Chris, my Warmshowers host, had to leave for work by 7:30. I had a good night sleep band didn’t mind the early departure. I rode 2 miles off route into Derry for breakfast at Mary Ann’s diner. Omelet, home fries, toast, and coffee. Couldn’t quite finish it all.
The weather was a bit warmer today. Cloudy but rain free. A light breeze pushed me eastward through Exeter, home of Philips Exeter Academy.
The roads were classic New England windy byways. Scores of clapboard houses on wooded lots with perfect landscaping. This is peak rhododendron country. I’ll never try to grow one again in DC.
I crossed over I-95, stopping in North Hampton for soup and salad. I had a long way to go and would never make it on an empty tank of fuel.
A few miles later I reached the Atlantic Ocean at Rye Beach. This is the first time the Atlantic Coast Route reaches the ocean since North Carolina.
At the beach I took a left and benefited from a strong tailwind and gently rolling terrain. The Mule and I were comfortably cruising at 14 mph, quite a contrast to those hilly slogs of last week. In Portsmith, I crossed the Piscataqua River and entered Kittery, Maine.
I texted my Warmshowers host. He was not going to be home from 5:30 to 7:30 so I reassured him that I would arrive before 5.
Maine is the 38th state I’ve ridden in. Woo hoo.
The road was a bit hillier and the surfaces varied from winter weary patches and seals to perfect fresh asphalt.
After a short bit a mile from the ocean, the route turned back to the water at York Harbor. A few miles later at York Beach I stopped for second lunch. I was getting gassed by the pace. I bought some granola bars yesterday to munch on as I rode. The calories and sugar helped keep me from bonking between meals.
After York Beach I reached Ogunquit. It’s a pretty touristy place which is saying something in the Maine Coast.
I have noticed that most motels and campgrounds have vacancies. I think this is early in the season for summah people.
In Moody I stopped to see how far I was from the Warmshowers house. I had passed the turn to it a half mile back.
I bought a sandwich for dinner and headed the five miles off route to the house. No big hills,. No mooses. Just lovely houses on wooded lots.
At the house, my host, Jim, met me and showed me the loft in his barn where I’d be sleeping. It has a single bed with an air mattress so I’ll just need to roll out my sleeping bag.
Jim left me a cold beer. I took a shower and reloaded my water bottles.
Tomorrow’s Warmshowers hosts have not responded to my requests so I’ll be staying in a hotel, probably a chain hotel along the interstate. Beach hotels are double the price.
Miles today: 75.5
Tour miles: 821.5
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
Wow, you are zipping along! Already in Maine! 🙂 Good for you!!
I couldn’t get a Warmshowers host in York so I stretched a bit. I’m pretty tired.
Folks in Seattle might disagree with your comment about “peak rhododendron country”. I rode through Exeter with folks from “the real Exeter” (UK) who were surprised to see an Exeter in the US. They stopped for photos. I once applied for a scholarship to go to school there. I think I’m glad I didn’t get it, though I did find a nice coffee shop in town.
Ayuh, hope the beer was wicked cold
Was NH your 39th state or ME? I just read about the fires in Canada affecting New York air, has it impacted you at all or are you too far north?
Ack! NH was 37th. ME 38th. Still to do: AK, AZ, AR, NM, LA, TX, AL, MS, TN, SD, NE, and OK. Air quality up here is not too bad. Tree pollen levels are off the charts though.
Yahoo for a new state! I laughed at the above comment from halffastcyclingclub, because I too had a similar thought about Washington being peak rhododendron country. It is our state flower after all. Granted there are more than one type of rhody.
Wow, you have been many places on your bicycle! Good old Mule!
Just enjoying your writing as always. One of these days I hope you get out Sedona, AZ way!