September 26: Bar Harbor, ME to Lincoln, ME

Bar Harbor, Maine Sept 26 to Lincoln Maine (92 Miles)

I was a little worn out so I slept in late and did not leave the hotel in Bar Harbor till 9:30 this morning after packing up my gear. However, all my clothes are washed and clean and I am clean and I had a good nights sleep. It was a cool crisp morning with just a little breeze. I rode back to Ellsworth and got something to eat and bought a sandwich to take with me. It didn’t look like there were a lot of places to buy food above Bangor. I left Ellsworth and started down highway 1A toward Bangor and what a mess. Highway 1A was deteriorating and crumbling all over with potholes and no shoulder at all and about 1 bazillion cars per mile on that stretch of road. They are working on the road but today it is a mess. It lasted for nearly 15 miles. Not very pleasant for a cyclist. Anyway the road finally improved at some point and became a nice highway with nice shoulders and in good condition. I continued climbing hill after hill till I got above Bangor. I took route 46 and route 9 around Bangor so I would not have to go into the city. I don’t like riding in bigger cities if I can help it. As I got above Bangor, the traffic improved little by little. I was traveling along the Penobscot River (I think) but I could not find any signs that told me what the river was. Anyway it is a very beautiful river.

I continued North and the terrain became more gentle. The hills were not at steep and the road continued to be a good road with a nice shoulder for me to ride on. That was quite a relief. Pedaling without wondering if my legs were going to explode at any minute. Very nice. The further North I got, the fewer cars I saw. Lori called me and told me there was an LDS church in Lincoln but no other places along the way except in Bangor and I was already past Bangor. I was not planning on traveling that far today because I got a late start and I am a little worn out, but what the heck. If I got there I could go to church on Sunday. So I put my head down and kept pedaling to Lincoln.

My Butt is very sore and I am worried that I will open up some sores on my cheeks, so I dug out some square Band-Aids that I purchased a while ago and put them on the worst spots on my Bum. Immediately I felt relief from the pressure of riding and rubbing on those spots. I wish I would have done that a few days ago. I don’t know what happens if I keep those patches on my butt for a long time and I don’t know if they will stay on there anyway, but I will leave them on as long as they will stay. It does help to make my rear end not hurt so bad.

When I was traveling down the road a nice duck from Maine flew down and landed on my bicycle handlebars and rode with me for a few miles. The ducks in Maine are very beautiful. (See Photo of Duck)

It got dark and very peaceful. There were hardly any cars on highway 2 as I got closer to Lincoln. The night was cold so I put some warm clothes on kept riding. The stars were out all over and the moon was about half full. Very pretty peaceful night. The few cars that did come by me could see me easily with all my reflectors and they went way around me which was nice.

I ran out of water so I stopped at a house along the way somewhere to get some more water and the guy looked at me like I was some kind of nut, but he did give me some water. Thank you kind sir.

I finally got to Lincoln and rode around awhile and found the church and found a hotel where I could stay for a reasonable price.

Maine is very beautiful. The further North I go, the better I like it. Although Bar Harbor is also very Beautiful and there are lots of great restaurants there, there are way too many people there for my liking. It is too much of Rat Race around Bar Harbor. It is becoming very peaceful as I go North in Maine.

Till tomorrow,
Dan

Penobscot River Sept 26 to Lincoln Maine