America One Spoke At a Time

The bicycle ride from Canada down the east coast to Key West began when we finished packing the Prius and started our trek northward on August 11, 2021. On our way to Canada, we visited the Pinball

Museum in Roanoke, VA, Jay’s 99-year old mother in NJ and his cousin in Waterville, ME. Our master plan was to start in Canada and have Jay ride across the border. However, entrance into Canada required not only proof of vaccination but a COVID test within 72 hours. Finding a location to get a COVID test with our “whenever” travel schedule just made this requirement one bridge too far.

Ironically, Canada is just over the narrow river from Calais, Maine where Jay began the ride on August 16. Jay could easily see Canada when he clipped into his bike pedals to begin the ride.

It is now August 22, and we are safely taking shelter in Scarborough, ME (just south of Portland) from Hurricane Henri that is currently lacing the Northeast with persistent winds and heavy rains. Jay has ridden 324 miles. There are two things we have learned in our short stay in Maine; “Vacationland” as the state’s license plate would lead you to believe.

Vacationland

First, it appears EVERYONE comes to Maine to vacation. Finding spots in campgrounds is hard. Finding an available hotel room is impossible. We are not exactly sure of the Vacationland allure. Near Calais, mud encrusted ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) filled campgrounds. The Sunshine Trail, suggested to Jay as a potential bike route by his mapping resources, offers ATVer’s a chance to zoom about Maine’s wooded, secluded landscape. Jay sampled a section of the Sunshine Trail and abandon it due to the loose gravel on the trail that is kicked up by the ATV traffic. There are many tiny tourist towns, endless antique and collectable stores and a good sampling of coast seaport towns. None of these attractions would lead one to anticipate the Hunger Game-like competition for a dinner reservation in a small tourist town. We did meet one young 30ish couple who were not on vacation but were “COVID nomads.” They both worked in Washington, DC and went to remote work due to the COVID pandemic. They have been traveling in their van with their dog for about a year.

The other thing we learned is that sections of Maine are very hilly. The first 200 miles were extremely challenging. Jay is a good rider, but at age 70 there is an argument to be made that an east coast tour from Canada is for a younger generation. As we get closer to the coast, the riding terrain has become

undulating, rolling hills with stretches of pleasant, relatively flat riding. Fortunately, the weather has generally been clear skies and moderate temperatures. Our first two nights of camping were downright cold (55 degrees!). On August 19, we had to accommodate predicted late afternoon rain showers. Jay got an early start on a short 37-mile ride. Helen spent the day searching for a hotel. Well, that hotel search ended with a lake view camp site at the Duck Puddle Campground in Nobleboro. We fortified our tent in anticipation of water flooding down from the sites up the hill from us. We also set up our rain resistant canopy over the picnic table. After several hours of rain we abandoned the campsite for dinner in Damariscotta. Enter the Hunger Game effort to get seated in a restaurant. An hour and three restaurants later, we had a great seafood meal and stayed dry for a few hours. The next night was only 40 miles away, and we stayed at the Meadowbrook Campground in Phippsburg. That campground has the distinction of the only campground we have visited that did not have a single level spot of ground and the site was covered in rocks and tree roots. Ugh!

Just like our 2018 trek across the US (Seattle to Savannah), one just needs to take things one step at a time. Sometimes we can buy out way our of a situation. Our initial hotel rate in Scarborough was quoted at $375 a day. We paid, but later negotiated a better rate. As we sit out tropical storm Henri, we will tour Portland, file a blog entry, do laundry and plan for the next part of the journey.