What a contrast today was with yesterday. It was sunny most of the day and temperatures climbed into the mid-70's. Yesterday it poured most of the day and I don't think the mercury got much higher than 60. Yesterday turned out to be a good day for exploring, in spite of the rain. We went to Boothbay and explored the quaint seaside village, including spending some time in Sherman's Books. We'll be in Sherman's store in Bar Harbor tomorrow afternoon for a celebration of the ride and specifically for the fundraising for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. Annie Philbrick, owner of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Connecticut, and Savoy Bookshop and Café in Westerly, Rhode Island, and a Binc board member, will be there to greet us, along with folks from Sherman's.
On the way back to Brunswick we stopped at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, which came highly recommended by our friend Marilyn McClellan, who has visited Maine often and loves the lobster rolls here. So do we. They were just as tasty as those in Portland, but were piled even higher with lobster meat. They also serve theirs with drawn butter. The place apparently always has a line, even on this rainy day. They do provide umbrellas. This photo was taken just after the rain subsided. The line wraps around the far end of the building behind me. There were likely thirty or more folks waiting when this photo was taken.
Today was a good day for a ride.
One of the first bridges I crossed — there were several today — presented an unusual sight. At first glance it looked like there was snow and ice in the water. I'm not sure what was causing the extreme foam.
A short distance farther into the ride I encountered the first wildlife of the day...Maine style.
The second wild creature was a little more aggressive. As you can see, he tried to take my bike. I told him his cousin Smokey would be upset by his behavior. He got embarrassed and gave me the bike.
I had a couple of interesting semi-encounters with creatures of the domesticated variety. First, a rather large dog lunged, barking, out of its dog house toward the road. Fortunately, it was chained and came to a sudden halt. The second was a dog of similar size, unchained and charging toward the road. Employing my usual tactic I shouted NO! NO! It worked as well as the chain.
This is a view of the old bridge at Bath. Take a look at the far right end of it. This is the ultimate "bridge to nowhere." Fortunately, I was on the newer bridge.
I didn't play any music today. It wasn't actually a conscious decision, I just never put any on. I was enjoying the scenery and riding on road shoulders it was easier to hear cars coming.
The scenery continues to be beautiful here even without the full-blown color that was expected before an unusually warm September encouraged the trees to continue to produce chlorophyll. Here's a view across Seven Tree Pond.
It's difficult to tell from this photo, but this is a rather large body of water that I expected would be called a lake. Ponds, according to my quick research, are shallow enough to support rooted plants, often across their entire surface. This body of water didn't appear that shallow, nor did two others nearby, also called ponds. Hmmm.
There were a lot of hills today. In fact the elevation I gained (4114..3 feet) is nearly 16 feet more than the Mount Baker Hill Climb (4098.6). Now riding from Glacier to Artist's Point is a pretty steady uphill climb in just under 25 miles. Today's ride was up and down over 74 miles. What I did miss in today's ride was that long descent.
We've got a great spot at the campground tonight with a terrific view of Belfast Bay, and looking out into Penobscot Bay.
In some ways it's a little hard to believe that tomorrow is my last day of this ride. I've enjoyed (nearly) every minute of it. Most of the time there's no where else I'd rather be. The weather with the exception of one day of really getting rained on and three days taken off to avoid riding in the rain, has been unbelievable. Folks here in Maine don't believe it any more than we do.
I appreciate all of you who have followed and many who have commented on the blog. I'll post again tomorrow night and will also do a summary after the ride ends and I'm relaxing in Bar Harbor. Thanks, too, to all of you who have donated to one or more of the foundations. If you haven't donated and would still like to, here are the links:
Donate to: Whatcom Community Foundation
Donate to: Whatcom Community College Foundation
Donate to: The Book Industry Charitable Foundation
A penny per mile ($20) to any (or all) of these foundations would be extremely helpful. And, of course, you need not feel constrained by that suggestion.
I realized today that, because of some rain-day driving, when I arrive at our destination in Bar Harbor I'll be about 17 miles short of 2000 miles. So, on Thursday I'll ride the Acadia Park Loop, a 27-mile loop around the park that is rated as the best bike ride in Acadia.
Ride Day Thirty-Three by the numbers:
74 — miles ridden
4114.2 — feet in elevation gained
7403.07 — calories burned
5 — fall-free days in a row
2 — dogs (see above — no harm, no foul)
1 — giant lobster (see above)
1 — bear (see above)
Make sure you reward yourself with the popovers at Jordan Pond House in Acadia. Hooray for getting back on that bike and making it to the East coast. Both of you! And, I'm glad you stood in line at Red's Eats. Two of my favorite Maine eateries.
Posted by: Marilyn McClellan | 10/10/2017 at 09:01 PM