Mission Accomplished!

This will be a short one.............

Did I mention way back at the beginning of this trip that we have a bunch of keeners?  Well, breakfast was supposed to be at 8:00 so I was out a few minutes before that.  I thought maybe I had missed it!  And what a shame that would have been.  Emily baked cinnamon buns for us, had oatmeal and a fabulous egg dish that everyone was raving about.  I think some people had already left by the time I arrived for breakfast.  Oh well - lots to go around, and I certainly wasn't going to go hungry.  We had had some rain overnight but it was clearing by breakfast, and the sun subsequently came out and the temperature went up pretty quickly.  I had a great sleep last night.  Our room looked out over the river and we had a view of the lit-up bridge and fort.  We had the windows wide open all night so slept with lots of fresh air for a change.

We had a loose plan to meet at the pier in Bar Harbor at 1 or 2.  We would do a wheel-dipping with whoever was there by those times.  I was second-last out of the parking lot, but passed a number of riders as I went along.  Everyone seemed to be on a mission to try for the 1PM meeting.  I didn't stop to take many pictures.  A few of them are below.

We had our usual mix of roads.  Some on US1 & State Roads, some on quieter back roads.  Some good surfaces, some in need of some work.  But - traffic was light, so it was a pleasant ride.  We definitely started getting into a rockier environment than usual as we got closer to the coast again.  Nancy found a great location in Ellsworth for our one and only SAG stop.  We crossed the Mt. Desert Narrows at about mile 35, which took us onto Mt. Desert Island which is the location of both Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor.  We entered Acadia National Park at about mile 42, rode a bit on the Park Loop Road and then back out and into Bar Harbor a few miles later.  I somehow ended up being the first at the pier around noon - certainly not because I was the fastest.  Others took detours, took the opportunity to accompany riders of different speeds, etc.  Lots of hoopla and cheering as everyone came in.  The weather was beautiful today and it encouraged us to hang around until all the riders were in.  Some friends and family were on hand to greet and cheer us.  We even had a local TV station filming and interviewing our guide and some of the riders.  A wonderful accomplishment by all.

Some women are rising really early to climb Cadillac Mountain in the dark tomorrow morning in order to be up there for sunrise.  I know I won't want to climb out of bed that early so I rode up this afternoon.  Apparently Cadillac Mountain is the highest point in the US within 25 miles of the east coast, and one of the first to see the light of each new day.  It will undoubtedly be beautiful, but I'll still be sleeping.  The climb was about 1500 feet, but the grade was reasonable so it was a pretty easy ride.  About an hour to get up and 10 minutes to get down!

Out for a final banquet for dinner.  Great trip, and over 30 amazing women sharing the adventure!

Here are the eight who EFI'd (Every Fabulous Inch).  Five of us are from the 2013 Southern Tier; four of us EFI'd there as well.

Stats for the day:
95 km from Bucksport ME to Bar Harbor ME (& up Cadillac Mountain, return).  4320 feet of climbing.  Lovely temperatures and sunshine - 14C to 27C.

One More Day! (June 10)

Yesterday's yucky weather cleared out overnight and it was back to shorts & riding in the sunshine!  What a nice day....  Dolly & I went rogue right from the get-go.  We explored Beauchamp Point in Camden.  A nice side-trip with views of West Penobscot Bay.

Also saw a farm with "oreo" cows, more formally known as Belted Galloway cows.  We had a nice chat with a woman in the farm yard.  They had 130 head and raise them for beef.  Because of their unique thick coat, they have less fat on them than conventional beef cattle.

Some nice homes along the riverfront.

And a nice little park

Camden looked like a great little town, but we didn't stop since it was just a few miles into our ride.  We turned onto SR 52 and followed that for about 15 miles, through Lincolnville Center into Belfast.  Along the way we passed by Megunticook Lake, which had lots of islands in view, many with solitary cottages on them.

We officially only had 40 miles to cover today, so the day was definitely a pokey one for me.  Lots of time to take pictures of quirky sights along the way.

Belfast is another cute little town, and I think for the first time this trip, I stopped for lunch in a restaurant before the end of the ride.  Initially 8 of us stopped together, but when folks heard that it was a vegetarian restaurant we lost half of them.  Their loss  -  our meals were delicious, while they were less than happy with their alternative.

Then on to a pedestrian footbridge over Belfast Bay and the Passagassawakeag River.

I was interested to note that the sign at the bridge was English/French bilingual; must be getting closer to Canada!

I made another quick detour into Moose Point State Park.  It is in a pretty location on the Penobscot River.

I managed to avoid both the bakery in Searsport and the ice cream shop just past Stockton Springs.  We were pulled over at a scenic outlook just short of the Penobscot Narrows Observatory Bridge talking to some motorcyclists when another motorcyclist pulled up and beeped his horn.  It was Kathy D's husband!  He had motorbiked from Calgary, through the southern states and then up the east coast.  What timing!

I didn't stop at the observatory and the Fort Knox Historic Site for some reason.  Once at the hotel I got phone call from Dolly saying that it was a worthwhile stop.  So - back on  the bike and a visit to the observatory; definitely worth the extra miles.  Rode an elevator 420 feet to the top of the bridge and had a spectacular 360 degree view in the sunshine.  Pics of the bridge and from the observatory below.

Finally to our destination - the Fort Knox Park Inn in Bucksport.  It has a nice location, right on the water and looking back toward the bridge and Fort Knox.  I have a water-view with windows that open.  So nice!  Interesting street signs here too.....

Stats for the day:
81 km from Rockport ME to Bucksport ME.  3500 feet of climbing.  I did do a few extra side-trips, but we were told about 1200 feet of climbing so I'm guessing that number needs to be revised a little bit.  In any case, they were mostly easy climbs and fun downhills.  In fact, it seemed that we were going down far more than we were going up.  Of course, though, it was about the same both ways.  Temps were perfect - 18C to 26C.  Nice sunshine and no hint of fog.

The Countdown is On (June 9)

We had our last rest day yesterday, and now three more days of riding.  We had a great day yesterday.  May T., one of our Southern Tier 13 friends, had ridden with us the previous day and then yesterday she invited four of us who she had cycled with in the Rockies last summer to visit with her at her cottage.  And - she drove us from Freeport, rode the ferry with us to Little Diamond Island, fed us a scrumptious lunch, gave us the full walking tour of the island (no cars on the island), and returned us to Freeport.  It was a terrific day!  Some of the other riders also caught up with friends and most people made at least one trip to LL Bean.  I think we collectively did a good job of stimulating the economy of Freeport.  Our hotel was quite luxurious (for a change) and set a new standard for hotel buffet breakfasts.  Sad to leave, but time to make the final push for Bar Harbor.

I really liked today's cycling route.  We had a nice variety of riding conditions - about 15 miles on US1 (a busier 4 lane road, but with wide and fairly well-paved shoulders), about 3 miles on a bike path through the city of Brunswick, a long river crossing (Kennebec River), about 10 miles on state roads and the rest on fairly quiet & hilly roads with only a bit of crappy pavement.  We went through a number of really cute towns and I stopped to stroll through shops in a few of them.  In between towns there were lots of art galleries, pottery studios, furniture shops, etc.  I could have spent several days poking around everything.

Lots of hills in the first 9 miles to start the day.  We then went through Brunswick, a city of about 20,000.  We rode by Bowdoin College, a private liberal arts college of almost 2,000 students which was recently ranked among the top ten liberal arts colleges in the US.

Then through Bath before heading over the Kennebec River.

Through the town of Woolwich on the other side and then onto quiet rolling hills until the town of Wiscasset, which was really lovely.  I went into a coffee shop/bakery there and gained 3 pounds just looking at all the goodies!  Alas, I walked out empty handed and passed by the still-closed seafood places on my way over the Sheepscott River.

The next little town was Damariscotta; another very cute little village with lots of great little shops.  I wandered through a few and bought a few things that would fit in the bag on my bike.  Being on a bike with limited carrying capacity is likely good for the wallet.  After a welcome SAG stop, we turned onto my favourite road of the day - Back Meadow Road.  Pretty, quiet, hilly.........

Several more river crossings today.  I can't remember which one is pictured below....

Then the obligatory quilt shop (for Rose Lynn).  It was a lovely little shop.  Lots of great fabric and some very colourful finished quilts on display.  I wonder how many years it will be before I finish the little project I'm currently working on.  Wish I was a bit more talented....

Through Waldoboro and on to Rockport/Camden - our destination today.  Just before the hotel was a huge Maine Sport shop - clothing, biking, hiking, paddling, skiing, etc.  Lovely shop, but I really don't need a thing.  Tonight we're staying at the Country Inn.  A really nice little spot.  Nice hotels three nights in a row; the tour must be wrapping up!

A great day!  One of my favourites, even though the weather was less than perfect.  Overcast all day, and fog/drizzle for pretty much the second half.  Not enough to put a jacket on, but I did put my booties on to keep my feet dry from the road spray.

Stats for the day:
110 km from Freeport ME to Rockport ME.  4855 feet of climbing.  Temps cool - between 13C and 18C, with fog/drizzle for about half the day.  A bit of wind at times; more tailwind than headwind.