I could not really complain with the morning. I was planning to awake to a wet tent, and rain. Instead I got a mostly dry tent and no rain. So right off the bat I gained 10 minutes because I woke up a little earlier for the wet take down. The only thing that was a little annoying were the amount of mosquitoes around my tent. It seems that you have to take your pick. A site in a big open field that is subject to pounding rain, or near a bush that provides shelter but is full of mosquitoes.
I took down camp quick because I knew that the campsite was going to be a 2-mile uphill trek out. Once past that I was excited because I was on my way down to Portland. Portland is the first grand city in America.
The road to Portland was up and down again. In the back of my head I was thinking, “Jesus is this what the whole east coast is like”. But again I could not complain out loud because 1 I would look crazy, and 2 I had a nice blue sky (for the first time) and a tailwind.
As I rolled down the road belting out various swing and rap songs I was happy. The km’s ticked by and the navigation was easy. All I had to do was take the number 1. Well after 70k of this I was looking to switch this up so I attempted to get on the interstate. That was until I saw a huge no bikes sign. There went that idea.
Welcome to Portland. I passed the sign and assumed I could stay on my same route. Well I thought wrong because again I encountered a no bikes sign, and my map of Portland was as useful as a one armed hanger. So I had to stop in at a nail salon where this lady called her husband to give me directions. I nodded along and was on my way. The directions he had given me were from the interstate, which I could not go on. Luckily my internal compass guided me down a different road. Just as soon as I was about to say “man I am doing good at the navigation thing” I made a wrong turn. I proceeded down said wrong turn for 5km still hoping I was going the right way because I saw the sign for the road I wanted to be on.
Well at the dominos I stopped to ask for directions. Well I was going the wrong way. The signs that I was seeing was because the road had merged just before I got on it. So I was forced to back track. Along this backtrack I had to cross 3 train tracks laid at a 45 degree angle so I had to cut across all lanes of traffic. On the last of the set it had a large, sharp bump that I did not see coming. I thought I was going to crash but luckily I only got a flat from it.
I changed that flat in 5minutes and was super pumped to be riding again. After getting out of Portland my prayers were answered. The road levelled out and I was able to open up the legs.
I was clawing back the km’s that I lost from my mistakes, and I was on time for my lunch stop. I stopped at a subway because it is quick and clean food. This subway was a real surprise. The two employees there were having a great time. They engaged ever customer in conversation and played great off of each other with ongoing jokes. It lightened the mood of the entire store and made me want to give them a large tip. It infact made me miss work. I miss playing off of people like cody, jj, and eric. I value their friendships and I am thankful that I get the privilege to work with them.
This is completely random but I am going to let it out. I miss math. For the past 2 nights I have been craving math. I have been trying to find a math text with solutions so that I can plunk away at it.
I wanted to make it into New Hampshire tonight but it was not going to happen because the motels were super pricey, and no camping within 30km. So I was forced to spend another night in Maine. The campsites both were priced above $35, which is just redic. I mean $28 the past two nights was pushing it but today was the straw that broke the camels back. I made the choice to stay at a cheap motel. It is $15 more but I get a bed, don’t have to set up my tent, have my own shower, and can relax in the morning. Now I am only hoping that the weather is wrong and it does not pour rain tomorrow. I asked today if the weather is always this bad because wouldn’t you know it, it rained again today at the end of the ride. In response the owners of the motel said “actually we have been in a doubt this year”. I just happened to come in during the first rain in 30days.
Trip Distance: 182km
Ride Time: 8:00hr
Avg. Speed: 22.74km/h
Total Distance: 8842km
Total Ride Time: 410hr
Destination: Kinnerly, Maine
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I can honestly say that I have never known another human being ( young or old ) to state that they miss math!
ReplyDeleteMissing math is somewhat akin to missing a very bad toothache that just won't go away.
60 days of riding under your belt today, Ev....way to go! Keep your spirits high and recite your times tables, at the top of your lungs, as you cruise the highways and byways of the USA if that math longing gets too intense!