I had a great stay with Peter and Emily, my Warmshowers hosts. Peter and I talked about running back in the day. Peter was quite the elite marathoner, once placing 30th at Boston. Emily, a sailor, is a school nurse at a small school on Islesboro, an island in Penobscot Bay. We talked about books and documentaries. I recommended Wasn’t that a Time, a documentary about the folk group The Weavers, and Say Amen Somebody, a documentary about gospel music that I slept through after running 20 miles one day in grad school.

Peter cooked dinner, a fish stew that was delish (I passed on the mussels, though) and breakfast, oatmeal with strawberries from the garden.

Peter advised me on my route. At about 8 a.m. I headed out in the fog for Camden. Instead of using the roundabout Adventure Cycling route, I simply rode US 1 along the shore. It was about 15 miles shorter and less hilly. It did have much more traffic than the ACA route so I put on my red blinkie and stayed alert.

In Camden I stopped at a bagel shop named The Bagel Shop for second breakfast, an everything bagel and an iced tea. By this time the fog had lifted.

Leaving Camden I took another shortcut, Maine Highway 90 goes straight toward Newcastle instead of meandering along the coast. It shaved 25 more miles off the Adventure Cycling route.

It was hilly from time to time but the road had brand new asphalt. Until, that is, I rejoined US 1 which was being repaved. I had to slow down to avoid annoying gashes in the paved shoulder. Had I hit one at speed I could have blown a tire or bent a rim.

Near Waldoboro I stopped for lunch: corn chowder and a tuna salad sammie washed down with more iced tea.

By this point the temperature had risen from the 50s to a relatively toasty 69 degrees.

I turned off US 1 to take US 1B to Damariscotta. The pavement was a mess along the shoulder so I had to be extra careful of vehicles passing.

I stopped at Round Top Ice Cream for a cherry vanilla cone., a bit of a self-treat for an honest day’s ride. A mile later I went into a Walgreens to get my eye drops refilled. My prescription had run out of refills so my doctor had to be contacted. I left empty handed but felt sure I’d get the drops soon.

I ended the day at Tom and Kate’s Warmshowers home again. We spent another fun evening talking about bike tours.

I made reservations at hostels in Conway and North Woodstock in New Hampshire for Friday and Saturday nights, respectively. Tomorrow I have a Warmshowers host booked but am considering switching to a hotel in Lewiston, Maine because the Warmshowers house appears to be off route in the mountains.

My son is coming home the morning of my last scheduled tour date. I will either take a day out of the schedule or simply take the train home from Pittsburgh which will shorten the tour by five days. (I’ve already done Pittsburgh to DC several times so it’s not a big deal.)

Still no moose but I did see a snapping turtle laying her eggs off the side of the road.

Heart

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