44 miles from Lincoln to Center Conway. Since the forecast for today was for early showers and then clearing skies, we slept in only to wake to decent weather. Breakfast at "Lincoln's Best Breakfast" yielded only marginal pancakes and French toast, but the pleasant weather saved the morning!

Climbed our final mountain pass, Kancamagus (2,000 vertical feet), in the first 12 miles and then had clear sailing the rest of the day. Talked to a guy from Buffalo at the top who has been taking a week's vacation here at the same time for the last 25 years and he had all sorts of interesting observations. The sign said we had climbed at a 9% grade for 2 miles, but it sure seemed easier than that. On our descent, we ran into Tom, who we'd met in NY and was doing 130 mile days and had another fun chat with him. He hadn't made it to Portland on schedule because he had to have his front wheel rebuilt, but he was still going gonzo on the mileage.

The leaves are really starting to turn, especially at the higher elevations, and it reminds us that Twin Cities Marathon is right around the corner. Traffic backed up into Conway, a town of 8,000, for 2-3 miles thanks to the Beach to Beach (running) Relay. Tomorrow should be our last day if things go according to plan! Priuses - 4.