It is a lovely, wooded corner of the state, and Littleton, a small mill-turned-tourist town of about four thousand people, lies fifteen kilometres to the northwest, with Whitefield a little farther off. Fuel and food are in those towns.
The riding is a pleasure. The roads here run through forest and river valleys under steep granite mountains, with long, sweeping bends, a few tight curves, and rises and falls that follow the contours of the land. Surfaces are generally good, though frost heaves can be rough in spring, and speed limits are modest. Traffic is moderate on weekdays and heavy on summer and autumn weekends, when visitors come for hiking and foliage. Peak colour comes in late September to mid October, when the maples turn red and orange against the dark spruce, and the roads are at their most beautiful. Moose are a real hazard at dawn and dusk, so slow down in wooded stretches.
The mountains are the story. The White Mountains are the highest range in the northeastern United States, and Mount Washington, at 1,917 metres, is famous for some of the worst weather on Earth, with winds that have been measured at more than 370 kilometres an hour. Franconia Notch, a steep-sided gap nearby, was long the home of the Old Man of the Mountain, a rock profile that collapsed in 2003 and still appears on the state's emblem. The area was a destination for travellers in the nineteenth century, who came by train to grand hotels, painters of the White Mountain school captured its scenery, and the tradition of tourism has continued ever since.
Littleton is worth a stop. It was the birthplace of Eleanor H. Porter, the author of Pollyanna, and a statue of her stands in the town. The main street has a famous candy shop with a very long counter, a few good cafes and old brick buildings along the Ammonoosuc River. The air in the mountains smells of balsam fir, damp earth and woodsmoke, and the streams run cold and clear over granite.
Fill the tank in Littleton, wear a warm layer, since the mountain weather changes quickly, and watch for wildlife.