Cadillac Mountain, in Acadia National Park, the highest on the U.S. eastern seaboard. 5.56km long with an average gradient of 5.4% and an altitude of 466m. Conquered by 8.30am! If I did this ten more times, that would be about the same as the first day of our next challenge. Watch this space for more details soon.
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Day 7 Acadia National Park and Bar Harbour
We spent today relaxing and each doing our own thing. For Caroline, Paul, Steve and Alex (Marianne and Steve’s son) this involved a 32 mile cycle!
For Paula and Julia, this meant a long bus journey to the airport and an equally long flight home after packing up their bikes with record breaking speed.
For Marianne, accompanied by Alison and Steve, today marked a first outing on a bicycle since her accident. A ten miles flat route along Eagle Lake, taking in some stunning views. The traffic free road was quiet but gravelly and Marianne admirably managed to steer her heavy, hire bike single handedly. A leisurely lunch and a walk around Bar Harbour made for a lovely afternoon.
John and Deb drove to Acadia National Park and took in some of the sights.
John and Don chose to hike up Cadillac mountain, stopping only for a brief refreshment at the Thirsty Whale on the way home.
For Kate and Lee, today involved a variety of hikes including out to Bass Harbour Head Lighthouse.
It was great to regroup in the evening where the boys shopped for and prepared a fabulous BBQ for us all to enjoy.
Day 6 Bangor to Bar Harbour
By Alison Anderson
It was absolutely the right decision not to cycle today! We were all exhausted and grateful not to subject our saddle sores to another eight hours on a bike!
Our day started early with breakfast and a leisurely drive to Acadia National Park and a drive to the top of Cadillac Mountain to enjoy the wonderful views.
A meander long the coastline stopping at various sights, the sandy beach, and the blow hole.
Arriving in Bar Harbour late afternoon within minutes of the cyclists who had completed an extremely hilly 62 miles.
A great evening celebrating before returning to our rented villa for a couple of days R&R before heading home. Having rested for 24 hours, a slow cycle along the Jordan Pond carriage road beckons tomorrow and we are seriously contemplating tackling Cadillac Mountain on Sunday morning, all 5.5km of hill with an average gradient of 5.5%.
Day 6 Bangor to Bar Harbour
By Caroline Broekman
We set off from Bangor Casino along the river on a great tarmaced path all the way to the bridge over the river. A breakfast stop at 0.2 miles was very welcome as the casino snack bar selection was not particularly appetising. We then had a ride of long hills – some Cotswoldian in length. Beautiful multi-coloured expanses of gorse at the top of the climbs.
At Otis General Store we met more friendly locals – Kent and Chuck, the cyclist with lots of questions about bike transport and recommendations for the route into Bar harbour. After Chuck left us and we prepared to leave, the following conversation took place:
John, picking up a cycle helmet: “Guys, this must be Chuck’s helmet.”
“John, where is yours?”
John, hand on head: “Oh yea, this one is mine!”
More hilly miles, past beautiful lakes and with views of Bar Harbour and Cadillac Mountain. We saw our cycling friends, Moss and Jim, (see Day 4 blog) on the final day of their epic ride.
Then a great lunch stop at Mama’s Kitchen (recommended by the aforementioned Chuck) resulted in us tackling the final ascent and descent into Bar harbour with varying degrees of indigestion. We had made good time and arrived at out Air B&B house just before 4pm to meet up with the rest of the group.
The weather today has been amazing (blue sky all the way) and the cycling challenging but great fun.
Now we look forward to exploring Bar Harbour and Acadia National Park
The Team
Meet the team…..
The Challenge
To cycle 350 miles from Boston to Bar Harbour, over six days.
Day 5 Camden Rockport to Bangor
56 Hilly Miles
Delighted to have a much needed, slightly shorter day, with the weather warmer than forecast, the team set off from Camden and arrived at Bangor together. Despite travelling the same roads together, our experiences of today were very different.
David Julia Don Alison Paul John 
John Steve Paula Caroline 
Kate Marianne
I can only give my perspective. For me, today was hard, the hills felt relentless and the power in my legs did not match the height of the hills! I got there in the end but it felt hard and I was counting down the miles all the way. A combination of already tired legs from the three preceding, very long days in the saddle, less training than for last year’s LEJOG and another year into living with Parkinson’s. This noticeably makes my balance a little less good, the movement and therefore power transfer in my right leg is abnormal and less effective and there are very noticeable declines in my performance, stamina and speed as my medications peak and trough.
On a positive, the route, yet again, was lovely and I have improved my cycling technique on hills, I’ve improved my ability to pick up pace downhill and ‘coast’ up the next, pedalling hard and fast and avoiding slowing to a pace where it is difficult to maintain any momentum! My average speed is consistently higher than last year’s (although it didn’t feel like it at times) and overall I love the challenge.
Of course, yet again, we have a wonderful team of people to cycle with and Marianne who organised the whole trip and Kate who have supported us all the way around. It is fantastic to be part of such a fun, supportive and energetic team.
I have made the decision not to cycle the final day tomorrow – the hilliest yet, another 75 miles as I am exhausted and there will be no enjoyment for me or anyone else in the team if I start the day feeling this way. Instead I will travel to Bar Harbour with the support team, enjoy a day seeing some of the sights in and around Bar Harbour and hopefully cycle around Acadia National Park over the weekend before returning home.
With the decision made, in good spirits, I head out to dinner with great friends, much fun and laughter before returning to our hotel for some much needed sleep.
Many of the team found today exhilarating and I’ll let them tell their own stories…..
Day 4 Brunswick to Camden Rockport
A Hot, Humid, Hilly and Hard 73 Miles
Despite the rainy start to the day which we hadn’t expected, the temperature and humidity steadily increased and for the most part it was extremely hot and humid. For those of us who had cycled Vietnam, it was very reminiscent of the climate we had experienced there.
Having had relatively few hills throughout the previous three days, we had been lulled into a false sense of security. As well as the heat and humidity, we had many, many hills to contend with. For the majority of us, today was a really tough one. After three long days in the saddle (I’m not even going to begin to mention saddle sores!), our weary legs and bodies were challenged by the heat and humidity and hill after hill.
It almost goes without saying that we encountered a road closure and true to form, we ignored the road closed signs and warnings from another group of cyclists who had been advised by the sheriff’s office not to attempt the crossing, to find we were welcomed over the closed bridge by the workmen who waved us on our way!
A very welcome coffee stop in the morning where we met once again the cyclists who had taken the detour and not attempted the closed bridge crossing. They had been cycling from Washington State for 66 days and would arrive in Bar Harbour on Friday, the same day as us.
Our return to the route was delayed only momentarily while another puncture was repaired Formula One pit stop style.
Due to the scenic but rural nature of our route, a lunch stop was more elusive. We did meet a fascinating couple of guys who had left Seattle on 12th June and would reach Bar Harbour the same time as us but having completed over 4,500 miles!
Moss & Jim who set off cycling from Seattle on 12th June, will arrive in Bar Harbour on Friday. A 4,500 mile journey!
Never had a pizza place been more appealing than the one we found at Thomaston late in the afternoon, with only 15 miles to go. A quick stop while we refuelled and topped up our depleted water supplies and we set off on our last leg of the journey.
The last few miles were as hilly as the rest as once again we were presented with a mixture of beautifully smooth roads, some amazingly poor condition, pot holed roads, extremely busy highways and stunning coastal roads. Never was I more pleased to reach our hotel.
A wonderful evening meal at The Waterfront Restaurant (there is no limit to our hunger or the calories we can consume) and off to bed by 10pm exhausted…..
Day 3 Ogunquit to Brunswick
Another 80 miles cycled today…….
Yesterday we passed through three states – Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Today we remained in Maine but with three different states – initial optimism, a period of happy delusion and by the end of the day, complete exhaustion!
The day started well with a good spirited, enthusiastic air of optimism. The weather was good, the route promised some great sights and we were all in great form. Having achieved our fastest ever group cycle this morning, enjoyed some beautiful sights and relaxed at a great coffee stop at 40 miles, all was good. A period of happy delusion passed over us as we expected the next 40 miles and the rest of the day to continue in such an easy, relaxed and enjoyable manner.
Then reality then set in… after an 80 mile cycle yesterday, some of the group were noticeably tired by the afternoon. When we started to feel this way, there seemed to be an onslaught of things to challenge us – rush hour traffic, major road junctions to navigate and a succession of increasingly challenging hills. Add to this a huge variety of road surfaces to contend with, some of them very pleasant – new tarmac road through the woods, paths through the salt marshes and some not so pleasant – the usual roadworks, gravel paths, unfinished roads, cobblestones, and an onslaught of obstacles. Our pace slowed down and the group separated for the first time as we each focussed on getting through the miles. True to form, we all cycled every mile and having regrouped before then end, were euphoric to reach the hotel together at 5.30pm. Just enough time to wash our kit, shower, change and head to a restaurant for some supper.
Day 2 Rockport to Ogunquit
An early start for our 80 miles cycle up to Ogunquit. Packing our bags in the morning, ready to transfer to our next hotel required some serious thought and planning! Will we need to; wear it, carry it, eat it, drink it, pack it, leave it? Travelling light is important but so is having the essential kit.
Having completed the last few miles yesterday at a fast pace, a few of us hinted that we may need a slightly slower pace today to sustain some energy for the latter few miles. However (!), as well as cycling some very scenic coast roads we also cycled long stretches of beautifully smooth, predominantly flat, wide roads enabling us to cycle at our fastest yet group pace. Some of us even managed a peloton for a long stretch before regrouping for a welcome coffee break in Newburyport.
The first puncture of the trip early into the day was dealt with Formula One pit stop style; tyre patched, wheel rim repaired, new inner tube inserted, blown up with CO2 canister in record quick time!
The day was great fun, tiring but exhilarating and we all managed the pace through the entire 80 miles, even with a few hills during the last few miles. Brilliantly led again by Steve – I quite possibly would still be trying to find my way without his great sense of direction.
Part of the enjoyment of the day is the camaraderie, the refreshment stops and stopping to enjoy the views, so overall, another long day in the saddle with a huge sense of satisfaction (and tiredness) prevailing this evening!
A welcome sight when we reached our hotel, a quick change and out to dinner. Wonderfully organised again by Marianne who had enjoyed some time on the beach today with Kate.
Adventures of A Cyclopath 