Sunday, August 14, 2011 Bath, ME 67.3 miles

After a beautiful full moon last night, the day dawned beautifully and stayed sunny most of the day and dry all day. The hills, though - oh, my goodness --one steep climb or long downhill after another! Two of them got so steep near the top that if was get off or fall off time! I got off and walked to the top. I wondered if my poor knees would make some of the others. As with life, though, we only need to take one turn at a time, so I pushed forward, and, actually, really enjoyed the day. Besides lots of hills, Maine has lots of sand! All the shoulders are bordered by sand. Maine also seems to rival MN for the number of lakes. We passed some really beautiful and very large lakes and rivers today. Highland Lake, Long Lake, Saco River, Wood Pond, Androscoggin River - to name a few, and tomorrow there will be a lot more. Also today, we saw lots of farms, cows, vegetable gardens and truck farms.

I rode a little today with Mary, Jean, and Nancy, but hooked up with Sue and Lynda at the second SAG stop and completed the day with them. Their company, and each of us thinking about a lobster roll for lunch, was great motivation on the hills. We rode through the beautiful, historic town of Brunswick, ME, and past Bowdoin College, a small liberal arts school. After Brunswick, we were directed onto Androscoggin River Bike path - a very wide, paved path along the beautiful river.

Once in Bath and after checking into The Hampton Inn, Sue, Lynda and I walked across the street to the Kennebec Tavern which is right on the Kennebec River. Since the river empties into the Atlantic Ocean, we contemplated dipping our tires into the river and calling an end to the ride! Just kidding. . . I understand Bath is the center (what about Pascagoula?) of ship building for the world. The homes approaching our hotel were beautiful. . . Yes, my treat at lunch was a really, really good lobster roll.  

Lobster Roll

Me, Lynda, Sue

Oh, my! And, did I mention expensive? It was worth every penny. . . . Rooming tonight with Robin. Her mom had dinner with us the other night and brought delicious cookie treats.

Menu: Barbeque, Linda's To Die For Mac and Cheese, Slaw, and Assorted Desserts brought by Friends

One man's witness. . .