September 10, 2013

September 10, 2013 Center Conway, NH --> Augusta, ME - 83 miles

What a "marathon day" - and one of the hardest rides to date. Originally I planned to ride 55 miles to Lewiston, ME. However, in order to hook up with Randy in Bar Harbor on Thursday, that would have left a couple of 70+ mile days. I decided at the outset of the day to shoot instead for Augusta, ME, which would leave only 108 miles to Bar Harbor over two days - seemingly more doable.

I left under overcast skies and the threat of rain. It was quite cool and I layered clothes to remove as the day warmed up.

I crossed over into Maine within the first 3-4 miles, and stopped in at the Maine Information Center to pick up a state map.


Continued on for 13 miles to Bridgton, ME, where I had to make a decision as to which route to take over to Lewiston. Opted for the northern route along Hwy 117, followed by Hwy 121 & 11. Picked up a Subway veggie delight to take along just in case.

The first 11 miles or so on Hwy 117 were very enjoyable. Nice shoulder and the town of Harrison was quite scenic. Then, I ran into another decision. Google directions had me turn off onto Gore Road, a "side road" for 5 miles or so to cut over to Hwy 121. By now it was spitting rain intermittently. I was also a little less than confident in where Google was taking me after past experience. To top it off, my cell battery was getting low, even though I guess that didn't matter because there was no cell service here. So, I was a little concerned. I took comfort in the fact that there were a lot of houses and fairly frequent cars and trucks passing by in case I really felt loss and needed to ask.

On and on I pedaled - up and down and up and down hill after hill followed by some stretches of flatter road. The condition of the road was okay. I did eventually reach Hwy 121 and followed my directions to the outskirts of Lewiston, where I stopped at a McDonalds to re-group, re-charge my cell phone and use the Internet to plan
my next steps. Since it was still fairly early in the day, I decided to push ahead another 32 miles to Augusta. My biggest concern was uncertainty as to the terrain, as my legs and body in general were already tired. But I determined to push on and take it 1 mile at a time if necessary. A friendly local approached to chat, and based on his recommendation I decided to follow Hwy 202 mainly because of the promise of good shoulders and decent road conditions.

The ride started off fine, but the last 10 miles were brutal. Up and down and up and down and up and down...my legs were fairly screaming and I started becoming increasingly aware of my arms, shoulders and neck chiming in as well. At various points, the condition of the road was not great. I started fighting the urge to scream every time another hill appeared; then I went into this sort of "out of body experience" mode; finally followed by the thought that I might lose my mind (reminiscent of the Montana head winds debacle last summer). I stopped more and more frequently to just drink some water and re-group.

Finally, I gratefully reached Augusta around 5 p.m. and checked into a very nice Motel 6. Took a nice long soak in the tub, then walked down the street for a good meal. Started feeling a little revived, although my legs were really tired. Did laundry, and looked at routes and possible motels for tomorrow night. Thought a little more about the end game.

Tomorrow I plan on riding to Searsport - just east of Belfast. Probably around 55 miles. There appear to be some good motel possibilities there, and that will leave approximately 50 miles to Bar Harbor on Thursday to meet up with Randy.