June 11, 2008
Day 30: York Harbor, ME to New Gloucester, ME
79.31 miles, 6:04:36 Ride Time, 13.05 Average Speed, 34.49 Maximum Speed
I got an even later start than yesterday morning; if this trend continues, I'll be riding into the dusk soon. (Some touring cyclists I've met, mostly single younger guys, actually do this. They also camp out in cemeteries and behind abandoned gas stations; I don't think I'll be emulating them anytime soon.)
I took my time riding along the Atlantic from York Harbor to York Beach, stopping briefly at Cape Neddick Lighthouse. After today, I wouldn't be seeing either ocean for a while, so I was no hurry. York Beach is a more touristy, busier area than York Harbor; there appears to be no shortage of places to buy overpriced fudge.
I was almost out of York Beach when I remembered that I hadn't yet tried a lobster roll. My friend Debbie Carpenter had insisted that I try this supposed delicacy while I was in Maine, so I stopped at a little grocery/restaurant for a slightly early lunch. I was a little taken aback by the price of the small thing, $8.99, but it was good. I'm more of a quantity-not-quality guy on this trip, however, so I supplemented the lobster roll with a cheeseburger and fries.
I rode along the craggy, rocky coast through Ogunquit, an artsy little town, then got on the busier, less scenic US 1 most of the way to Kennebunk (pop. 10,467). I had decided yesterday that I had lost too much weight the last month, so I stopped at a Dairy Queen on the outside of town for a milkshake. A healthy diet is important.
After Kennebunk, I got on State Route 35 for a long, frankly boring stretch that lasted most of the afternoon. I rode through several small towns (Goodwins Mills, Hollis Center, Bonny Eagle, Standish), but didn't see anything memorable. (I did see, and make a by-now obligatory stop at, a Dunkin' Donuts. I love these places).
Traffic got heavier as I rode around Sebago Lake, and then approached North Windham (pop. 4,568) during rush hour. I stopped at a gas station in Gray to buy a few snacks when a man walked up and asked where I was going. After I told him I had ridden from Florida, he asked if his wife Jeanne, who edited a local online newspaper, could interview me. I walked next door to their house, where I answered her questions; I can only assume it was a slow day for news in Gray for my story to be interesting ;)
I rode about five miles off the route to New Gloucester, where I had been invited to spend the night by Joe and Karen, touring cyclists who rode the Atlantic Coast Route (North to South) last year. After dinner we had an enjoyable time swapping touring stories. Joe mentioned that he manages a redemption center; I'd been seeing signs for them all day, and had no idea what they were. It turns out that in Maine, you can return plastic soda bottles to these redemption centers and receive a few cents for each bottle. I like learning about stuff like this. (I suppose if we had a similar program in Kentucky, the ditches and streams by the side of the road wouldn't be clogged with empty plastic bottles).
While discussing with Joe and Karen my route for tomorrow, I realized that, in my usual incompetent fashion, I hadn't yet formulated a plan for getting onto the Northern Tier, and that if I continued on the Atlantic Coast route any longer, I would eventually be doing some major backtracking. Joe and Karen helped me figure out a route for tomorrow that would get me onto the Northern Tier at Fryeburg, and with that nagging issue finally resolved, I had a good night's sleep.
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Today's ride: 79 miles (127 km)
Total: 2,157 miles (3,471 km)
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