great for a ride day, sunshine, and a tailwind, for sure. So I would love to do one of my favorite rides for spectacular scenery! 

Farms, fields, horses, cows, mountain views, covered bridges, rivers, streams, villages, little white churches, closed papermills, etc. This ride has everything the region can offer! I wonder if any of the roads on this ride have been recently paved?? 


The full loop is 50 miles, but a really nice 30 mile option is possible out of Lancaster.  Bring a lunch to eat at the covered bridge in Groveton.


The Lost Nation Loop starts in Whitefield at the town green with the gazebo in the center. (This was our lunch stop last week.) We ride east towards Jefferson on route 116, then North Road through Grange and Lost Nation to Groveton. We then ride about 2.5 miles down Route 3 (wide shoulder) to Northumberland and cross the CT River into Guildhall, VT. We ride the VT side of the CT River on Route 102 then cross the Mt. Orne Covered Bridge just south of Lancaster. We ride almost to Dalton along the NH side of the CT River and then take route 142 back to Whitefield.

Start time: 9:30 amready to ride

Carpooling: If you want to carpool, meet at the Attitash parking lot at 8:20 am

Directions to Whitefield: Route 302 through Crawford Notch to the light at Twin Mountain four corners. Take a right onto Route 3 and follow Route 3 to the center of Whitefield, a tiny town green with a gazebo.

Parking in Whitefield: There is parking around the town green in the center of Whitefield (intersection of Routes 3, 116, 142). 

Ride Distance: 50 miles, majority of the climbing happens early in the ride, when we are still fresh.

Shorter Option:  30 miles  A shorter, easier loop can be done out of Lancaster, parking at the Shaw's Supermarket. If you want to do this version, meet at the Whitefield Gazebo with everyone else at 9:30, get the plan, then drive up to Lancaster. You will meet the 50 mile riders at the dairy farm at the corner of Lost Nation Road. You will have cut out the longest and steepest climbs. 

History ?: Lost Nation seems to always be associated with The Republic of Indian Stream, (perhaps because of the book written about this interesting region of NH?). The place called Lost Nation, where we will ride (don't blink or you may miss it...), is not geographically contained within the former Republic of Indian Stream (closer to Pittsburg)


Map:  http://www.mapmyride.com/us/deerfield-nh/lost-nation-loop-route-1539328

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