There’s a reason to write these recaps on the day… as a few days pass,
it’s hard to remember exactly how things went down. Well, here we are, two days
out from the ride, which means four days out from this day, and I’m going to
have to rack my brain to come up with the recap. Better get it done before it
fades further into the memory black hole.
So, I had a rough night sleeping because one of my bunkmates was up and
down all night, not to mention my ribs are still bothering me. Every time I
want to turn over, I end up waking up because of the pain. But also the overly
loud non-sleeper across the way. When it finally was time to get up – around
6am – it was tough. I made my way out of the top bunk and down to the land of
the living, packed up my stuff and headed to breakfast. All morning long my
plan was to try to just start off riding. There were 76 miles on the schedule
for the day, and I just wanted to attempt as many as possible. We would be
crossing into two new states today, finally leaving beautiful Maine behind. I
wanted to ride across those state lines on my bike. I wanted to really push
myself. But as I headed to breakfast and dropped off all my gear, I was
confronted with the reality of just how sore I really was. The smart thing was
to shuttle – so I said goodbye to my friends as they headed out of camp, and
waited for the van to leave.
At about 8:45 we drove out of camp and followed along behind the riders.
There were two other riders in the van with me – one that had a bad crash the
day before and one that was having some knee trouble – as well as an awesome
mechanic (Evan) and our super support drive Kai. We had some great MJ tunes to
pump us up for the day and made our way to the first water stop at the Rachel
Carson park. On the way, we made a pit stop at a great coffee house in
Kennebunkport and I grabbed a coffee and some more ibuprofen to make it through
the next few days. But once we got to the park, I was itching to get on my
bike. I had some BioFreeze in my bag that I slathered on and shared with
another rider before we hit the road. It was great to once again feel the
breeze against my skin and be pedaling my way along the shores.
It was about 15 miles from the water stop to lunch at the Nubble Light and
the views were absolutely stunning! I got to ride through Ogunquit with a woman
who had grown up there, so she took the lead and told me all about the town
when she was growing up there. It was so cool to get that perspective on the
ride. We pulled over for a photo stop and I got a glimpse of an absolutely
beautiful white sand beach. Then we were riding all along the shore and words
just really can’t explain how amazing it was. I seriously was riding around
corners and just saying “WOW!” We pulled into lunch and I was ready to just
call it a day. Not because I was sore from being on the bike, but because our
lunch spot was purely idyllic. On the rocky coast, with classic Cape Cod
cottages along the shore… and the lighthouse just over the hill. I wanted to
just stay there forever. But alas, there were more miles to ride, so I was back
on the bike.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make it very far. Still in Maine, only a few miles
from the New Hampshire state line, I got a flat tire. I was about to attempt to
fix it myself (the only other time I’ve had a flat, I had my dad change the
tire), when I realized I didn’t have a spare tube (remember that time my dad
changed my tire…). So I called in for help and the sag wagon was along shortly
to scoop me up. Instead of trying to fix it on the spot, they picked me up –
along with a few other riders already aboard – and ferried us up to the next
water stop. After falling less than a mile after getting started, all
inhibitions about having to be in the van instead of on the bike on the road go
out the proverbial window.
In the last year, a former Climate Rider was killed when she was hit by a
car while cycling. Such a tragedy, because she was such a young woman, but it
brings home the message of the Pass Them Like You Love Them campaign. There was
a memorial for Allison this day just into New Hampshire at a park. About 30
riders stopped for the memorial. Since I didn’t know Allison personally, I
didn’t feel a need to stop, and neither did anyone else in the van. It was
definitely a moving tribute to see all the riders gathered there. But it meant
that we jumped ahead of them as we drove on to the water stop.
The stop was along the beach, and since I was letting the mechanics take
care of changing my tire and we were well ahead of most of the riders, we had
some time to just take it all in. I even walked down to the beach and put my
toes in the water. It was WAY too cold to put much else in! Once the right tube
was on the bike, I was ready to hit the road again. I had debated about
skipping a few more miles in the day, but having been picked up again, I
decided I was going to try to just ride all the way in to camp – as long as the
tire held up. I pulled out and enjoyed the New Hampshire beaches before we
turned west and headed in land. There was yet another brief stop at this neat
farm just before we crossed into Massachusetts that I stopped out and picked up
a few goodies.
I of course had to stop for the obligatory “welcome to a new state” photo
as I crossed into Mass… but then realized I couldn’t figure out how to flip the
picture so you could actually read it. Oh well! It was just a few more miles to
camp, and the weather was absolutely beautiful for these last few hilly miles.
I finally pulled into camp and tucked my bike in for the night. I was ready for
a hot shower but alas, there wasn’t a lot of time before dinner, so it was just
a quick change and then down for food.
Dinner was good, but I scarfed down my food so I could get that shower.
This is my favorite night of the ride because it means it’s time for Kip’s
slide show. Kip is our resident paparazzi and his photos are always amazing. He
includes photos of riders as well as scenery shots and some cool bike shots. I
love seeing how he captures the ride from behind the lens. So I wanted to make
sure I didn’t miss that.
Temps were starting to drop, so it was great to finally get to pull on
some of my warm, post-ride clothing that I had packed. My ride buddy Michele
and I hiked down to the gathering spot and listened to the speakers before it
was time for the slide show. I remembered that I had signed up for a massage,
but I didn’t want to miss the show, so I headed up early to cancel. But when I
got there, Kip was still sitting in the dining hall scrambling to finish up the
slide show, so I figured, I could use a massage. Just make sure to head out
when Kip heads down. The timing worked out perfectly and I was able to really
enjoy the show. I can’t wait until the disc arrives!
Afterwards, I was just too tired for much else, so it was time to hike
back up to the cabin and tuck in for the night. And man was it important to
tuck in… those temps were DIVING over night.
Stay tuned for the recap from the last day of the ride!
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