Chuck's Big Ride

Ride Day Thirty-Four: Belfast to Bar Harbor, ME — 55.1 Miles

It's hard to believe this is the last day of the regular cross-country ride, part 2.  I left Mandan, ND, on September 1st and at about 2pm this afternoon rode into Bar Harbor, ME.  It's been a great experience, and a great ending — more on that later.

One of the first sights on today's ride was the bridge over the Penobscot River.  I wish I'd had the time to go up in the observation tower, but an afternoon deadline in Bar Harbor required I press on.  Here's the bridge, which I rode across just a few minutes after taking the photo.

Several parts of the ride within Maine have been along U.S. Bike Route 1.  It's the route that runs from Maine to Florida.  Here's the sign designating the route.

I had to take a photo of the sign for one of the towns along the way today.  This is in honor of Todd Ellsworth, one of the people who rode with me from Fairhaven to Newhalem on day one of the 2015 journey. 

My apologies to David Fayram, Sarah Benn, Cathy Campbell, and John Bolton, who also rode with me to Newhalem on that first day.  I just couldn't find towns along the way with your names.

It was cooler today than yesterday but still a great day for a ride. I rode again without music, musing about the ride mostly, and thinking about what comes next, besides a drive home with some sightseeing and visiting friends and relatives on the way.  There were no dogs and no falls.

The traditional ending of a ride to Bar Harbor is at the city pier.  So, here I am at the city pier.

You'll notice that I'm wearing my Boundary Bay jersey.  My friend Jerry DeBacker suggested that I needed a yellow jersey for the finish and this was the yellow jersey I had along.  Plus, it's one of my favorite jerseys.  I really could have used a Scotch Ale from BB at that point.

Having ridden across the entire country I figured that I wouldn't need this anymore.

Just kidding.  I'll actually need it to ride around Acadia National Park over the next few days.

Not having Boundary Bay's Scotch Ale close at hand, we stopped into Bar Harbor Beer Works for a bowl of clam chowder and a pint of Bar Harbor Real Ale.

We went to Sherman's Bookstore to meet with owner Jeff Curtis and Binc board member Annie Philbrick.  When we walked into the bookstore we were greeted with this display.

Jeff and Maria have an apartment above the bookstore where we went for a prosecco toast and some great conversation.

I should mention that the fifth individual in the photo is Sherman, a very sweet Samoyed.

Today is Dee's birthday and Jeff presented her with the official state treat, the Whoopie Pie.

After our celebration we went to dinner with Jeff, his wife Maria, their daughter Gabriella, and Annie Philbrick at a great restaurant called Galyn's.

Now for a few days of relaxation, some less intense rides, and sight seeing in an extremely beautiful part of the country.

Ride Day Thirty-Four by the numbers:

55.1 — miles ridden

1886.4 — feet in elevation gain

5519 — calories burned

6 — fall-free days in a row

0 — dogs

 

Ride Day Thirty-Three: Brunswick to Belfast, ME — 74 Miles

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)

Ride Day Thirty-Two: Portland to Freeport — 17.9 Miles

It was a very short ride day today that began very oddly.  With heavy rain and possible thunder showers predicted for late morning I planned to get in a couple of hours riding before the skies opened.  As I rode across the parking lot of the campground I heard a thump, thump, thump and felt a bump with each revolution of the wheel — the front, I believed.  So, using my masterful mechanical skills and intuition I began to diagnose the problem.  Was the front wheel out of true? I lifted the bike and spun the wheel.  No, the wheel appeared balanced.  I looked for a bump or weak spot in the tire.  No luck.  Bike on the bike.  Thump, thump, thump.

I learned there was a bike shop just blocks away that was open this morning (Sunday). I was greeted by the owner, Claude Breton, who asked me to bring my bike around the building to the lower level shop, an area full of Specialized bikes.  Breton put the bike on a stand and began examining the front wheel and tire.  He couldn't find any problem either.  Then he looked at the back tire, which had now gone flat.  Turns out I'd picked up a tiny piece of wire and punctured the tube.  All the while Breton and I had been chatting about his shop, rides in the area, and my ride across the country.  Tire fixed, I tried  to pay, but Mr. Breton insisted on donating the tube and labor to the foundations for which I was raising money.  Cheers to you Mr. Breton.

Turns out the flat tire could have been a good thing.  By the time it was fixed it was pouring.  I would have only been a short way down the road and soaked.  So, I loaded the bike in the Rialta and we began driving north, stopping in Portland for this Maine specialty.,,

...at this establishment.

After lunch the skies had cleared so I decided to get a few miles in with a ride to Freeport.  Shortly after beginning the ride I crossed the this U.S. 1 bridge, heading toward Falmouth.

A short distance out of Freeport I spotted this.

What on earth is this Plains Indian statue doing in Maine?

No visit to Freeport would be complete without a visit to L..L. Bean, which with its multiple stores has become the anchor to a retail mecca, with nearly every major brand you can imagine.  We arrived during a special Columbus Day weekend celebration with lots of craft vendors under tents and live music.

No matter what you think of L.L. Bean, it's hard to disagree with the founder's sentiments about business.

While standing in line to pay for some items we found, I spotted this sweatshirt on the guy ahead of us.

Anyone recognize that boat?  It's the Snow Goose — home port Bellingham, WA.  This guy's sister is the naturalist on the crew, apparently Bethany Hasper, according to the Snow Goose website.  The boat was owned for a number of years by our friends Bert and Sue Webber, and Dee and I have been on it a couple of times. Small world, huh?

Shopping done, we headed to Brunswick and the motel we had booked for tonight — no campgrounds available on the three-day weekend.  With nearly 100% chance of rain throughout the day tomorrow, we're sitting tight.  I'll reconfigure Tuesday and Wednesday to get us to Bar Harbor in time for a celebration at Sherman's Books Wednesday afternoon.

Ride Day Thirty-Two by the numbers:

17.9 —miles ridden

771 — feet in elevation gained

1788.59 — calories burned

4 — fall-free days

0 — dogs

Ride Day Twenty-Nine: Manchester Center to Woodstock, VT — 59.8 Miles

It was a perfect morning to ride and the first 17 miles were pretty flat so it was a good warmup for what was to come later.  The geology along route 7 going north was spectacular.  Here are a couple of examples.

A short distance north of Manchester Center in the town of Dorset I spotted this sign.  You know my fascination with odd signs and street names.

One could certainly make up some good stories about how that road got named, but the real story, which I don't know, is likely better. Once I made the turn off of route 7 the climbing began, so there aren't a lot of photos.  Getting started on uphill slopes, particularly on some of the (not so) packed gravel roads I was on is a challenge, so I chose not to stop often.  As I got higher the colors began to be more dramatic, but the trees still have a ways to go to be in full autumn splendor.

And, shortly after turning onto Gorge Road I discovered the Kingsley grist mill and covered bridge.  Here are photos of the sign marking the historic spot and the covered bridge nearby.

According to Blood, Sweat, & Tears "What goes up must come down, Spinnin' wheel got to go 'round."  And so it was today.  After more climbing than I'd done in a single day on this trip, I went over the top and had a long downhill ride.  Too bad that much of it was on a gravel road with washboard and potholes at times.  It was a little hard to let the "spinnin' wheel" max that downhill.  Once on route 4 it was an easy flat and downhill pedal to our destination, but we really needed to stop in Bridgewater for a Maple Creamee — a soft serve maple ice cream cone.  When in Vermont...

Just across the street from the deli where we got the cones was this unique building. 

It was a store that sells handmade drums and other crafts.  I just love the trees on the front of the building.

I thought I would be taking route 4 all the way into Woodstock, but just about four miles out of town the voice in my head (GPS talking through my Coros helmet) told me to turn right and take another road, which took me through this covered bridge.

Once again I was on a somewhat hard-packed gravel road, but with very little traffic.  The road was supposed to lead me into Woodstock.  Then I saw the Road Work Ahead, then a large piece of equipment blocking the road (I rode around it).  I finally arrived at a spot where there were at least 15 men with hardhats standing.  I said hi and asked if I could take the bridge to my left.  One of the guys said I could, then said, pointing, "they're packing dynamite."  I laughed, thinking he was making a joke.  Then he said.  "No, they're packing dynamite." I told them I was "outa there," and quickly rode across the bridge, rejoining route 4 about a mile and a half outside of Woodstock.

Woodstock is a lovely little town and was crawling with "leaf peepers" this afternoon.  There was traffic everywhere and the sidewalks were packed with people going in and out of shops, including The Yankee Bookshop, the oldest independent bookstore in Vermont.  We stopped to say hi to the new owners Kari and Kristian, who took over the shop in February.  They're the eighth owners since the store was opened in 1935.  We talked a bit about the business and about Binc.  Here's a photo in front of the shop.

After saying goodbye we headed off to our campsite at the local KOA and were greeted by this Halloween decor.

It's one of the nicest campgrounds we've stayed in.  Not only is the shower house spic and span, but they've even hung art on the walls. 

Ride Day Twenty-Nine by the numbers:

59.8 — miles ridden

3218.5 — feet in elevation gained (the most of any day on this trip, but it pales by comparison to day two, over the Cascades, on the 2015 ride)

5985.13 — calories burned

2 — fall-free days

0 — dogs