2011-06-28 Bath to Bucksport, Maine (86 miles)

Today was a very hilly day, but beautiful.  We rode started out by riding over a high bridge within a few blocks of Bath, Maine.  Another wake up climb in the early morning!

We rode on US 1 most of the day, but the route took us off that road to see some of the towns.  One of the towns at the 50 mile mark was Camden which was on a harbor of the Atlantic, and many of us stopped at a harbor-side restaurant for lunch.  Since we had an 88-mile day, we decided to take a break from the hills and have a nice lunch.  Many of the group had lobster rolls, coleslaw, fries and beer!  They even had a hot veggie sandwich for me.

The hills were a constant today, many that were "Iowa hills," where I could barrel down and get up the next hill without too much effort.  Then there were the 18% grade, long hills.  Kathie has a Garmen which calculates the percentage of climb, so we always knew.  There were many that were 14 - 18% which were quite a challenge, but we did it, all 86 miles!

 Bettye and Mary have been noticing a lot of signs warning drivers to be cautious of moose crossing the roads.  Of course, we have all been hoping to see one, but we never did.  Then - as we were stopped for a break Mary calls out, "Moose!  Moose!!" and then runs across the road.  Here was a statue of a moose!!  Of course, we all had to take pictures with the moose!

B

We had to cross an amazing bridge to get across the bay to get to our hotel. We are staying at the Fort Knox Park Inn, which is across a small bay from Fort Knox.  I had no idea that is where it is!  Who knew?

Tomorrow I will not be riding into Bar Harbor.  I will be the Sag driver that day.  After the 86 miles day, however, riding the last 46 miles in the Sag vehicle won't be a problem for me.  I will be meeting the rest of the group at a hotel about a mile from the beach, and I will be riding in with everyone else to do the ceremonial tire dipping.