May 8, 2021
Day 3: Rockport to Newcastle
The Coast Ain't Flat, an Up and Down Day
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Climbing today; 3,331 ft Cumulative; 8,301 ft
Found Money Today; $0.06
"First breakfast" this morning consisted of instant oatmeal in our room at the Starlight Lodge - I heated water using my jetboil stove and had oatmeal and a teabag-coffee. It started off as a cold morning about 35 degrees farenheit, but by the time we actually started rolling it was probably closer to 40 degrees. We are slowly recovering from the "jet lag" of the travel out here and the shock of piloting the heavily-loaded bikes. Our departure time has improved by 1 hour each day; 11:00 on Thursday, 10:00 on Friday, and today we set off at 09:00. The temperature really wasn't bad, and the labor to climb the hills warmed us up, but there were occasional winds that reminded us that things can still be a bit blustery here. We rode rural roads in forested lands, and skirted close to the coast at times.
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We wasted some time trying to get "second breakfast" in Rockland; we locked our bikes outside a downtown cafe, masked up and went inside only to find a fully-packed diner and no place for us, so we rolled on. Eventually we ate outside on a picnic table at a small country store, so all was good.
The traffic was mostly light to moderate on the rural roads, and the riding was easy with the exception of Highway 220 south of Waldoboro. This 5-mile section had no shoulder and was curvy and hilly such that it made it difficult for motor vehicles to overtake us safely.
Despite the overcast sky, the scenery and the quaint New England towns made for pleasant viewing as we rolled along.
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When I snapped the photo below, I was unaware of the historical context of this church. The details can be found here --> Finnish Congregational Church.
Fortunately for the Finns, our country was a bit more welcoming then than it is today - but I diverge from the story of our little bicycle adventure, so let's get back on point. Honestly, today was tough. We climbed more than 3,000 feet for the first time with our heavily loaded bikes, and some of the grades were on the order of 10%. We know we have tough riding ahead of us as we roll into the mountains in New Hampshire and Vermont, but we naively thought that the areas near the coast wouldn't be so hard. We both finished today quite tired, likely a combination of not only the steep grades but also the newness of adjusting to the load of cycle-touring every day.
On other tours I have played a "found money" game where I collect coins I find along the way and see if I can find enough to buy a coffee at the end of the tour. I had forgotten about that until I noticed a couple of coins in the middle of an intersection. I circled back and told Doc "Don't Follow me" but he didn't hear what I said and followed me anyway as I stopped mid-intersection to pick up the battered nickel and penny. So now I have $0.06 of "found money" as a start!
Doc's cold must still be hampering him a bit as he only had 2 beers at dinner tonight. My dog bite wounds aren't completely healed, and I still have to keep a bandage or bandaid on the worst area, but it isn't bothering my riding much. So the 2 of us aren't exactly totally "able-bodied" but we are getting there.
We are inside for the night, safe and warm in an AirB&B condo near Newcastle. I hope all of you are safe and warm as well. I almost hate to do it, but I'll leave you with another very amateurish GoPro video for your amusement. Good night all..
Today's ride: 57 miles (92 km)
Total: 147 miles (237 km)
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