We were thankful though that we split yesterday's and today's ride into two rather than one day. Even if we'd had perfect weather yesterday, 60+ miles of this kind of terrain would have pushed our endurance limits.
We are in Whitinsville tonight, a former company town that was built around a large factory. Mr. Whitin owned the company that owned the factory (I'm not sure what it produced), so he naturally named the place after himself.
The company built housing for everyone, with the workers housed right next to the factory in row houses (now apartments), then middle management in modest single family houses a bit further away (up a hill), executives in elegant homes similar to those we have seen in many small towns on this trip and finally the Whitin family in palatial estates at the top of the hill. I guess you always knew your place back in those days.
We walked around town and stopped at a local hardware store (i.e., not part of a chain). I explained our problem with the missing special machine screw for the computer transmitter, and within minutes an employee had pulled a screw out of a drawer that matched what we needed in length and thread size/pattern. It cost me $1.17 and fit perfectly, but only because I purchased two different length just to be safe. I would have gladly paid at least $40 for the darn thing, since we really need a functioning computer to help us navigate the last couple of days to Cape Cod (lots of turns, unmarked roads, roads that change name every few miles, etc. - you need all a help you can get under these circumstances to avoid getting lost). Also, even if there were some place to buy a new computer here, which there isn't, a new one would cost about $40 anyway. The guy was thrilled that he was able to help us complete our journey.
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