Team Members Delivered To Train Station & We're Heading West

 I'll add text soon.

Team Members Delivered To Train Station & We're Heading West

I"ll post more later, almost out of battery and it's 11:55 so time to get some rest.

Bar Harbor - We've Made It ;-)

Day 66, Tuesday August 16^th, East Orland ME to Bar Harbor ME (Approx 31 miles)

We've all made our dreams come true and we've reached the Atlantic. Whow, what an experience!

The support that we've had along the way has been absolutely incredible - Thank You All.


We are getting ready to go out for our celebration dinner so I'll add more text and pictures in the next few days.


Until our next ride, I dare you to make your dreams come true - they are worth the effort!!


I can not thank Edward, Roy, Bonnie, Sue, Ken, Daniel and Karen enough for being a part of my dream and making it that much more meaningful.

                                        Sue and Bonnie Heading Out Of Camp One Last Time

                                         Drizzly Day Matches Underlying Emotions Of The Day

Funniest Picture Of The Trip - Brought Us All A Lot Of Laughs

Tire Dipping - Official Trip Completion Ceremony

WE DID IT!!!!!!

SPECIAL LOBSTER DINNER WITH TEAM

The day may have started off in a drizzle with undesirable road conditions but it ended with clear skies and sunshine followed by a clear night sky with full moon. A true reflection of our trip and final ride today. We all shared in the good, the not so good and also the absolutely fantastic times along the way.  We started out as strangers from all around the world and we melted into a close family who cares deeply for each others best interests. 

May each of us always remember our time together!

Last Full Day Of Riding Together

Day 65, Monday August 15th, Damariscotta ME to East Orland ME (Approx 80 miles)

Forecast was for heavy rains through out the night and today but we were once again blessed with only a light rain shower for about a half hour.

We are all preparing for our last evening together so I will post more in the next few days. Enjoying a glass of red wine and chocolate as we discuss today's ride and our past months together.

Everyone arrived safe and sound.

Tomorrow is a very short day.  We only have approximately 30 miles to go. Whew, where has the time gone!

Thanks for everyone's prayers.

Always Wondered What They Did With Old Railway Tie Nails

As we pedaled into Camden we enjoy occasional glimpse of the harbor which you can see was very still in the morning light.  The town was very quaint and we enjoyed the most delicious blueberry pancakes and conversation at the crowded Marrine's restaurant.

Harbor Near Camden, Maine

As we departed Camden we were treated with this very quiet back road that was as smooth as butter.  It took us through a well established residential area as well as through open farm land.  I felt as though we were in another world.

Oreo Cows - Don't See These To Often
(Their official breed name is Dutch Belted or Belted Galloway)

Approximately nine miles out of Blefast my front cable broke and thus only allowed me to spin into town.  I believe it was an answered prayer for one of our riders (Roy).  Luckily for me, there was a bike store available who was able to fixed the issue so we left the bike and toured around town waiting for Bonnie and Sue to arrive. This too was a very historical and interesting town to stroll around in and the harbor offered additional entertainment for us. This particular duck fished in front of us for at least 20 minutes.

Entertainment As We Wait For My Bike To Be Fixed

Bonnie, Roy & I Enjoy One Last Lunch & Beer Together

Our days and miles are running out but there still appears to be opportunities for more pictures of old buildings. This old house was bending in more areas than it was straight.

One Last Old House

The bridge over the Penobscot River was really interesting and it had a wide shoulder to pedal across on so that allow us to stop and take several pictures of the engineering design up close as well.

Impressive Bridge

No Roy, Sue does not have an elephant c...... on. We all had to laugh as Sue strolled into the coach with her nose pinched indicating to Edward that there were athletic fumes on board ;-)  Poor Edward had to put up with us everyday as we arrived at camp even though we did do our best to stay outside until we'd finished with our showers.

Sue's Rain Garment Is Less Than Desirable & Brought Us Lots Of Laughs

Thanks for all the laughes and stories Sue!!!

An Unusual Sort Of Day In An Un-describable Sort Of Way!

Day 64, Sunday August 14^th, Webb Mills to east of Damariscotta ME (Approx 84 miles)

The road conditions have definitely improved for today which assisted in making this another enjoyable ride however it was somewhat odd as well.  We pedaled over the back roads making numerous left, right, right, left…… all day long. The majority of the morning we each pedaled alone so when I came across this cow standing in the field all by herself she sort of reminded me of us; out on the road alone enjoying the ride, the environment, the time thinking, pondering, and reminiscing. Oh what a morning ;-)

Pic of Cow Enjoying Her Field All Alone

The four of us met up for a late morning snack at the local gas station where it appears that majority of the local men meet to discuss the matters of the world and their family life.  It was somewhat amusing listening to them.  After that we paired up and proceeded down the road in an attempted to meet up with Edward for a lunch stop.

As we were passing this waterway I notice this very old boat and I had to stop to snap a picture as I’m thinking it’s an antique of some sort.  At least I don’t think I’d want to take it much further from shore than its current anchored location.  

Pic of Old Boat

The plan was to meet Edward in Bath however he decided to continue across the bridge to Woolwich.  This was probably the best decision from a parking standpoint but not necessarily from an available eating establishment stand point. Never the less, we strolled along the Front Street area of Bath waiting for Sue and Bonnie to arrive and then we pedaled across the bridge.

Pic of Guy Playing The Banjo In Bath, ME

Pic of Bath, ME

Pic of Harbor With Multiple Assortment Of Boats

Since the four of us didn’t really care to eat at Dairy Queen we said we’d meet up again down the road.  This was yet another wrong decision as there were no eateries along our route for at least another 10 miles, oh darn!  Thus, the four of us pulled off to the side of the road to indulge in our tasty power bars and along came Edward in the coach so we filled up our water bottles, grabbed a bagel, etc and then pressed on to Wiscasset for yet another attempt to actually finding a restaurant.

Pic of Sue Enjoying Her PBJ On Side Of Road

Even though we missed our turn, we all finally met up with Edward for a very late and well overdue lunch stop at the local gas station Subway in Wiscasset at 3 pm.  I think we all were well past the famished stage at that point and that our sandwiches were inhaled and not really tasted.

After that, the last 18 miles just flew by as I sprinted to keep up with Roy who was listening to some very inspiring music that gave him the energy of a cheetah.  Needless to say we didn’t spend a whole lot of time along the busy highway 1.  I was very pleased that we sprinted but that it had a wide shoulder to maintain separation between us and the cars all speeding home from their weekend get-a-ways.

Now that we are in camp, I really just want to take a nap but it’s a bit early so I’m listening to some of that motivational music in hopes that it’ll work for me at this point of the day. Bonnie has discovered that her rear wheel is going flat so she's working on that while the rest of us cleaned up our bikes.

Pic of Bonnie & Roy Fixing Bonnie’s Tire

Tomorrow is another 70+ mile day as we pedal onto East Orland.  This will leave us with a short day on Tuesday to arrive to Bar Harbor and enjoy the area.

I’ll upload pics when I have a more reliable WI-FI connection.

Does Maine Have Any Smooth Roads?????

Day 63, Saturday August 13th, Conway NH to Webb Mills Maine (Approx 51 miles)

Because we did extra miles yesterday we were treated to a short trip today. We only had to go a short distance this morning before we came to the state line and enjoyed a group photo opportunity.  Just over 4000 miles behind us and a few hundred left to go. What an emotional moment, we have reached our last state!

                                            Sue, Bonnie, Roy and I at Maine State Line Sign

I'm not sure what the state spends their money on but I can assure you that it's not their back roads. They were a mess however, that said, the ride was enjoyable from a personal point of view.  We had rolling hills, interesting change of archetecture, stone walls, fields, lakes and small towns to enjoy. So today's ride was/is a lot like life, there are always dips, cracks and bumps but there are also wonderful opportunities and moments to remember. It's up to each of us to decide what we want to view and remember and take with us.

The town of Lovell was in the process of conducting their 6th annual 20 mile bike race where the youngest participant was 7 and the one who traveled the furthest was from Colorado.  To bad we didn't know about it earlier and we would have at least had Roy register and get the prize for particapante who traveled the furthest. It was great to see all the town participants volunteering and/or on the curb waiting and watching.

      Lovell Must Be A Very Quiet Town - This Police Car Has Not Been Driven For Some Time

We again came to signs announcing the possiblity of moose crossings but the only one we came across was a homemade one in a park.

                                           Finally A Moose ;-)

The most amusing item we came across was this yard ornament facing the front door.  We of course had to cycle around to the front to see what was behind the trench coat - a sign "Gotcha".  We fortunately had the opportunity to speak to the lady of the household who informed us her husband has a twisted sense of humor and that it was her birthday.  We chatted for a few moments, wished her a very Happy Birthday and pedaled onto Bridgton.

                                                   Amusing Yard Ornament




Bonnie and Sue decided to take a couple extra turns and got off track a bit but all four of us reconnected for a late snack in Bridgton.

The ride this afternoon continued on rough roads with added traffic congestion in Naples that I was very pleased to leave behind.  I was however blessed by God's Wing's Of Eagles that kept me up and rolling forward when challenged with a pot hole.

We arrived into camp at Kokatosi Campgroung new Webb Mills, Maine mid afternoon.  We've used the hours this afternoon to continue to help the team members get travel arrangements made into Boston as well as accommodations established for them so they can connect with their flights on the 18th.

The next two days will be over 70 miles each day leaving our last day a short day so we can enjoy Bar Harbor.

A Day Of Variety – Into And Almost Out of New Hampshire – Over 4000 miles behind us

Day 62, Friday August 12^th, East Thetford VT to Conway NH (Approx 89 miles)

Today was a long slow day but a day of variety. We had several challenging hills to climb and thus downhills to enjoy as well. We also enjoyed a few old covered bridges along the way.

We arrived into Conway without any booked accommodations so that ended up being our biggest challenge of the day.

Tomorrow will be a short day and we have booked accommodations so hope to get this and a few other blogs edited.

Shortly after departing camp this morning we pedaled across the river which served as the boundary between Vermont and New Hapshire.  Unfortunately since we were on a small back road we did not have any state sign to take a picture of so the river is our symbol for departing Vermont and entering our 2nd to last state, New Hampshire.

River Dividing Vermont From New Hampshire

Our back road adventure took us along the river on a closed road which was an unexpected pleasant surprise. It then took us across this covered bridge, one Edward will not be able to cross.

Kids Climb On Log To Wish Us Safe Travels ;-)

Round Barn Near Orford NH

Welcome Sign At Gas Station In Haverhill NH

They Must Attended A Pink Paint Sale - Haverhill NH

I Feel Like This Somedays

They Must Be Here Somewhere!!

Valley Before Kancamagus Pass 2,855 Ft

Last Pass Crossed

Fall Is Coming - Leaves Are Turning

Interior Of Covered Bridge Near Conway NH

Covered Bridge Near Conway NH

Roy, Sue and Bonnie ended up staying at the Hostel in Conway while Edward and I parked in a nearby parking lot.

Good Night