Kancamagus Highway

There are certainly times on a ride like we did yesterday when everything comes into question. Why am I doing this by choice? Why do my knees hurt, they don't usually? Am I drinking/eating enough? Is this almost over?
Monday night after work we headed for the Mt. Coolidge Motel in Lincoln, NH which is amazing if you need a place to crash in Lincoln. It is right off the highway, and may be the cleanest motel I have ever stayed in - seriously! Dennis, who owns the place, couldn't have been nicer and even let us keep the cars at the motel while we rode, as well as use the showers when we returned. (Thanks Dennis!)
Roger and I got to Lincoln around 9:30, checked in, and headed over to the Woodstock Inn and brewery in Woodstock, about 3 miles down Route 3. We met up with Kent and Matt, two of the guys we were riding with the next day. We all had a beer waiting for the rest of our 8 guys to show up. The beer menu at the Inn is great, and the menu has a little something for everyone. We hung out until about 11 and headed back to the motel.
Our plan was to be on the road by 8, which we were. We got up at 7, packed the cars, ate, and made all the last minute decisions about what we "need" to bring based on the forecast, etc. I tend to be on the safe side and wore a long sleeve base layer under my jersey while stuffing a vest and arm warmers in my pocket. The vest came in very handy on the 45 mph descents!
The 78 mile loop we did is a great way to do the ride. Roger and I had done it last fall and we knew what to expect. There was some discussion as to what direction we should do the loop and we decided on the same way we did it last time. We did the Kancamagus climb to start the day. It is the hardest climb of the day (not the steepest) so we got it out of the way early. We also figured if the weather got worse, we would rather not be on the pass in the rain.
We rode up Kancamagus Highway and over the pass. Turned left onto Bear Notch road, left on 302 which is where the steepest climbs are (although they apparently only 9% grade that was enough for me!). We then turned left onto Route 3 which is a long, gradual climb that eventually leads to the bike path. The ride pretty much ends on the bike path which is the best way to end this ride. It is a few miles of a winding path through the woods which I find to be more like a video game than a bike ride. It is very fast, very twisty, and VERY FUN!
The ride itself went great. There are some times when it's challenging and personally tests my will, but overall it is a great ride and a real test. We were lucky enough to have no (serious) mechanicals, no flats, no crashes, and no health issues!
Our final high-speed descent led up right into the parking lot of the Coolidge Motel where we took showers, changed, and then back to the Woodstock Inn for lunch.
Overall it was 77.62 miles, we had about 4:40 of riding time, 5,500 feet of climbing, averaged about 16 mph, and I hit a max speed of about 45 mph on the last descent coming back into Lincoln.
Details of the ride here (from Matt's Garmin)
All in all a great ride with a great group of guys.