aabikeadventure

[aabikeadventure]

Final day!

I wrote and posted this post with a bunch of cute pictures 6 days ago but it didn’t post and disappeared into the ether, so here we are, from the comfort of a bed in providence, sharing that we’ve finished our tour. It was a hilly 63 miles final day and our butts were killing us by the end, but we had a glorious swim and some beautiful roads!

I am so happy we were able to go on this trip. We got to acclimate to the rhythm of biking together, had arguments and worked through them, and felt like we had a little escape!

Thanks to those of you who have been reading and following along! Until next time! Ciao!

[aabikeadventure]

Day 6 & 7

Written by Adam and Amalia. Partially in 3rd person.

On day 6, we woke up in our quarry spot to the sound of cars driving 10 feet away from us. What in the dark we thought was a foot trail was actually just a dirt road meant for cars leading to a lake. We were a bit dismayed by the morning traffic and a dog barking at us as we woke up. Adam woke up in a foul mood after another fitful night of hot and sticky sleep. Amalia knew the key to his heart was a good breakfast, so she put together an amazing breakfast hash and they hit the road.

Today was already better than the day before, a slightly quieter road, with fewer huge trucks with loud exhausts. Amalia lost a rear break pad which was made clear by a horrible screeching sound. The closest bike shop was at the LL Bean headquarters store in Freeport, about 30 miles away. We got to the store and Adam started perusing the bike seat options, hoping to find some relief for his massive tuchus pain. To his great happiness, the store had an entire wall of bike seats that you could try out for up to a week on a loaner program. Amalia changed her pads, and Adam tried 3 different seats like Goldilocks. With a newly fitted seat, and new pads all around , they headed for Brunswick where Adam's parents were just arriving for their Maine vacation. Such good timing!!

After About an hour of riding on the most beautiful road ever, they met up with Adam's parents in Brunswick town center for Thai food and gelato. It was such a treat!! Though we have been eating incredibly well on this trip thanks to camp chef Amalia and a very cute bag of spices that Adam's dad packed. We were supposed to stay with someone from warm showers, but they hadn't gotten back to us and the offer to go stay at Adam's parents cabin with a warm shower and nice breakfast was too good to turn down.

We stayed the night there, got a decent night's sleep and started our day of biking at our usual starting time of around noon. This is thanks to Adam who is incredibly slow and Amalia's graciousness while she waits for him. This was the first day that there was an actual destination- making it to Warren to visit a friend of Adams, about 50 mi away. The roads were a combination of beautiful backraods plus more of route 1, and though there was a shoulder the traffic was intense and biking next to cars, regardless of how much space you have, is awful and stressful.

Long story short we biked up some crazy hills, shared a cider at a brewery close to Adam's friends, and made it in time for a delicious dinner spread waiting for us. We decided that a day of rest was needed and opted to spend the following day relaxing at Angela's (Adam's friend) who graciously provided us with lots of food, tentspace, and swimming spots.

If you're still reading, thanks for your interest!!

Adam here- I wish there was more time for personal reflections, but by the time I'm done writing about the narrative of the day, my fingers are tired. I think I'll write a separate post at the end of our tour. Xoxoox

Adam and Amalia

[aabikeadventure]

Day 5 Doozy Day. By Amalia.

Today started out lovely in the backyard of Ernie and Sarah. We were feeling happy and filled up from all their good juju! They gave us a tour of their garden (pot plant and all) and let us pick sun golds. They even gave us their address to write them in the future/come by again!

A little while down the road we stopped for food at a roadside diner (I guess made famous by a foodnetwork diner show). It was our first time eating at a restaurant since covid and it felt weird and ok at the same time. We sat outside, ate delicious codcakes and eggs, and Adam enjoyed his nasty corned beef hash.

After breakfast, things started to go a bit downhill, except not literally. Our route circumvents Portland by taking us away from the coast and into middle-of-Maine-Trump-land. We were on a pretty brutal road where cars go entirely too fast, there are tons of trucks, and absolutely no shoulder. It was not fun. Adam’s body was really hurting him, so to help him I let him ride my bike. He squeezed his feet into my bike shoes and happily took off with a new understanding of what bike touring can feel like when your bike fits you. Meanwhile, I learned that he wasn’t unreasonably complaining- that his bike was quite uncomfortable, but that what it really needed was a stem adjustment. To do that, we stopped at the side of the road in the lawn of a furniture and lighting shop that was housed in a barn, where we ended up staying for several hours. Immediately we were greeting by a loving courgi who took a liking to us and followed us everywhere. And then, a little while later, Jamie and Debbie came out of the house. They were finish carpenters who had completely restored their own house, the barn, and I think made all the furniture they sold. They were sweet and old and went on some rant about covid like they maybe didn’t fully believe it or something, but they gave us veggies from their garden and told us we can jump in the river from their boat, which I did even though it was kind of dark and scary water. Adam is picky when it comes to water and just doesn’t really like it as much as me, so the swimming score right now is Amalia: 2 Adam:0.

Jamie and Debbie offered that we camp in their yard, but we wanted to put a few more miles into our day to ultimately help us get the heck outta Trump land and back to the liberal coast. So we set off for another 15 miles on a hilly and scary road. We finally made it to Sebago Lake, our destination for the night, but the sun was setting and we had to find a camp spot fast. We should have knocked on the doors of one of the few houses we saw with liberal signs out front, but we didn’t, and they were a hill away so we tried to find something else. What we found was less than ideal. We basically went mountain biking down a trail for a mile, hoping we’d find a clearing, but it was all low brush with no where flat. We finally perched ourselves on a little hill next to a quarry in a miniature spot that was completely concave and not very comfortable, but alas. We ate tuna out of a can and fell asleep.

[aabikeadventure]

Day 3 and 4. By Adam.

Hello friends! So day 3 was pretty uneventful so we skipped a day of blogging. The hurricane was supposed to roll through with some heavy winds and rain so instead of biking we decided to take our hosts up on their offer to hunker down in their barn while the storm passed. It was a pretty sweet setup and it felt silly to risk getting caught in a storm when we had a giant empty barn to ourselves with a bathroom, sink, wifi and electricity. Oh, and they had a giant garden with tomatoes and corn and zucchini and other tasty vegetables that they told us to help ourselves to. To try and get to telling you about today i'll try to make my summary of Tuesday quick.

We woke up and did yoga in their yard with the neighbor who leads weekly yoga classes. She took a liking to us and offered us a room in her second, unused home next door while the storm was coming through. We were grateful to have a place to stay but the interior was like a 1960's timewarp nightmare plus a yoga studio??? We kinda wished we just stayed in the barn next door with all the good vibes over there... The mattress was awful and we got a horrible nights sleep so we got a rough and late start to the day, getting on our bikes around 9.

We biked into Portsmouth which is a really cute little town! We didn't get to see much of it, but had our breakfast at a nice park on the water. We have been eating really well and mealtimes are definitely a highlight to our days. We then biked through kittery and then up through some beautiful roads with light traffic. And the best part was as soon as we crossed into Maine we were welcomed with a cool ocean breeze that gave us life. Like 10⁰ cooler out of no where! If felt so good. Amalia saw a swim spot that looked nice on a little ocean inlet and wanted to jump in. Im more picky than she is about swimming so I got my feet wet in the very cold water while she swam around and got out with goose bumps, but with a smile on her face. Omg. I have so much to write but it's already 1040 at night and Im moving my fingers as fast as they can go!

Ok so we biked up the coast. More beautiful roads. Then through York, an INSANE touristy beach spot. It was like covid wasn't even real with people packed like sardines on the beach.

It was pretty overwhelming to be around and though I wanted ice cream, we figured there would be more places to stop that weren't so crazy. So we skip doodly dood the fack outta there.

More beautiful roads and it was time for lunch. I saw a beautiful old church with a sprawling shady lawn and plenty of privacy on the side of the road and it was a perfect pick. We were both so tired from no sleep that we ended up curbing out daily mileage goal and spent around 3 hrs making lunch, napping and hanging out. The weather was beautiful and it felt like what we needed.

Then through Ogunquit. Another densely packed tourist trap. Now out of water, we had no choice but to stop. I got us water and some ice cream at a little shop and we sat and people watched as we enjoyed our frozen treat. I love people watching and it's been so long since I've seen many people out and about it felt like overload!

It was now nearing 7 and we needed to find a place to camp before it got dark. Amalia felt a little concerned about finding a good spot since its such a dense touristy area, but I knew we would find something. The bike route took us off route 1 and through a very vacationer heavy beach neighborhood. Things weren't looking so promising and we were hoping maybe we could use a little corner of someone's yard, yet how to make this happen we didn't know. While checking our map a man chatted us up and asked about our tour and talked excitedly about his love of biking and told us of some good trails in Rhode island I didn't know about! We tried to drop a hint that we were looking for a place to crash but he was either 6 beers too deep or just didn't catch our drift. I cut the conversation short when we suggested an RV campground down the road.. oh well. On we went.

And then it happened. Half a mile down the road we biked past a house that looked like it had been here for a while. Not like 90% of the other homes which looked newly remodeled rentals or vacations mansions. An older couple was on the front porch and the man waved and said "hi kids" as we biked past. Amalia and I looked as each other and simultaneously knew we should turn back and see if they could help. Ernie and Sarah are their names and they are SO cute and sweet. Ernie walked is to their beautiful back yard with overflowing garden, wind chimes and hammock and told us to set up where ever we liked. After a moment of internal deliberation he also extended us an invite to use the bathroom and shower in their rear building. What an angel. He said cute things like " I know it's covid but this is how things are supposed to be"- referencing the warmth between strangers that was unfolding. And " we aren't crazy people, we're just old people, you'll be safe here". Ernie grew up in Maine and he and Sarah have lived in this house that belonged to Sarah's parents for twenty years. We set up camp and walked down to the ocean to catch the last of sunset. I'm filled with so much warmth at this experience of bike touring. Amalia told me that it restores your faith in humanity and it really is true. When we got back to our tent there were 2 cold bottles of water waiting for us 😭.

Tomorrow we hope to make it to make it to Brunswick. Though Amalia's goal of 70 miles a day has yet to be met. If we actually get started early it is very doable, though I've been having a lot of problems with comfort which has been slowing us down. My brooks cambium saddle is awful and no matter how I adjust it there's way too much perineal pressure. And the weight on my hands, even with gloves is so much that I'm starting to get hand numbness. I'm kinda bummed that my newly built up touring bike might not be the right fit. Hopefully I just need some different bars and saddle. Amalia and I might switch bikes bc her riding position is much more upright with her bars. Bon nuit all! Good night! Xoxo

[aabikeadventure]

DAY 2 and 2 ice cream stops

Day two started with us waking up soupy in a cemetery. We had a fitful night sleep with Adam's pad deflating every couple of hours, so we took our time for getting ready for the day. An older woman (who went to the same high school as Adam!) was walking her dog through the cemetery as we were waking up. She stopped to chat with us, ask us questions about our trip and told us how her late father biked across the country 40 years ago then flew back and divorced her mom. Bike touring definitely does make you think about your life differently. It's only been two days and already I feel lighter and re-invigorated to be alive, which has recently felt a bit harder to grasp as the world is falling apart around us.

Our slow start also meant that we didn't beat the heat. We biked about 25 miles before we took a break for ice cream on the side of the road. It was 90 degrees out and it gave us new life. And then, 10 miles later we stopped for ice cream number two. The delicious homemade blueberry ice cream was well worth the tummy ache!

Our friend in the cemetery, thankfully, also informed us that Hurricane Isaias was coming this way, which put us on the hunt to find a roof for the night. We reach out to some hosts on trusty warmshowers to see if we could pitch a tent in someone's yard. An enthusiastic Kyle (and Sophie) in Stratham, NH answered the phone and welcomed us to their beautiful property only 25 miles from where we were enjoying our ice cream! And they said they were cooking us dinner! We set off in our hosts' direction with renewed vigor.

We came upon Kyle and Sophie's home with amazement. They live in a beautiful old farmhouse that has been in Sophie's family for generations, with 100 acres that they are now farming, a recently restored barn, chickens, a sweet dog, an outdoor shower, and two cute af kittens. They are barely 1/4 of a mile off the Transaltantic Route from Adventure cycling and somehow we were their second guests ever. We showered (I can't tell you how good that feels) and ate a beautiful dinner, all of which came from their farm, chicken included.

[aabikeadventure]

Hello readers! This is Adam and Amalia's bike tour blog. The first of many to come. For those who don't know, our original plan was to be touring in Japan for July and August, but then covid happened and our plans got turned upside down. So, while locked down in the early days of covid, sad about our lost adventure we decided that a bike tour still had to happen. I had the idea of doing it somewhere in the northeast, and Amalia found a route from Adventure Cycling that went from the Boston area up to Bar Harbor. We had both already prepared our bikes for long distance touring so we just had to get some gear together and we were ready! But then, 6 days before we were supposed to leave I cut my thumb open quite deep while using a very small pocket on a very large avocado pit and had to go to the ER and get 5 stitches. They said 7-10 days until the stitches could come out so we figured we would just be a couple days delayed which would be fine because I was waiting for my repaired bike shifter to come in the mail. But no, the universe and our horrible president needed us to wait 4 more days. You see, priority mail is usually a 2-3 day service but the president had a hand in electing a new postmaster general who wants to bring the USPS down, so he cut all overtime pay for postal workers with the excuse that it would make them more efficient. Say what? That's like saying " I won't pay you as much for your work so that you'll work faster". It's stupid and evil and they want to bring the USPS down and its very upsetting. The end of the story is that mail will be delayed, and my package took 5 days. We are now 5 days delayed on leaving, and the only rush is that Amalia starts grad school online on August 11 so we were hoping to have a full 2 weeks of touring.

SO- Yesterday was our first long awaited day of bike touring up to Bar Harbor, Maine! We started from my parents house in Sudbury and landed in Dunstable MA. We were on the road for 6 hours and felt like we made some pretty good speed, but according to Google maps, which doesn't show the bike touring route so we should add some miles in there, we only biked 25 miles. We don't have bike computers and we really feel like we biked more than than so we just decided it was a lie.

The riding was really nice with good roads and quite a bit of rain but it was refreshing on a hot sticky day and it cut out by the end of the day. Towards the end of the day we fortuitously stopped for a break in the driveway of a house that was under construction and, as it turned out completely empty. It also had a very long hose hooked up that was long enough to go around the back of the house. So we stripped down and took very, very cold hose showers and then dried off and relaxed on the front porch.

We also saw 3 amazing animals and felt very blessed. The first was a baby deer in my parents front yard that came within 15 feet of us. We had never been so close to a deer!

The next was a barred owl that Amalia spotted off the side of a bike path. We didn't get a photo but we spent 5 minutes watching each other. THEN we stopped in another driveway and there was a peacock sitting on the front porch

Quite a day of magical animals.

We camped in the back corner of a beautiful cemetary and had a very private spot on some grass next to the woods. My brand new inflatable camping pad was either defective or I sealed it incorrectly and I was awake and on the ground every 2 hours so I'm pretty exhausted. Hoping to figure it out tonight. This morning some very nice people came upon our tent on a walk with their dog and the wife was so excited about our trip and told us her dad did a tour of the whole country when he was in his 40's and did 100 miles a day! So we feel like we have something to work towards ha ha.

Anyway It's getting late and it's going to be a hot day so I have to go. Our goal today is Portsmouth NH. Here are some more photos!