Saturday, August 13, 2011 Bridgton, ME 69 miles

Ellen and I have a lovely room this afternoon with a deck overlooking a large lake. The room is spacious and includes a fireplace (which we won’t need), a large dining table complete with lace tablecloth and comfortable beds. We’ve got the deck doors open as well as the front door, thus creating a fantastic breeze.

On the way up

This morning when we started out a little after 7 am, the temp was 54. Can you imagine? With a 12 mile climb up Kancamagus Pass, it didn’t take long to warm up. There was a 7% grade near the top which wasn’t too bad. The climb was just long and took most of us 1 hr. 45 min. The descent was 20 miles long with 7% grade for the first four miles. I took it easy until this was over and then opened up and let ‘er rip! Incredible fun! All this took place in The White Mountain National Forest.

12th State

Only moose siting

After the Pass, we rode thru Conway, NH (where folks come to view the colors in Oct.), crossed into Maine (our 12^th state) near Fryeburg. Our route took us deep into the ME woods on Hardscrabble Rd., then Chadbourne Hill Rd. We were forewarned about the very rough pavement, but NOT about the half mile of gravel. Somewhere in this area, we caught up with a father/son pair who have crossed the entire country since June 17 and will reach the coast when we do. They’re riding recumbent bikes and camping 4 out of 5 nights. As you can see from the picture, they are self-contained. Coincidentally, they are from Brattleboro and Ellen knows the father from a professional meeting a few years ago. They’re both teachers.  

X-Country father and son

Congregational Church

Jake is a senior in high school. What memories they’ll have from this wonderful journey together.  


Bridgton has some lovely, old homes and sits high above beautiful Highland Lake. As I rode past the lake, there were what looked like hundreds of families enjoying the water and activities for children - probably the last Saturday before school starts. Because it is Saturday, traffic was terrible today. Nearly every car was loaded with bikes and kayaks.

Ellen - blogging

Only three more days of cycling. The weather lately has been really beautiful as have the vistas.   I'm really enjoying the cool nights and early mornings. 

Our last state line crossing

Enjoyed sitting with Lesley's guest tonight at dinner. Joanne Dillard, who lives in Bridgton, did the ST with Lesley is '06.  She's also done a lot of hiking including the AT in sections.  She's interested in hiking across Great Britain, something that interests me. . . .  The moon is supposed to be full tonight.  I doubt that I'll be up long enough to see it.      
Menu:  Pad Thai, Cucumber salad, Quinoa (left-over), Blueberry Pie