We walked down the street and found a great Mexican restaurant that had the Olympics playing on multiple televisions. Folker is not a sports fan by any stretch of the imagination, but this guy is and I enjoyed watching the U.S. Women’s Rugby pull of a last second score to win Bronze against the Australians.

Thunderstorms are on the forecast for later today and that was the only motivation I needed to get up and get going early. I enjoy sorting out the best route to rejoin the official route when we find ourselves off route a little due to the night’s accommodations. Last night I found a route that would include a nice rail trail from Marlborough to Hudson, which was very pleasant to ride on this morning. The entire route back to the official route was great and offered bike lanes most of the way.

Once on the main route, I had no complaints today as the roads were beautiful and almost void of all traffic. I found myself listening to a Lael Wilcox podcast of her attempt to break the world record for fastest time around the world by a woman. Lael and Rue record a daily podcast after Lael cycles 160+ miles a day. She is very inspirational to say the least.

There was a short three mile section on the Nashua River Rail Trail that left me obviously wanting more time on this beautiful trail. Rail trails are simply amazing and we are so fortunate that these are continuously being expanded and maintained.

Massachusetts has some amazing farms and beautiful large homes. New England continues to impress me and I can sense all the history in these areas. It is amazing to see the old cemeteries with those that have passed hundreds of years ago lying in peace.

Today was a short mileage day because we pushed out a longer day yesterday due to the previously mentioned weather forecast. I am glad we looked ahead to make sure we did not have to ride into the latter part of today.

It sure was nice to cross into New Hampshire this morning. We are staying the night really close to the state line. We will get to see more of New Hampshire tomorrow as we make our way to Maine and that is all exciting.

Today was a short and easy day and I appreciated every minute of the ride. I felt a lot of gratitude today as I listened to some music for the first time in a long while. I am lucky.