Day 30 - Woolwich to West Rockport ME - 42 miles (1,508 total)

We woke up after a good nights sleep by everyone (except Rog, the rest of us thought it was a great nights sleep). The girls packed up their spider tent, after we all slept in quite a bit for the first time in a while.

Katie and Laura put all of their gear inside the tent with them, except a plastic shopping bag of Katies. In the morning, we heckled them for their spider tent, and then Katie found a spider on her shopping bag. "Justified" she says, "call us crazy now!?!??!"

We climbed up the gravel Whitney lane back to the main road. The Whitney family goats bid us good bye.

The country roads today were actually in pretty good shape. The traffic was far lighter too. The hills were still punishing. We seem to be getting worn down by them, with more and more people mentioning sore knees and such. Even Taters, our hill climbing champ, is very sick of grinding up hills.

We are all still having an absolute blast, but are thinking about the end. We all mentally want to finish strong with a 100+ mile day, but our bodies just can't handle it. Today seemed to be a pretty slow day for us.

It is hard to see in this picture, but we just caught the tail end of a group of maybe 20 teenagers on a cycling tour especially for teens. They were heavily laden, and looked to be having a blast. The person still near us is helping a rider that fell back with a loose pannier. He appeared to be a guide that took up the rear. Pretty darn neat!

Our "crazy bikes" attract a lot of attention when we park them in a spot in some of these little towns. We get a lot of gawkers, some photos taken, and strange looks. Everyone here in Maine is very friendly, and very inquisitive about our trip. I think Katie is sick of answering questions about our trip. Many people ask her questions, probably because she looks less intimidating and less hobo-ish than the rest of us. She just doesn't get dirty somehow. It has been quite a few days before a true laundry washing; I don't even want to talk to us.

We had brunch in a little cafe that had an entire case of gluten free baked goods. The owner was just opening up, and was not a gluten eater. Mom would love it.

When leaving town we passed this Lobster Roll stand. Apparently it is quite famous. People start lining up before it opens, but we were too early to line up. Oh well.

We spent most of the day hopping on and off of Highway 1. This main highway is much more flat than the backgroads, but the traffic is solid. It is probably safer than the backroads, but the constant noise doesn't make for a peaceful ride. Adventure cycling is great however; as soon as you start to feel sick of the main highway they move you to a backroad. When your knees start screaming for a highway, the route puts you back. It is a nice mix.

The shoulder on highway 1 is excellent on the adventure cycling portions. Apparently they hop you off of it when it gets unsafe. We only had one car incident today. Rog and I were in the back when a car was considering using the shoulder to do some passing. Luckily he saw us and decided not to. When that is the biggest issue of the day, it was a good day.

We took the previous picture because it is fairly unique in Maine. A Roadcut! They cut through a hill instead of just going right over the surface. Excellent! I also got a few more silly sign pictures in Maine today. This one made me just laugh. The highway goes through a town, but they don't lower the speed limit. Instead they tell you to slow down because of the village. Lower the limit people! I guess the Village is just slow.

Maine downhills are fast, too fast.

In Waldoville or Waldoton or whatever, we saw some strange statues. I guess the town was founded by naked people with long necks. I never found Waldo.....I was hoping this was where he was.

Laura says "walking stinks". She has the highest low gear of any of us, and had to walk quite a few segments today. This did not make her happy.

Roger and I ordered Lobster Rolls at lunch. We had no idea what they were. Well, they are a piece of bread or toast with lobster and mayo on them. In exchange, they let you leave hungry and broke. Good deal! Yeah, I had never had lobster before. It was okay, but my tiny lobster roll was not worth the $20 it cost me (with tater tots). Rog got the small lobster roll for $12, except I think it was about 5% smaller. Grrrrr. The sandwich easily fit in that little cardboard sleeve. Sorry it isn't in the photo, it was gone in two bites.

So, this one is all Toms fault. Laura poses for a nice picture with a Leer Box, and gets a flat tire! We didn't know it until starting to ride away. Looking back at the pictures, it is kinda obvious. This is Lauras first flat of the trip. My rear tire, and Lauras, are pretty warn down. The inner strip is showing now, and it is super thin. Good thing we are almost done. We have a spare 20 inch, but not a spare 26 for Lauras rear bike tire. It needs to last 100 more miles!

We soon arrived at our campground, after a few less miles than we had hoped. When stopping in the restroom, I had an awkward moment with Rog when he walked past and the door to my stall only came up to his chin. "Hey Rog", I said, "How is it going?" Awkward. Reminds me of the neighbor on the old Tool Time tv show.

We walked to dinner at a nearby restaurant, which turned out to be one of the best meals of the trip. Amazing food, and very reasonable. Look at the three nerds.....

I bet that Katie couldn't finish her dinner, and had to buy her dessert. She force fed the blueberry crisp to Laura.

Good night, from the Camden Hills RV Resort. Dee left this morning, and should be here in a few days to pick us up. Hopefully we have a day that all of us can visit Acadia National Park and then be home soon.

Bah Haba here we come.

Comments

OK Kat,, you know how you

OK Kat,, you know how you carried that hat for dad.. well be careful with those gf muffins, and if you get hungry you can have 1,, 5 is plenty for me. lol. Love and miss you guys,

I wonder...

Do you guys blog on the day you say, or are you posting the trip from the day before ... making Dee think you are farther away from the end than you really are. Then you can be victorious in beating her to your destination and reaping whatever reward that brings you. When I look at the weather reports, it doesn't seem to match your reports ... just saying.

Hey Al, it doesn't really matter who gets there first,

What matters is if I am actually coming to get them, right? I could really be on my way to Florida or Las Vegas. Hmmmm.

They do post where they are each day, I know, I'm a "creeper". Just ask Katie. I keep track of them; I have my ways. hehehe

Oh, and their reward for finishing....................getting a ride home. They sound to worn out to turn around and peddle home.

See you guys soon, maybe.................Vegas? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Table's turned

Wow, Dee. Didn't think of that idea. Maybe I can meet you there and we can blog about our own trip? Oh, wait ... can't do that. There's apparently a rule that states, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Any other ideas?

Now Al.............

What you may not have thought of is that I am known for breaking the rules. ;-)