Last night I supped on spaghetti and salad, prepared by Tom and Kate, my Warmshowers host. I had stayed with them about a week ago so we had a fun reunion.

Kate was interested in my 2018 ride across Washington state so she pulled out a road atlas and I brought her along down memory lane.

In the morning Tom and Kate fed me a huge bowl of Raisin Bran, some honeydew melon, and some much needed coffee. I hung around until 9:30 hoping that Walgreens would fill my prescription. Tom, a retired federal employee like myself, and I talked about our 401k plans, Medicare Part B, and investing in no load S&P 500 index funds. He’s my investing twin.

The drug store didn’t come through so I hit the road in shorts and a t-shirt, a nice change from the rain gear I’ve been wearing recently. I flew all the way to Bath where I stopped for lunch at the same ice cream parlor/deli that I ate at last week. A blackened chicken wrap, chips, a rather dry biscuit, and iced tea. No ice cream.

I couldn’t believe how strong I felt; there had to be a tailwind or maybe Tom put anabolic steroids in the marinara.

In Brunswick I left the Atlantic Coast route for good and headed west on the Northern Tier route. I spent a frustrating half hour trying to find my way out of town. Brunswick doesn’t put complete street signs at its intersections. Very frustrating.

Once out of town I encountered a very steep 200-foot climb. I had to stop before the top because my legs and lungs had maxed out.

After my punishment, I handled the rollers reasonably well.

I decided not to camp at a Warmshowers place off route past Lewiston. Instead I booked a room at the Super 8 south of Lewiston on the east side of the Androscoggin River. To get there I left the route to cross the river at Lisbon Falls.

I came to a traffic light on a bluff on the left side. Road work had closed the left lane, requiring alternating traffic going north and south. I followed a big black pickup through the green light and went down the steepest hill of the trip. Big fun.

In Lisbon Falls I took state highway 136 eight miles straight to my motel. It was a busy road leading to Lewiston and the Maine Turnpike (I-95). I rode with caution.

Storm clouds were building so I pulled into a covered bank drive-through (the bank was closed) and put on my rain jacket. It rained lightly for two minutes. Yeah, well.

The motel desk clerk (yet another Gujurati!) started chatting with me. He could not believe how far I had ridden. He was so blown away that he upgraded me to a room with a king sized bed.

Dinner at the restaurant next door was beef teriyaki stir fry, a salad, and iced tea. It was mediocre but filled the tank. I topped it off with a two-day old gas station cherry pie back at my room.

Tomorrow I enter New Hampshire. Because of my motel choice, I’ll need to ride 70 miles. I’m going to take my time and snack a lot. I hear there’s an excellent brewery pub in the town I’m staying in. Hydration is my middle name.

Miles today: 54

Tour miles: 1,296.5

I had a great stay with Peter and Emily, my Warmshowers host. 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 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 tragic but 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, they is , I rejoined US 1 which was being repaved. I had to slow down to avoid 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 shad 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.

Miles today: 52

Tour miles: 1,242.5

I think today was the first time I’ve backtracked on a bike tour. With the exception of a few miles along the coast road on Mount Desert Island, the route was exactly the same.

I waited for the early morning fog to lift. It did, but I eventually ran into more on the road. I have a red blinkie light on my helmet so no worries.

Todays ride featured a tailwind making the ride a literal breeze. The weather apps called for a rainy day, But for 20 minutes of sprinkles, the weather was dry.

The rest in Bar Harbor did me good. I covered 54 miles by 2 pm. No problem. I stopped for breakfast after 15 miles and a snack after 35.

I had hoped to get lunch in Searsport but the cafe was closed. So I opted for ice cream but the ice cream shop was closed. I suspect a conspiracy.

US 1 becomes Main Street in Searsport. It’s insane. The crosswalks advise pedestrians to wave. Personally I think a single digit salute is preferable.

Miles today: 55

Tour miles: 1,190.5

How’s the bike? So far The Mule has been doing quite well. I’ve been attentive to the chain, cleaning and lubing it every third day or so. Likewise the tire pressure. I’m keeping the tires inflated to 70 psi which most people would disagree with as being too high but it’s worked for me in the past so that’s what I’m sticking with. I’ve thrown the chain twice doing awkward downshifts to my granny gear. Not bad for three weeks and 1,100+ miles. A couple of days ago the chain became entangled but I fixed it and the problem hasn’t recurred. Occasionally it feels like the front wheel or tire is out of round but I can’t see any problem. I think there’s something about the pavement that is causing this sensation.

How are the roads? I’m getting used to the irregularities in the road surface. Every so often I get a road that’s all messed up like the Old Mine Road in the Delaware Water Gap. Repaving operations often involve milling, roughing up the surface for the application of new asphalt. For some reason eastern states don’t seem to mill as aggressively as western states. As often as not, I get fresh pavement which is a joy to ride on. Yesterday the roads I was on had expansion joints. Ugh. Thud. Thud. Thud.

How’s the rider? To be completely honest I never thought I’d get this far. I’m feeling very good now that the tree pollen levels have fallen. There is some haze today from the fires in Canada but it only seems to be affecting the higher elevations. If need be, I’ll use my N95 mask while riding. Despite valiant attempts to eat mass quantities, I’m losing weight. I guess about five pounds. Mentally the first week was hard. It always is. I’m very much in the bike touring groove now. My age and the terrain are keeping me from very long days in the saddle. These are necessary out west where the towns are 70 or 80 miles apart. I’ve done one 80-mile day but half of that was on a rail trail.

Where are you staying? I’m using Warmshowers much more than ever before. (Warmshowers is a voluntary service in which people host bicycle tourists.) I’ve stayed with Warmshowers hosts seven times. I’ve used hotels and motels six times. I have camped three times. I stayed at my daughter’s apartment for two nights. I stayed one night each at my friend Mark’s house, a B&B, and a hostel. I already have Warmshowers hosts set up for the next three nights. It looks like I may be doing another hostel after that. I expect to camp more after the Adirondacks.

Am I seeing other bike tourists? Ive seen six or seven bike tourists along the way. We exchange info about good and bad places to stay, road conditions, detours, etc.

Are you going straight back home? No. The plan is to head west across New Hampshire, Vermont, and upstate New York. There will be walking. I think the next ten days will be very hard. After that I will only have two or three hilly days.

Did you pack the right things? I pretty much nailed my gear. I’ve used my rain jacket and pants far more than any other tour. I’ve been carrying two spare water bottles but there are so many towns along the way that I’ve never needed them. The one thing I forgot was my eye drops for glaucoma. I’m pretty sure I can get my prescription filled at a Walgreens so no worries. I’m glad I brought a cable lock. Bike theft isn’t much of an issue where I’ve been riding but the lock gives me peace of mind.

What have been the best and worst parts so far? The Penobscot Narrows Bridge and the Walkway over the Hudson were both fantastic. Not having to do a nasty detour in Pennsylvania was fortunate. My Warmshowers hosts have all been truly wonderful to me. For every slog up a hill there’s been a screaming downhill. The worst parts have been the tree pollen and the cool, wet weather.

I hope this answers the questions I’ve been getting. Feel free to ask more in the comments.

Belfast to Searsport to Bucksport to Verona to Orland to East Orland to Ellsworth to Trenton to Town Hill to Mount Desert to Bar Harbor

Last night Meg, my Warmshowers host, made bean burritos and salad. It was very tasty.

At around 9 we both retired to our bedrooms. I slept well and woke up around 6:30. Once again I couldn’t tell if my host was sleeping or out for a walk. After hanging out for a while, I headed out for the day’s ride. I sent Meg a big thank you message. She was a great host.

I retraced my way to Belfast. This involved a couple of mikes on a rail trail along the Passagassawakeag River. A very chill way to start the day.

I crossed the river in town on a bike/ped bridge. The route then joined US 1 which was not particularly busy on this Sunday morning.

In Searsport I stopped at a cafe for breakfast. Eggs, bacon, potato hash, coffee, and some truly delicious blueberry bread.

I think I had a tailwind going up the coast. The road was in pretty good shape too. (Later in the day I endured expansion joints. I hate them.)

As I approached Bucksport, I saw a huge cable stayed suspension bridge. This bridge design is very popular these days. This bride had two towers, the western tower had an observation deck some 40-stories above gas bridge deck.

I had to check it out. Visibility was good. For $5.50 you take an elevator to near the top. The observation deck has three levels. After my visit I rode across the bridge in a very wide shoulder lane. I get the sense that Maine thinks about more than motor vehicles when they build things.

In Bucksport I stopped at a Circle K gas station convenience store. The clerk inside was singing and saying excessively cherry things to the customers. It felt like a Candid Camera moment. The store actually had my favorite bike foods, bananas and cherry pies.

Just after finishing my snack on a bench outside, a bike tourist pulled up. Nick is from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, just like Martin Arnold whom I met in North Dakota on my 2018 tour. Nick started on Key West and rode the entire coast except for New York City to Boston where he took Amtrak. He was frustrated that so many camping places turned him away. He blamed it on his poor English. His English was actually quite good; the campground owners were just assholes.

I said goodbye to Nick and hit the road. A few miles before Ellsworth, as I was riding up a long gradual hill, I saw a bike tourist zoom down the other side of the road. I can’t blame him for not stopping. A few minutes later a second bike tourist came zooming down. This one crossed the road to chat. Matt began in Bangor (pronounced banger) and was headed to Florida. The other rider was also named Matt, and he was going to Oregon. Florida Matt and I exchanged info and said out “safe travels”.

Ellsworth is a car sewer with all the charm of US 1 in Fairfax County, Virginia or Central New Jersey. I think Ellsworth is where I-95 traffic and US 1 traffic merge to go south to Mount Desert Island. After 20 minutes in car paradise (that’s sarcasm, folks) I pulled over and had a soft serve vanilla ice cream.

After my snack, it was time to finish the ride. The next twenty miles took me onto and through Mount Desert Island. It’s somewhat hilly but the route I took was lightly trafficked and pleasantly verdant.

Down I flew into Bar Harbor town. It’s a very quaint place that would be much nicer without a gazillion tourists. Bar Harbor is the northern terminus of Adventure Cycling’s Atlantic Coast Route. I have now ridden in its entirety from Key West to here.

I walked around the waterfront for a while then went into a bar and had a fried haddock sandwich, a bowl of clam chowder, and iced tea and water. All was good. The bartender must have refills my two glasses three times. I walked out water logged.

The ride to the motel was a mile farther than I expected. The motel advertised views of the ocean so I was expecting it to be down near the shore. Nope. It’s on a bluff. The last half mile was a pretty challenging climb.

My room is nice and clean. On my way here I bought a beer and

On the east side of the bridge the route goes up a seriously steep hill, presumably to avoid an intersection on US 1. Not fun.

On the way to the motel I picked up a tall boy and a bag of Dot’s pretzels. I am all about healthy eating.

Tomorrow is a day of active rest. I will probably spend the day riding unloaded on the carriage trails in Acadia National Park.

Mikes today: 69.5

Tour miles: 1,117

My Warmshowers hosts, Peter and Christie, were terrific. Christie even found me a motel near Bar Harbor that was reasonably priced. I’ll have to bike a few miles into town but I’d have had to bike farther to town if I had camped instead.

When I woke up my hosts were nowhere to be found. Thinking they might be sleeping in, I slipped out quietly and went downtown to get breakfast. (I found out later that they had gone for a walk, Peter’s back pain having calmed down.)

Breakfast: 2 eggs, sausage, home fries, rye toast, and coffee.

After breakfast the climbing began. Whenever I leave the coastline I have steep-ish climbs. I think I was eventually up around 500 feet. Once at elevation I found myself doing rolling roads. It was cool and overcast; same weather, different day.

There was no rush. Today is a short day, setting up two days in the Bar Harbor area.

Since Belfast is on the coast, my ride into town was downhill.

I am glad I modified my schedule. Doing today’s ride and yesterday’s ride in one day would have been brutal.

Once in Belfast I bought lunch. Burger, fries, coke slaw, cup of clam chowder, and iced tea. Decent but pricey.

My Warmshowers host, Meg, is a doctor. She looks vaguely like and has similar mannerisms to my ophthalmologist back home. They could be siblings.

While she tended the garden, I started feeling drowsy. I took a two hour nap during which a thunderstorm passed through. I’m glad I was off the road.

Miles today: 31

Tour miles: 1,047.5

Boy, did this change in plans work out well.

I started the day with waffles and coffee with Tom, my Warmshowers host. Kate had left for yoga.

After filling my tank (6 waffles, don’t judge), I hit the road. Before leaving I marveled at the amount of firewood Tom (mostly) had cut and stacked for heating their home.

My trip took me first to Newcastle then it became surprisingly hilly. In Waldoboro I stopped for coffee and had the best chocolate chip cookie of the trip. The secret ingredient is sea salt. The blueberry muffin (couldn’t resist) was also top drawer.

Past Waldoboro the hills mellowed out and I went into my groove. After seven miles I realized that I had missed my turn at five miles so I backtracked. Knowing I didn’t have to cover 90 miles today was a great relief.

I was plugging along past small farms when I shifted into my granny gear on a hill and things got a bit ugly.

During a downshift, my chain somehow folded back on itself, jamming between the granny gear and the front derailer. Eek.

After a few minutes trying to free the chain along the roadside I walked the bike to a driveway where I took off the panniers and prepared for surgery. I flipped the bike over and shifted my gears to give the chain maximum slack. Then I gently moved the pedals this way and that. The chain finally became untangled. A mechanical bullet had been dodged.

I think the problem has to do with the chain catcher. It’s a plastic thingie that looks a bit like a small thumb. The thumb is positioned so that a chain that shifts too far to the inside (past the granny gear) hits the catcher and is diverted back to the granny gear. My chain catcher seems to be missing the screw that keeps it in place. My theory is that, when I downshifted, the chain got snagged by the misaligned catcher and became entangled.

In any case I was back on the road in 20 minutes. No harm done. After some reluctance to use my granny, I tried it out several times and it shifted just fine.

I stopped in Thomaston for lunch. A BLT with avocado, a small salad, and iced tea. Perfect food. Perfect amount.

Most of the rest of the ride was along the water, occasionally diverting inland to climb an abrupt hill.

All of the climbs today were followed by steep downhills. Each time I went into a tuck and zoomed down them. It was big fun.

South Thomaston to Rockland was more in-the-zone riding. In Rockport, the temperature dropped noticeably and I finally saw some fog.

My Warmshowers hosts texted me with his address and within 10 minutes I was at their door in Camden. There house is a modern building made with sheet metal. Very cool. I have my own room off the garage with a private bath. The shower is outdoors. I did my best to give the neighbors a show.

Peter and Christie fed me pasta and salad with fresh veggies from their garden. Beer, wine, and H2O helped the digestive process. Peter is dealing with sciatica so I am amazed that he was so enthusiastic about putting me up for the night.

Christie tracked down a decent deal on a motel near Bar Harbor. I was going to camp but Tuesday is supposed to be a rainy mess. Better to avoid the whole wet tent thing. Also the motel is located closer to Belfast which will shorten Tuesday’s ride.

I saw cows, a donkey, turtles, and a big heron. No mooses. I wanna see a moose!

Miles today: 66.5

Tour miles: 1,016.5

I stayed at the Black Elephant hostel in a Portland last night. I slept in a dorm room with 6 or 7 other people. I wore an N95 mask and ear plugs and slept like a log.

I delayed leaving this morning until temperatures were in the mid 50s. I had coffee, granola bars, and nuts. Not adequate at all.

After 5 miles and crossing a bridge out of Portland, I reached the Other Side Diner. The eggs, bacon, English muffin, and coffee hit the spot. I talked to the owners about their Pride flag outside, telling them I think of it as the opposite of the confederate flags I saw out west. They said the flag, which they just started displaying this year, is bringing in new business. Score 1 for tolerance.

The route went Portland to Falmouth to Yarmouth to South Freeport to Brunswick to Bath to Woolwich to Wiscasset to Newcastle where I am stay at yet another Warmshowers place.

The first few miles were more of the same. I noticed that whenever I left the coast, climbing happened.

When I started out I felt very week but the diner food recharged my engine. In Falmouth I stopped and bought bananas. At the country store there I talked with a guy in an apparently restored Ford pickup, painted an attractive dark green. He told me that he and his wife take bike vacations in Europe. He gave me his business cards and said to call if I have any problems . Nice guy.

The bananas were just what my body needed to keep on keeping on. The forecasted rains never came but I stayed in my rain gear to avoid getting chilled. Temperatures unexpectedly breached 60 degrees today. The air quality up here is fine.

In Brunswick I stumbled upon Bowdoin College. I rode through and stopped to admire the statue of Joshua Chamberlain, a Bowdoin professor, who led the Maine troops repelling a Confederate surge at Little Round Top at Gettysburg.

I stopped in Bath for lunch at a ice cream shop with a deli. After that the ride became substantially hillier. I climbed over Ozone Mountain, a 190-foot massif. Okay, it was several short, steep climbs.

Along the road today I came upon a car stopped in my lane with its emergency lights flashing. As I passed I saw it’s driver standing beside the road holding a turtle in her hand. Life saver.

I saw four turkeys and a dozen chipmunks during my travels. No mooses yet.

My Warmshowers hosts met me on arrival. After washing up and doing my laundry, we ate beans and rice and salad. And had a cold beer. Tummy full.

I started anew trying to make arrangements for Bar Harbor. It’s going to be challenging. Doubly so because I messed up my itinerary. Tomorrow’s ride was intended to be 60 miles. It’s more like 90. I re-re-scheduled my Warmshowers host until Saturday. So I’d do 60 tomorrow and stay in Camden. Then do a short 30-miles to Belfast. This would set me up to reach Bar Harbor on Sunday which might work out for the best.

On the return I’ll be shortcutting that 90 miles so I’ll be in good shape.

The Mule hit 71,000 miles today.

Miles today: 64

Total miles: 950

I stayed up until 10:30 telling bike touring war stories with my host Jim Smith. I slept pretty well in the barn. Jim had set me up with a single bed frame and a very comfy air mattress. I added my sleeping bag and inflatable pillow and the rest was Zs.

At 6 a.m. we convened in the kitchen for more tales over breakfast. Jim has had his share of bike touring calamities but remarkably things always seemed to work out okay.

I hit the road around 8 and made my way 5 miles back to the route. I mostly hugged the coast today. Moody Beach, Wells Beach, Kennebunkport, Cape Porpoise, Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Portland.

The winds were variable. Parts of the day I had a strong tailwind. The terrain was gently rolling. The Mule and I booked along, often cruising at 14 mph. I was passed by two fit women on road bikes. I kept pace with them for a few miles until I started feeling like a stalker and backed off.

In Kennebunkport I stopped for second breakfast. Three pancakes, sausage links, and coffee. The pancakes were comically huge. I ate a bit more than half of them before taking the rest for roadside lunch. (I ended up throwing them out.)

Jim had warned me that the Bush compound in Kennebunkport was out of the way and unmarked. I never saw it nor did I see a single indication that two presidents had summered here.

Old Orchard Beach featured an amusement park on the beach. It was closed. The big action around here is walking. Most of the hotels had plenty of vacancies. Cool temperatures and rain will do that.

Did I mention rain? At 1, the spitting rain returned. And stuck around, on and off, for the rest of the ride. Darn good thing I brought my rain gear.

In South Portland I finally found an ice cream shop that was open. I celebrated 60 miles with a big cup of cherry, vanilla, chocolate chunk ice cream.

For the last 15 miles I was getting wobbly on the bike. Too little water and too many miles.

The Casco Bay Bridge into Portland was long and high. A good finish to my day.

I had tried to secure a Warmshowers host in Portland but no one responded to me so I booked a bed in the Black Elephant hostel. It’s very clean and they charged me $55 for a bed, half of what the online resellers like hotels.com were quoting.

An hour after I booked the bed, one of the Portland Warmshowers people contacted me about hosting. Too late.

Later in the evening I heard back from a host in Belfast, two days away. She and her husband are very enthusiastic about hosting me. I now have accommodations for tomorrow and Friday.

A place to stay in Bar Harbor on Saturday and Sunday is still up in the air.

Dinner was a chicken parmigiana sandwich with fries and a craft lager at a bar a block away. I am ready for bed and it’s only 7 p.m.

Miles today: 64.5

Tour miles: 886