Welcome to Maine

Before I get to today's ride details and photos, I wanted to briefly mention my plans for this blog. Tomorrow is my last day of riding and of course I'm going to post something tomorrow evening. But I also plan to post some entries for a few days after the ride. Lailla and I have some "awards" in mind (like best hotel and worst hotel), but we need some time to think about the dozens of places we've stayed and what else we might give awards to. And I also plan to post some general impressions, an updated spreadsheet of my ride data, and so on. So keep checking back for a few days to see what other goodies I can come up with. I also haven't posted all the photos I took and I may be able to post a few more that I overlooked in my post-ride-and-a-beer-or-two tiredness.

Okay, back to our regular programming...
After yesterday's struggle, today was a good day. I had to tackle a couple significant climbs. But it wasn't windy, my legs and attitude were feeling better than the day before, and it just seemed to be a better all-around day. I also cut the day a bit short; I rode into Maine and there was a natural stopping spot just across the state line at the Maine Visitor Center before I'm scheduled to hop onto a rec trail for some miles. So I finished today with 67.1 miles, 4527 feet of climbing, and an average speed of 13.0 mph. Maine is the 11th state of this adventure.

My final "Welcome to ________" sign of this adventure!

Well, not quite. I did turn around to get the "Welcome to New Hampshire" sign that didn't exist in the village of Lyme when I crossed into New Hampshire from Vermont yesterday.

I started the day in North Haverhill (New Hampshire) and finished in Fryeburg (Maine). The first mountain pass I had to climb started right outside North Haverhill and it didn't really have a name. But at the top, the Appalachian Trail crossed the road, so I've just been referring to it as the Appalachian Trail pass. But somehow, I missed the actual Appalachian Trail during my ride. I had noticed it the evening before from the car, but missed it today on the bike. Go figure. I had planned to take a picture, but it just wasn't to be. Still, on the way up the pass, there was a wonderful spot for some photos:


 



In the town of Lincoln (near Loon Mountain Ski Resort), Lailla and I stopped at the Moose on the Run Cafe for some sustenance. I had a cappuccino and a chocolate chip muffin. Sorry, I don't post food pictures, especially something as mundane as a cappuccino and a muffin.

Next up was my last big mountain challenge of this adventure: Kancamagus Pass, which tops out at 2855 feet of elevation. While that's significantly lower than the mountains I'm used to in Colorado, it is a significant elevation for New Hampshire. The ride ended up being easier than I expected. The grades were never very steep and the road shoulder was reasonably wide for most of the ride. I actually quite enjoyed the climb.

Looking east from just past the Pass, I could almost see the Atlantic Ocean.



Tomorrow should be a relatively easy day of about 54 miles to the Portland Head Light (lighthouse). We'll probably start a little later than normal in the morning and I should get there mid-afternoon.

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