Keene NH rides

[surfbikeswim]

Hi all,

We are going to take a week off in mid August and plan to stay in Keene, driving up from Long Island and riding our tandem with another couple. We found a cycling club list of rides https://bikenewengland.com/2012/03/2...from-keene-nh/.

Any recommendations of what rides to do or not do on this list? Or others with GPS tracks available?

Any recommendations on places to eat in the area?

Thanks for any help.

Cheers
Ian

[buddybikes]

Whatever you do, minimum of 6 covered bridges mandatory per metric.

[Mark McM]

I'm not sure that 1 week stays for out-of-state visitors is currently allowed in New Hampshire. They are currently requiring visitors from out-of-state to self-quarantine for 2 weeks. They are exemptiog visitors from other New England states from the self-quarantine, but New York doesn't appear to be on the list of quarantine exempted states.

https://www.covidguidance.nh.gov/out-state-visitors

[surfbikeswim]

I had used this as guidance which seemed to indicate that you must have quarantined prior to visit. I will double check.

https://www.covidguidance.nh.gov/sit...ce-lodging.pdf

[NHAero]

Here's where to get current info:
https://www.covidguidance.nh.gov/out-state-visitors

Quarantine has been lifted for visitors from the other 5 New England states only. I checked because we're still planning our White Mtn week at the end of August.

[surfbikeswim]

Called the hotel we are staying and they indicated that coming from NY we were required to self-quarantine for 14 days before we arrived, sign a form attesting to that and then we were ok.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by surfbikeswim

Called the hotel we are staying and they indicated that coming from NY we were required to self-quarantine for 14 days before we arrived, sign a form attesting to that and then we were ok.

If you're planning to go mid-August, does that mean you've already started your self-quarantine?

[5oakterrace]

I live in the area. My 2 cents: avoid Keene road between Winchester and Keene. Cars go fast. Shoulders are wide in some places but non existent in others. Dangerous in my opinion. Road between Keene and Richmond is not bad. Not much shoulder but not all that much traffic either. It will take you to:
Fish Hatchery road, which is my favorite ride which I do a few times a week. Winding road through the forest. Very few cars. More horses than cars! Newly paved. But it is all uphill. I have to really work. Absolute thrill going down. I have never been on a tandem.
I am not familiar with north of Keene.

[surfbikeswim]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

If you're planning to go mid-August, does that mean you've already started your self-quarantine?

We have, based on our earlier understanding based on the hotel guidance pdf that I had posted. Going to triple check with hotel by calling another time to make sure.

[surfbikeswim]

Originally Posted by 5oakterrace

I live in the area. My 2 cents: avoid Keene road between Winchester and Keene. Cars go fast. Shoulders are wide in some places but non existent in others. Dangerous in my opinion. Road between Keene and Richmond is not bad. Not much shoulder but not all that much traffic either. It will take you to:
Fish Hatchery road, which is my favorite ride which I do a few times a week. Winding road through the forest. Very few cars. More horses than cars! Newly paved. But it is all uphill. I have to really work. Absolute thrill going down. I have never been on a tandem.
I am not familiar with north of Keene.

Thanks, appreciate the guidance.We have done Ventoux on the tandem but my wife said once was enough! Hills she likes, mountains not so much

[5oakterrace]

The area is hilly but not mountainous. I have done Mt. Washington a few times. Rough. Fish Hatchery and other roads in the area are a walk in the park comparatively. Easy stuff.

[marciero]

I just returned from a four day solo bikepacking tour in the White Mountains. We also did a three-day tandem tour there in June. Both trips were camping for accommodations. The Covid policy is more lenient than in VT. It states 14-day quarantine in your home state with the exception of essential activities and exercise. They have an attestation form that you print and sign. (The VT policy on the other hand is specific to your county and depends on infections per million people. They have a regularly updated interactive map where you can view. For red counties the policy appears to be strict home confinement quarantine as it does not explicitly exempt the exercise and essential.)

I brought signed forms with me to campgrounds but there was no mention of it anywhere. Slightly off topic since it sounds like you are not camping, but campgrounds are pretty full to capacity everywhere. The reservable sites are reserved and the first come, non-reservable sites fill up. In the past, the campgrounds without showers and bathrooms were never anywhere near capacity. No doubt this is due partly to covid but I think also the more general trend of crowding in natural spaces as I've noticed increasing over the years. My best camping experience by far this last trip was a rough camping.

[surfbikeswim]

Thanks for the confirmation with your experience with self quarantine requirement.

[surfbikeswim]

We had a fun time in Keene. A few times on gravel sections that were ok on our tandem though it might have been different if it had rained recently. Enjoyed the rural roads with light traffic. Found ourselves on some busier highways for short sections but generally wide enough shoulders to feel mostly comfortable. Being able to walk around Keene for breakfast/dinner was a big plus.

We did find not a lot of options for lunch on our rides though we stumbled across a general store in Harrisville which was excellent.

Thanks to all who helped with suggestions.

Cheers
Ian