We and your fellow cyclists want to hear what you think about Exploring Maine by bike. Email and tell us about your experiences, rave about a tour, rant about road conditions, or just to share your general comments.

First-hand accounts, journal entries and photos are always welcome. Here is our first submission. We’ll rotate cyclist accounts on a regular basis.

Here is an August 2005 submission from the Secretary/Treasurer of Merrymeeting Wheelers Bicycle Club.   

Touring the County

By Bob Bruce

  On July 15 th , Louise and I started to load the trailer for the Tour De County Ride. It was to take place in Aroostook County July 16 th through July 23 rd . It is the second time we have done this ride. The first time was five years ago. It was a wonderful trip that time but things were a little different this time. Five of us traveled from Lincoln to Presque Isle with a stop in Houlton without a support vehicle. The rest of the group joined us in Presque Isle with the two chase vehicles. This year the chase vehicles started with us in Lincoln.

  About three months before the ride, Lloyd Ferris had done an article in the Maine Sunday Telegram on cycling in Southern Maine. It included interviews with Kirk Kennedy, Jennifer Berube, and me. I talked a lot about the up coming Tour De County Ride. Lloyd included it in the article. Richard Cleary of the Spinskis Bicycle Club from Aroostook County read the article and emailed Jennifer for information. Jennifer brought me into the loop and I had several emails with Richard. He offered to have some members ride from Island Falls to meet us on the first day and from Houlton to meet us on the second day. This was a real treat to have local involvement in the ride. He also offered to throw a barbecue at the Visitors Center in Houlton Sunday night. This was almost too real to believe.

  Louise and I visited he Mother in Oakland and left for Lincoln about 6:00 PM. It was an uneventful ride up. We were supposed to meet at MacDonald's at 8:30 to leave by 9:00. At the last minute Wally Grant, a member of the Spinskis, had offered to ride all the way to Island Falls with us. His sister brought him down to MacDonald's. The gang started to arrive. Derek, Sharon, and Jennifer Wilbraham spent the night in Lincoln and were there bright and early. Ed Roberts and his daughter Krista also spent the night at the same motel as us. Tony and Bob Barrett showed up with Mark Wheeler in tow. Ellen Call arrived and Marilyn and Dana Cary arrived. The gang was complete. We parked the vehicles that were not going with us across from the police/fire station. The day was warming up already.

  We stopped in Winn and bought sandwiches to go for lunch. Many of the local people were showing an interest in this group of oddly dressed people riding bicycles. It was a little strange to them. Richard Cleary and three of his friends were riding down from Island Falls to meet us. We met around half way and talked for a while. It was good getting a local cyclist view of what we were doing. They were very strong riders and decided to ride back at their own pace which was all right.

We still had Wally to pump for information. The information flowed freely from Wally. Wally shared information about the area as we rode by it. It was immeasurable. As we approached Cold Brook Road, an alternative road with better pavement than Route 2, we were getting low on water. I was riding with Wally and Mark Wheeler. We decided to ask the person in the trailer on the corner for water. The response was overwhelming. We all filled our water bottles and sat in the shade in her lawn chairs to cool off and drink some of the cold spring water. This was just an inkling of the Aroostook hospitality to come.

  Wally finally left us and we checked into Birch Point Campground. Setting up the tents was the first thing to do but to get wet in the lake was the second thing. It had been a hot ride and the lake felt great.

  Louise started fixing chili and every one helped. It was a quick quiet meal. We turned in early, as we had to break camp in time to get on the road by 8:00. We didn't even have a campfire.

  We met our goal of leaving by 8:00. The ride was a short ride but the day promised to be hot. The ride into Houlton proved to be a beautiful ride. The pavement was pretty good and the scenery was great. We found Mt Katahdin even in the morning mist. As we approached Houlton we began to run into potato fields. The blossoms were late this year. The Potato Blossom Festival in Ft. Fairfield was on and the blossoms were not cooperating at all. We rode by some fields without blossoms and we finally found some in bloom. They were magnificent.

  We arrived at My Brother's Place Campground with no problem. Mark stopped at MacDonald's to read the paper and get a cup of coffee. As we were setting up the tents Elly, Charlie, and Laura Cary showed up in their vehicle. When Derek, Sharon, and Jennifer finally got to camp we found out that Wally had come out and ridden all the way to the camp entrance with them.

  We had the afternoon to roam around the town and get lunch. I went down town with the Wilbrahams. We explored the downtown district and found the house architecture to be wonderful. We had been noticing the wonderful flower gardens and the well-kept houses. We visited their new bicycle/pedestrian bridge over the river. What a wonderful structure it is.

  We stopped on the way back to the campground to get an ice cream. There was a couple on a motorcycle there also. As we talked we found that they were from Presque Isle. They shared some thoughts with us and we all left with warm waves. This was another great example of Aroostook friendliness. Little did we know that the best was yet to come.

  The barbecue took place on time. Several of Richard's fellow cyclists showed up and we had a wonderful time. I visited the Information Center and talked with the two wonderful ladies that we working there. They told me about the Planet System that had been created by the county students and showed me Pluto that is in the Information Center. After a group photo we went back to camp and turned in. The next day was going to be a long day. We had 50 miles to cover.

  We packed up and left by 8:00. That would become our target time every day. We started with a side trip to a covered bridge. It had recently been restored and was in great shape. We returned to Route 1 at Littleton after a short ride along a pretty country road with potatoes in blossom everywhere. We were just in time to catch Neptune, the next planet. By this time I was riding with Dana Cary. We spent the day enjoying the scenery and hunting for the planets.

We stopped at the top of a hill in front of a cemetery for a drink and a snack. As we sat on the banking we were admiring a place across the road. It was the House of Bargins. There was a gentleman mowing the lawn. When he got done he came across the road to talk. Dana had done some banking business in Presque Isle in the past and this gentleman lived in Presque Isle. They new people in common. Once again the friendliness of Aroostook County had come alive. It was becoming incredible. We pushed on in search of Uranus, which was at the bottom of the hill we had stopped on.

  We stopped in Mars Hill for lunch. There we met a lady that shared her cycling adventures with us. She lived on Route 1 and we had to ride past her house. She was out on the deck waving to us as we passed. We couldn't get away from friendly people. They were everywhere. Every time I waved to someone I got a big five finger way. I have become accustom to being ignored or a one-finger salute.

  As we got close to Presque Isle the planets got closer and smaller. We missed Mars and had to go back to find it. A stop at the University of Presque Isle showed us the Sun and the beginning. It was kind of sad to complete the game but we were close to our destination of Arndt Campground on Route 205. I was looking forward to meeting Clare and Ken and spending some time talking with their son, Scott. Scott had been very helpful with small details of the trip for his local area. I also knew that a nice pool awaited us. Anne and Gerry Brookes had joined us.

  What I didn't know was that Rene Cloukey, the sports broadcaster, was returning to Caribou from Houlton and saw us cycling up Route 1. He guessed that there were too many to be random cyclists. He called Kathy Mazzuchelli of the Caribou Parks and Recreation to find out more. Scott had informed her that we were coming and told him to call Scott. Scott asked if we were willing to be interviewed and we all said yes very quickly. This was just another example of good things beyond my control taking place. We set the interview up for the next day. We were doing a loop ride to Presque Isle to Washburn to Caribou to Ft Fairfield and back to the camp.

  Rene was supposed to meet us between Caribou and Washburn at 11:00. I called him early in the morning and left a message that we would probably be through Caribou before 11:00. I failed to tell him we were using the Grimes Road instead of Route 161, the main road.

  I remembered that there was a wonderful bakery on the way into Caribou but I could not remember just where it was. Ellen Call was a little ahead of us as she was anxious to get to the bakery. I was riding with Mark Wheeler at this time. I suggested that we stop at a greenhouse and ask questions. It proved the right thing to do. It all came back in a flash. Louise had been setting there waiting for us five years ago and had taken a detour to the bakery. It was not on the road we were on. There were lots of smiles and well wishes from the people at the greenhouse.

  Mark and I made the turn they told us to take and we could just taste the fresh pastry. We finally found Ouellette's Variety, which included Alice's Bakery. We sat in the shade and sipped coffee and ate fresh pastry. This was the way life was supposed to be. We continued on and got confused traversing Caribou. We made a slightly wrong turn and stopped to ask a person shingling his roof how to get to where we wanted to go. He was just coming off the roof and stopped to talk for a while. We immediately got a history lesson on the immediate area. Once again, this was a great example of friendly people coming forward.

  As we climbed the big hill on Route 89 we were looking for the Grimes road. I spotted a cyclist ahead with a single pannier on the side of their bike. I tried to guess who it was. Marilyn Cary, one of our chase vehicles, was stopped at the Grimes Road turn when we got there. So was the cyclist. It proved to not be one of us. It was Karen Zanger. Her husband, Max, is the Executive Director of the Maine Outdoor Facility in Fort Kent. She was on her way to Ft Fairfield for a class she teaches to young people. Mark and I wound up riding all the way into Fort Fairfield with her. She was a wealth of information about outdoor activities in the area. It was another example of good things beyond my control happening.

  We stopped in Ft Fairfield for lunch. I was getting a little nervous because we had not met up with Rene. As the last person arrived they brought the news that the TV man was outside and would like to interview us. Only the Wilbrahams were out on the road. They had a hard time getting by a playground with Jenny. 4 ½ year old children love playgrounds and she needed a break from pedaling with her dad on the tandem. Mom was on her own bike behind them.

  Rene interviewed Mark Wheeler, Krista Roberts, and me. I sent him out the Grimes Road to see the Wilbrahams. Little did I know that they had trouble with my directions getting through Caribou and had taken Route 161 instead. He missed them. He had to go to Houlton to film a golf tournament.

We decided to travel back to camp by Route 167 so we could visit the Nordic Ski Center. The temperature was around 95 degrees by now and the hills proved to be too much for four of us. Luckily, Louise Rideout, our other SAG driver showed up with the truck. We loaded four bikes on the back and the people got into the cab and got a ride back to camp. By this time I was alone on a hot road.

  I got to the Nordic Center and debated if I wanted to ride in to see it. I knew it would be a while before I was back so I turned the corner. As I started up the gravel road I noticed a yellow shirt on a bike disappear around the corner. I guess right that it was Mark Wheeler. We joined forces and toured their wonderful facility. I was beginning to wonder how a place known only for potatoes could be a Wonder Land of things to do and places to go.

  As Mark and I got ready to say good by to the facility a car was coming up the road in a cloud of dust. We decided to let the dust settle before we tackled the road. The car proved to be Rene. He was back from the golf tournament and wanted to shoot some moving footage of cyclist. We were the only ones he could find. He got three different shoots of us and returned to Arndt's to shoot Mark jumping into the pool. He told us that the interview would be on TV on the 6:00 news. A TV was one of the things we left at home.

  I was talking with Clare Arndt a little later and she offered one of her cabins with cable TV so we could watch the broadcast. All of us guys and some of the girls went over to the cabin to watch the broadcast. We would get many miles out of that show.

  Nine more of the Spinskis showed up on a ride out of Caribou. Two of them came over to the cabin. We had thunder and lightning dancing all around the area. We talked outside in the shelter of the cabin over hang waiting for the rain to stop. The two with us thought all the others had gone back and left them there alone. We walked down to the office only to find them in the recreation room waiting for them to come down and ride home. We talked for a while longer and they had to leave because of the dark. This was yet another example of Aroostook people reaching out to make our trip successful.

  Things were wet in the morning but the rain had stopped. We loaded the trailer and started for St Agatha. We went right by Alice's Bakery, which required a stop. As we rode we began to climb long hill after long hill.

We wanted to visit the museum at New Sweden but it was closed. There was a convenience store at the beginning of the road. There was a couple there that began talking with us. It turned out that he was a Spinski and lived in Van Buren. I asked him manly questions about Aegis Bicycle, as we were planning to visit the plant. Once again chance had led us to the right person.

  There were many tracks on the road where moose had stomped around and then crossed the road. Two moose were spotted lurking in the woods. Derek and Jennifer had a special bonus. A small bear ran across the road in front of them. It looked like a cub. They would see another one two days later.

  The road into Lakeview Campground and Restaurant was pretty and flat along the lakes. It made the last 10 miles enjoyable but the last 100 yards was up a very steep hill. The hill would prove worth the climb. While Louise was checking in she noticed that the TV was satellite and commented that the group would like to see the Tour De France.

  We had supper at the restaurant and several of us kept jumping up to watch the tour. The lady running the restaurant told me that a TV was being set up in the campground. I guess they would have rabbit ears and wonder how much we could pick up. We all enjoyed a wonderful meal served by a delightful waitress. I looked for the manager to tell her about our great waitress but I could not find her.

  We returned to camp to find that some of the campsites had cable hookups and the Tour was on again. It was strange to be watching TV on a picnic table. A loud roar came up and that meant someone had spotted a moose. We all ran to the edge of the campground and sure enough there was the moose. It was a long way away. We were standing on the site of other campers. They were friendly and I started to talk to them. As I talked I found out that one was the owner of the campground and the others were members of her family. It was her sister that waited on us and her daughter ran the restaurant. Great things were happening at every turn.

  We started for our last campground, Grande-Riviere in St Leonard NB across the border from Van Buren the next day. We had to climb over a large ridge and I remembered the pavement being less than desirable five years ago. The ride around Long Lake was quiet and beautiful. A heavy fog lay over the lake but the land was clear. As the fog lifted the lake was smooth, no wind. There were potato fields along the way. At one time I could see riders ahead winding through the potato fields and all I could think of was the Tour riding through the fields of sunflowers on a much smaller scale.

  The climb was not a difficult one but the descent was terrible. The road was the worst that we were to encounter. It was down hill and easy to carry speed. At one time I was carrying too much speed and nearly crashed. I was fearful of pinch flats.

  Derek and Sharon had decided to stay in St Agatha another night. They were carrying all their gear in panniers so they could. They wanted to tour Ft Kent and Madawaska. Charlie, Mark, and Gerry decided to take the long way to St Leonard by going through Ft Kent and Madawaska. They crossed the border at Madawaska and entered St Leonard on Rt 144, the old Tran-Canada road. They all wanted to visit the Maine Outdoor Center. It was worth the detour.

  Route 1 proved to be a dream. A slight tail wind had developed and the road was flat compared to what we had been on. We all stopped to visit the Arcadia Village Museum.

  Everyone but me went right into camp to recline in the pool. I stopped at The Ski Shop run by Lyn Michaud. I had been told that it was a nice shop. What I walked into was an Oasis in the Desert. It was filled with all the summer toys a person would want. The shop was fairly new and well displayed. Lyn was at lunch so I talked with his mechanic. He was very friendly and helpful.

  Lyn came in and I started to ask him about a tour of the Aegis factory. He called to set up the tour but they were at lunch and no one answered the phone. I learned that the phone is a local unlisted number only. The company phone is in Camden where the new owner lives. We started to talk about cycling in general and specific in that area. We found that we knew several people in common. Before I realized it, an hour had past. It was so easy talking to Lyn. He made another call and set up the tour. He gave us a couple of rides for the next day. After about two hours my stomach was empty and I had to leave. I did so knowing that I was leaving another warm and friendly Aroostook County person. This is the way life should be in Maine.

  Kirk and Susan Kennedy had joined us for the last two days. Kirk, Ellen Call, Ed and Krista Roberts, and I set off for Edmundston on Route 144 on the Canadian side of the border. It was a pretty flat ride and the wind was in our face. Even with a small pace line we could not average over 14 miles per hour.

  We stopped at St Anne de Madawaska and visited their beautiful church. Both sides of the border are predominately catholic and have some very beautiful churches. We all snapped a lot of pictures.

  As we neared Edmundston we ran into road construction. It lasted about a mile. We just had to slow down. Edmundston is a typical mill town. The mill is across the river in Madawaska. It was bustling with activity. We had lunch at Subway. The rest of the group wanted to walk around the town. I sat back in the little outdoor eating area and took a nap. It was hot and I don't like walking on hard surfaces in my bike shoes.

  The ride back proved to be a treat. The wind was now at our back and we were able to cruise. We averaged 18 MPH for over 15 miles. I did the last four miles alone at around 22 MPH. That is fast for me.

  Supper that night was at a restaurant that we had eaten at five years ago and had a great time. The food was not special but the ambiance was. We could not eat on the deck as we had but it was pretty hot for that any way. The meal was good and the talk was fun. We decided to go for ice cream. I got mine early and sat at the picnic table on the side of the shop. I got up to talk to Louise as she was getting her ice cream. The gentleman serving the ice cream asked if we were a group and when we said yes he recognized me. He said “You are the group touring the county”. We all agreed and he asked to take our picture. Of course we agreed to that. I figured he had a camera in the shop. He didn't. He had to go home and get his camera. He closed the shop and drove home. When he returned he had a very elaborate camera set. Come to find out, he was a photographer first and sold ice cream on the side. He used two different cameras and took several pictures. This was another classic example of Aroostook County people even though he lives across the border in St Leonard.

  Saturday brought the sad start of the final ride. Derek and Sharon got a little late start or we got an early start. I waited for them at The Ski Shop. While I waited Lyn showed up and we talked about the tour and our trip in general. He was almost as excited as I was.

  We started to climb the long hill out of Van Buren with a heavy heart. Just 35 miles away was the end of the trip. I wanted it to go on forever. No one wants good things to end.

  The ride included some breath taking scenery at the top of those high hills. Sharon and I were licking the cameras like crazy. As were neared Caribou we passed a playground that we just had to stop at and let Jenny play. She had a ball on all the apparatuses. The horses and dinosaur on springs seemed to be her favorite. We finally had to leave and Jenny went over and hugged the dinosaur and horses. That said it all for all of us.

  The vehicle ride back to Lincoln was uneventful except for the two deer on the side of the road. The ride home from there was also uneventful.

  Louise and I received many accolades for our efforts from the gang but I have to say the real accolades go to the people of Aroostook County. We made the plans but they made it successful. Many of us Southern Mainers have no idea what the top of Maine is like. The homes in general were well kept and had many beautiful flower gardens. The scenery at the top of the hills was breath taking. The people were the topping on an ice cream sundae. Everywhere we went we were received with smiles and glad wishes. I would sum the ride up with one word, Incredible.

Here is a July 2005 submission: 

Share The Road

by Kathy McWilliams

Seeing the sign, Share the Road, while cycling throughout Maine is a welcome like no other when you're traveling by bicycle. My boyfriend, Brian and I decided to take a bike trip from York to Camden and back after we purchased some nice good used bikes from Craigslist. We're a fit couple running a couple of marathons this year so biking the hills of Maine seemed like a great idea. It was. Our first major bike trip loaded up without a plan proved to be a once in a lifetime opportunity and we met many smiling faces along the way from York to Camden and back, 387 miles later.

We had to purchase a bit of more biking gear and ebay provided the perfect solution. Our panniers arrived on Friday and we were off on Monday morning in July. We had a book on cycling throughout Maine but we just stopped at the first visitor's center in York and got a map with a list of campsites. We believed that camping during the summer months would be easiest, although we had one night where there was no room at the campsite.

I found information on biking from the Maine Department of Transportation web site so we parked our car at the York park-n – ride and set off to Route 1A up to Portland . Little did we know that all roads do lead to Route 1. Not a biker friendly road at all so we avoided it at all costs, however, we had to get on Rt 1 more often than we liked. We discovered every back road not leading to Rt 1 and we learned that when Rt 1 was steep and hilly, the back roads were exponentially more steep and hilly! Our first day found us landing in Scarborough , Maine at an adult's only campground. Of course, we wondered what that was about, but it was just a quiet campsite where children were not allowed. We ate a nice Thai dinner and had an ice cream at a dairy bar afterwards. The temperature was continually hot, humid, and sunny so our sleeping bag was just a floor cushion mostly.

We had our first flat biking and as prepared as we thought we were we ended up using all of the two tubes that we brought while purchasing 4-5 along the way. There are a lot of bike shops in Maine .

We came upon the ET, the Eastern Trail several times throughout our riding. This trail seems interesting but not completely for us on a road bike since some areas are unpaved.

Going over the bridge to Portland was fun- having a clearly marked bike lane was even better. We stopped in Portland for breakfast the next day. Our biking life revolved around breakfast and dinner. We tried to ride 20 miles before breakfast daily so we earned and deserved our breakfast! Then we were off to explore the coast some more, taking a nice bike path from Portland into Falmouth , running into a biker who recommended Rt 88. A great ride from Falmouth to Freeport more or less. We stopped to go to the beach in Falmouth and enjoyed the cool water. The sun was hot and our skin tanned up even with sunscreen. We stopped on a corner and lathered up having Brian do my back and top. I think many cars passed by wondering what those two were up to…

At LLBean's in Freeport we decided that I needed a camping pillow since Brian graciously lent me his the first night but would be more comfortable the rest of the trip with his pillow back. It was a bit of an ordeal since I wanted to use my LL Bean coupons and credit card that I didn't have with me. We managed and then Brian decided to purchase a head mirror thinking that it would help in biking. It was a bit complicated and wouldn't fit his helmet so back to return it 10 minutes later! Enough of Freeport to us, and off we went north through the countryside and back roads. Now we relied more on our book. It proved to be extremely helpful in taking you off the beaten path.

We ended up riding 80 miles on day two up into Wiscasset , Maine . A biker passes us on the road and offered his home for tenting and a shower. We didn't take him up on it but were forever impressed by the friendliness of the people in Maine . It was nearing 7:00pm and we had enough riding so as we passed the turn-off to the campsite, never quite getting the road signs and mileage, we stopped and asked for directions. A shower and food were foremost on our minds. A woman at an antiques place recommended a good restaurant near our campsite so we were ready to get going to find the site. We later met her at the restaurant and learned that she's about to be married but just loved the look of Brian in his bike shorts. We ate a great dinner at the bar and met a few new friends while sipping a margarita.

The next day was some heavy hill biking through Nobleboro to Camden . I thought of old high school friends who run Camp Kieve , a leadership camp that my 6 th grade daughter attended while biking in Nobleboro. We did end up on Rt 1 for a bit and the most treacherous crossing was the Bath Bridge- still a place was reserved for cyclists. I had to laugh at my own fearlessness. The bike book said that we'd encounter some major dips and climbing and we did, one hill had me clocked at 38.5 miles per hour. When we came upon Moody's Diner, it was an oasis. One of our best breakfasts in Maine and the desserts looked incredible. A very busy place but fast and efficient, a keeper.

We made it early into Camden so we had the day to spend at the beach listening to live Polka Music and surrounded by several busloads of day camp kids. We still managed to relax. In town we bought a pint of Ben & Jerry's Fudge Central, my favorite and shared it at the harbor. We could eat as much as we wanted with all of this biking! After buying ice creams regularly we finally did the prudent thing as true New Englanders would and bought a pint at the local store and they even provided the plastic spoons. Getting an ice cream at a stand is fun but a rather expensive routine!

We stayed at Camden State Park and could have hiked Mt. Baldy , but couldn't either. It rained that night and we stayed cozy in our tent. We headed back to Moody's the next day, why mess with the best around, and continued back to Freeport for the night. This time I bought a cream puff- the largest cream puff- to go and we got to eat it sitting in a gazebo somewhere in Maine . It hit the spot.

We were on our way back now so staying in Freeport was a good break in the trip. Since we based a lot of the traveling work on food, there's good eating in Freeport . We ate at an Italian place and had a few good drinks there. We did have to use our limited night gear for driving back. Not recommended. The next day we took some more back roads and stopped at Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth . It was a nice relaxing time resting on the beach. We did have our share of the notorious green heads but nothing like at Plum Island where we live in Newburyport , MA . We actually used hardly any bug spray on this trip. Unusual for camping in New England . After getting a flat , a block from a bike shop, we had a later start than expected. Which left us into Saco later than we expected and here on Friday night in July was no room at the inn. The next available campsite was in Kennebunkport another 20 or so miles. But we've done 80 before so we had no choice. We had a choice, a friendly store clerk offered his yard and we were close to taking him up on it. But being the New Englanders that we are we preserved. And promptly got another flat a mile away from the store! This was a bit testy for us- Brian had the back roads in mind while I wanted RT 1 for speed and it was recommended by the store clerk for speed. So like most couples we just ended up on Rt 1 after being lost. We made it into the Red Apple Campground around 7:30pm . We looked a bit tired and while checking in we asked how close down town was for a place to have a drink and dinner. The owner asked about how many drinks we were planning. I said two. He said then take my truck. Now who would have thought that we'd get such luck. We were just happy to find a vacant site let alone the ability to go get dinner. We parked the truck emblazoned with Red Apple Campground right in front of the restaurant and felt like we were true Mainers with our pick-up. People went out of their way to accommodate us, maybe it was a Lance Armstrong phenomena, or maybe people just like to see people “doing it.” We appreciated everyone's friendliness and hospitality. We now rave about Maine as a vacation place. The next day, our last of our 6 days was a short ride into York, but first –breakfast in Ogunquit at Amore's- this was our best breakfast and we've since rode our bikes back up from Newburyport for an overnight just to eat there again. You can tell that food become important during all of this riding!

Additionally, we came away with the idea of sharing the rode. We also noted the signs of biker friendly towns like Brunswick and compliment those towns that do see the value of bike lanes. It's not just for the bikes, it's a statement about a communities values. So when you're driving a car, please remember to share the road. There's room for everyone as cliché as that may sound.