Day 45 & 46 – Standish, ME – 10/03/19 & 10/04/19

Today’s Miles: 0

Total: 2,002

It was a night of not thinking about getting up and riding.  We have had them before, but we always knew that the next day we would be back in the saddle.  Dave made us a nice breakfast this morning of pancakes and eggs and then the day of getting ready to go home began.

We spent the morning taking apart bicycles and putting them in boxes.  The boxes that Dave picked up were just a little small, so we had to take the bike apart a bit more that anticipated.  It all fit in the end and now just hope they arrive home with do dents or damage.  We all used bikeflights for the return shipping and UPS should be there today (Friday) to pick them up.

I should mention why we stopped riding in Standish and not ride to the coast in Maine.  First of all, we were all tired of riding, second, the weather hasn’t been great and lastly and most importantly, we have already ridden it.  Back in 2011, when we were riding the Atlantic Coast trip, we started in Bar Harbor, Maine, which is right on the Atlantic.  We ended up riding from there right past the school in which Kathy taught.  To connect the two points, we rode that same road again connecting us to the Atlantic.

After packing, we took a ride with Kathy & Dave to Portland, Maine and also Kennebunkport, ME. We saw a few sights and many nice homes.  We ended the day having dinner in Kennebunkport.  I had to have a lobster while in Maine.  I think it was the first real lobster that I’ve ever eaten and was happy that Kathy was there to instruct me on how to proceed.  It was good and I had a bowl of clam chowder and fries to accompany it.

This morning (4^th) we just got up, had some breakfast and Dave took us all to the airport in Portland.  I am flying home and Tim and Nancy are renting a car and going to Boston to visit family before returning.

It has been a wonderful experience.  I can’t say that I haven’t been homesick, aggravated, hot & sweaty, and tired.  But, I am so happy I came.  I have met some wonderful people along the way, seen some beautiful country and enjoyed being with some great friends.  Tim & Nancy are wonderful traveling companions and I feel so grateful and fortunate to know them.  My sweetheart Carey is so supportive of me doing these trips.  I thank her and love her so much.  I have wonderful family and friends that support me along the way.  Thank you.  I am grateful to my Heavenly Father, who has watched over us and kept us safe and created such a wonderful world. I love Him.

Until next time??

The Atlantic!!

Excited or what?

Final of us three with the boxes. Thanks Tim & Nancy for a great trip.

Day 44 – Conway, NH to Standish, ME – 10/02/19

Today’s Miles: 43

Total: 2,002

It ended up being a nice night in the hostel.  As hostels go, this was a pretty nice one.  We had a pretty private room (one extra man) and it had air conditioning and we were able to keep the room pretty nice for sleeping.  It rained again during the night, so again, grateful for the inside shelter.

Well today was the last State and the last riding day.  It was kind of a surreal feeling as we rode the route today.  I think I savored each mile and even each hill.

It was a day of just following Dave.  It reminded me much of the day following Jim in Ontario.  Didn’t really know where we were at hoping I didn’t get separated because I had no idea where we were going.  It was overcast for the day again and the scenery was passed up pretty quickly.  It seems when we have someone who is leading us, we don’t stop.  We just work on keeping up with them. We stopped along this nice river and had a lunch of bagels, cheese & chips.

Lunch break.

We arrived at Dave and Kathy’s home and that was the end of riding.  Even though I have been looking forward to this day the last little bit, I felt somewhat at a loss. It just has been something I have looked forward to for awhile and seems disconcerting to be done.

We unloaded and cleaned up and then went to dinner with Kathy & Dave at the restaurant that Kathy works part time at as a waitress (She is a full time teacher).  It was a nice meal.  I wanted clam chowder again and ordered a hamburger and had too much food to finish.  Kind of foolish to order that much.

It has been nice being with Dave again.  I mentioned this before, but he was our tour leader 8 years ago going down the Atlantic Coast.  He is a great rider and has so much experience, it has been enjoyable to talk with him about some of his other trips he has taken (Dave and Kathy took a year long tour around the perimeter of the US) and have him tell us about some of the tools and software he uses.

This is the only sign we saw.  Maine!! Last State.

Dave and the old group.

Day 43 – North Woodstock, NH to Conway, NH – 10/01/19

Today’s Miles: 38

Total: 1,959

We have been really lucking out with getting motels or cabins on the right days.  Last night, in the middle of the night, it really rained. In fact, when we got up it was very cloudy still but did not rain on us all day.  It was a cool day and we ended up riding in some fog, but didn’t see much of the sun.

We had to go get some breakfast before we took off and after 3 or so miles of downhill, we had to climb the highest mountain of the trip.  It is called the Kancamagus Notch.  It was a 2,500 foot climb. I was really worried about it, but it was engineered very well.  It was probably a 6% grade all the way up.  That makes it so it does take time, but you can move at 5 or 6 mph and it doesn’t kill you to do so.  It took probably 2.5 hours to climb which included a couple 10 minute rest stops.  I was very relieved it turned out so well.

View from on top. 😒

 Our group.  Dave is the one on the left.  We will end the tour at his house in Maine.

There were clouds hanging around the mountain all the way up and most of the way down.  We were a little disappointed about that.  When we got to the top, we were hoping to have a great view of everything around, but all we saw was fog.

Coming down the other side, we were rewarded with some great views of the trees and mountains.  I will include some pictures, but it really doesn’t show the colors like you see them in person.  There are a lot of what they call “peepers” out today.  They are the tourists looking at the fall colors.  Lots of cars and buses of people today.

Some beautiful sights, right?

We are in Conway, NH tonight staying at a hostel.  This is the first hostel experience of the trip. We are lucky enough that we only have one more in the room than the four of us. It is a nice clean place as far as hostels go.  We had a nice Mexican dinner tonight and it is supposed to rain again tonight, so we are lucky to be inside.  In fact, since we will be at Dave’s house tomorrow, our camping days are done.