Meadows of Flowers and Cords of Firewood

Day 84, June 24, 2011, Meadows of Flowers and Cords of Firewood

86.8 miles averaging 12.7 mph

Route from Brunswick to Moorings RV Park, Belfast, ME

Best Moment – I arrived at the camp around 3:30. Neita had been here for nearly an hour.  We have the most spectacular view of the ocean.  I doubt that there will be anyone sunbathing, but we have an ocean front view.  – Amazing.

Worst Moment – I’m sort of getting used to the odd way that Maine posts its street signs.  Sometimes they aren’t there at all.  Other times, they are posted in a way that makes it difficult to tell the name of the street that you’re on or the street you’re on really has the name you think it does.  And at intersections they seldom have signs indicating the names of both streets – tricky because the street I was riding on wasn’t the one going straight – very tricky.  Thank heavens for GPS.

This morning I left in a cold drizzle.  Temperatures were in the mid fifties and only got to the mid sixties all day long.  While there was never heavy rain, there were a couple of times when there was a steady drizzle.  The clouds threatened rain all day long. 

Going through the coastal hills, there are amazing meadows of wild flowers of lupine, buttercup, clover, and other small flowers.  The other surprising site is the amount of firewood at nearly every house.  As cold as it was I was surprised that more folks didn’t have a fire burning – though I did smell some.  With all of the cords of wood, and the signs that I saw advertising ice augers, sleighs and dog sleds, I really don’t think that I’d want to be here in the winter.

Belfast is a charming community.  It is quite picturesque.  There are amazing B&B’s, resorts, and spas.  It would be a great place to come back to spend time at.

There was this one special purpose mailbox that I found interesting. It may be difficult to read, but the uppermost one was labeled “Air Mail,” the middle one, “Bills,” and I guess everything else went in the lower one.

The campground has a restaurant.  The chef is the owner of the campground.  It is J’s Lobster Bar.  Well, guess who had lobster again?  I had a bite.  It was even better than the one in Kennebunkport.  I doubt that Neita will ever tire of this shellfish.

The cold rainy weather of the past few days, the challenges of finding the route, and the challenges of the ride itself have taken their toll on my commitment to the perimeter ride.  At times, I debated my commitment to completing the whole perimeter.  However, I am nearly half way done.  I don’t want to think what would have happened if only I’d stuck it out.  And, I still really like seeing all of the country and meeting the people.  So for now, I’ve a renewed resolve to finish the big ride.

If you would like to donate to my ride, my link for the Lance Armstrong Foundation is http://grassroots2011.livestrong.org/billsbigride197.  I really appreciate your support.