Our bike trip ended on 06/16. We crashed with Warm Showers hosts that night. The next day we loaded up the bikes and the car for a trip to visit Jon’s aunt and partner in Milbridge, ME.
We drove six uneventful hours through forest and rolling hills. It felt weird to be in a car again. I found myself evaluating every hill we climbed and every turn we went around. Certainly you get up those hills more quickly in a car, but we had just finished 500 miles of similar terrain.
Jon told me his aunt and her partner had built their cabin by hand. They had deconstructed a barn and used the beams to make part of the structure.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as we drew closer to the address the road seemed to get smaller. Then a little bit smaller. Then the edge lines were gone. I joked that if it kept on that trend we’d soon be driving in dirt.
Soon enough that’s exactly what happened. The road turned to dirt. But there were still power lines, so we figured we didn’t have to worry about any banjo playing creepsters.
Finally we saw the address on the sign and pulled into the driveway. We weren’t quite sure we were in the right place, so I took it slowly and kept my eyes open. After about 25 meters we saw a man waving us in and pointing to where we were supposed to park. We made it!
Jon’s aunt and her partner welcomed us in. They had a fire going, ready to cook that evening’s dinner. They were some of the biggest chicken breasts I’d seen! I joked they belonged to Foghorn Leghorn…
Through and after dinner we talked: about our trip, about our cabin, about the goings on in Jon’s family. Then it was off to bed. To the loft for me, where I slept better than I had most nights on the bike tour.
The next day (06/18) was a bit rainy. The conversation flowed throughout the day. I wrote in my journal a lot that day and got caught up on some blogging.
When the rain cleared we braved the mosquitos to look at an interesting sculpture a local resident had brought back from Africa. I’d love to know more of the story behind it. If it is a god/dess, what does it signify or protect? What sort of critter is it?
The structure they built for it was equally cool. The edges roll in for a very unique look. I wondered if it once set in a similar structure in Africa. I’ll probably never know, but it was neat to check it out.
Before leaving the next day (06/19), we stopped at McClellan Park for a quick hike and a beautiful view.
After stopping at McClellan Park, we started our journey to Bath, ME to the Bikeman to ship Jon’s bike back to New Mexico. We took the scenic Highway 1 to get there. I puttered around the bike shop while Jon and the Bikeman talked shop about a couple of issues with Jon’s high tech bike.
Then we were on to Portland to meet up with Jon’s college roommate who hosted us for our final night in Maine. We were treated to beer and dinner. I was finally able to thank Sarah, the wife of the college roommate, for the clothes donations that helped to keep me warm on my trip.
My final craft project was packing up my bike box for the trip home. I used nearly an entire roll of duct tape on that box.
Packing the bike box is my least favorite part of the entire trip. If I do another bike tour that’s far away, I might ship the bike instead.
Jon’s flight left at 5:00 a.m. on 06/20. Mine didn’t leave until 10:40. Ken was kind enough to take me later, so I didn’t have to wait at the airport for unneeded hours. He even made me an egg, bacon, bagel sandwich and coffee before we had to leave!
They had my lost bag waiting for me. They waived the fee to check it. I checked the bike box and my big duffle. Everything went smoothly.
Then back home again! The second leg of my flight had a one-hour delay, but otherwise it was smooth sailing. Everything showed up in Tampa, though TSA took an interest in the bike box. I’m surprised they got it closed again…
So I’m home again. The bike is back together again. I’ve been tired and sore. I’m still processing my thoughts on the trip. Certainly I’m noticing some differences. I’ll save those for another post.