When you’re on a bike, it seems there are a lot more opportunities to connect with people, in part because they are curious about what you are doing, and also because you are slowing down enough to notice them.

I stopped briefly at the side of a road in front of an orange road sign that said, “Utility Work Ahead.” Just after I stopped, a utility worker pulled up in his truck and I thought maybe he had an issue with where I was standing. It turned out that the project was finished, and he was there to collapse the sign and put it back in his truck. It was only about 10:30 a.m. I asked him what time they get started in the morning and he said 7 a.m. I told him I thought that was great–to get such an early start on the day–and he said “yeah, except we are on call 24/7 for outages and then we need to work at night, but we’re generally done by 1 a.m.” Here he is, carrying the sign. He wished me luck on my ride.

I took a short break at the Orford Social Library in Orford, N.H., which was built in 1840. There was a guy there scraping the siding for painting. He said his name was Waco (“just like Texas”). He said he was “OCD,” which we both agreed was a good quality for a painter, especially in properly preparing the surface before applying the paint. He reminded me to be safe on my ride.

Here is the front of the library building. Waco was working on the side of the building, near a bench where I sat to eat an apple and a banana.

If you’re passing through New Hampshire and want to bone up on your German or French, or play bridge, you may want to stop at the library in Orford.

Having made use of her bench for my snack, I too want to express my appreciation to Sarah Putnam, Orford librarian from 1992 to 2012.

The Innkeeper at the Lyme Inn, in Lyme, NH, is Jack Elliott. He shared that many years ago he worked at a ski lodge in Utah and took a solo bike trip from there to Washington, D.C. and from D.C. to Boston. He said one thing that really impressed him on that trip was that of the people he encountered, 99.99% of them were good people who sought to help him along the way. He thinks it is unfortunate that the small minority of folks in society who are not so nice are the ones that seem to capture all the headlines.

The Lyme Inn is a beautiful old hotel that has retained the charm of an old inn but tastefully updated it with modern amenities. It is surrounded by gardens and lots of blooming flowers, and outdoor seating areas where I spent some time relaxing this afternoon. Here’s Jack in the lobby:

I was surprised to learn today that New Hampshire is the only state in the country where seatbelt usage is not required for adults by state law. Perhaps that makes sense for a state whose motto is Live Free or Die.

Speaking of rules, I saw this sign prohibiting use of vehicles on a grassy mall in Orford. Who would do that? I wondered, and why is it necessary to have a sign that prohibits this?

But as these tire tracks from the parking area attest, I guess some rules are just meant to be broken.

I made an unfortunate discovery this afternoon. The bridge in Lyme I was planning to take across the Connecticut River to East Thetford, VT, was closed for repairs this Spring until 2024, meaning that I will have to backtrack to Orford to take the bridge across the river there, to Fairlee, VT, and ride from there back down to East Thetford. The bad news is that this will add 15 miles to tomorrow’s ride. The good news is that the bridge out of Orford, which I passed this morning, is quite beautiful. See a few photos below.