Day 34: Camden to Bar Harbor

Unless you just started following , this is it, the last day of riding. Unfortunately, Wes and Will were not greeted with great weather, as it was a bit chilly and overcast at the start of the day. After a few hours, the conditions worsened. A fog rolled in off the shore. In some areas, visibility was not far at all, even less than a mile in some places.

Once the afternoon rolled around, weather patterns improved. The sun was out, temperature mild, and the roads were still dry. I met Will and Wes in the town of Stockton Springs for a break. But it was short as they wanted to get to the final destination as quickly as possible.

I didn't hear much from them for the next few hours, assuming they were doing quick rests and self support, which would expedite their travel time. By the time I reached them at Ellsworth, they were half way done. The weather was turning again. Rain looked imminent as the cloud cover thickened, but what's a small sprinkle at this point in the trip?

After the short break I drove into Acadia to squeeze in a run. I trotted around Eagle lake for a while while observing the low hanging cloud cover. At some points, the entire lake was visible, but by the end, it was impossible to see through the clouds that had settled on the water.

The rain had picked up by the end of the run, so I dashed back and went to check on the bikers. About 10 miles back up the road, I located them, now in complete rain gear. I expected a longer break before their final ride, but they just stopped to say hi before taking off.

Bar Harbor was pretty neat. A bit touristy, but overall a pretty cool town. Large boats were docked in the harbor taking people to go wildlife watching along the coast. I stopped by a local joint for lunch and grabbed a lobster roll. It was good, but I just don't think I'm a huge lobster fan.

After a few hours of walking around, I got a call from Wes. They arrived earlier than expected and were already at the car. I scurried over and found them settled in, ready for the ride back. Will had the whole back bench to himself, loaded with a blanket, pillows and computer. I hopped in and we took off towards the Midwest.

(There will be a post in about a week with more photograph of the journey, but for now enjoy what is here. -Connor)

Day 33: Naples to Camden

Overcast, 68º and no wind. This was the weather the bikers were treated to this morning. If Will and Wes were tired, it was no longer showing as their excitement and desire to get to the end was overwhelming any other feelings they may have.

Having gotten behind on my journal entries, I zoomed on over to the nearest Dunkin Donuts. While I was typing away basically the entire police force of Naples showed up for coffee and doughnuts. If anyone was gonna drag race, the best time would be 9:30am.

Just 100 miles to the coast. That's it that's all they needed. For going so far, sometimes just 100 more miles can seem all the more easier, but in fact it was not.

In the town of Bath, I checked in with the riders for the first time. I found the bikers at Dot's ice cream (of course). Wes' water bottles were getting gross from the lack of washing. They tossed 3 bottles and replaced them with gatorade bottles and a spare clean one. After chucking some morning layers in the trunk, they set off again on route 1.

The next town of meeting was Waldoboro. I got there early and decided to get lunch at the local pub. Because I'd been in the car a long time, I had a bathroom emergency and rushed in right away. As I was leaving to get my wallet in the car, the bartender gave me a snarky "Why don't you come back for lunch sometime."  clearly a little mad I only walked in to use the bathroom. Within the next 30 seconds, the bar was chuckling, saying "Hey look, it worked!"

Will and Wes rolled up about an hour later. The riding was much more difficult than expected. With 20 miles to go, they were exhausted but determined to see the Atlantic ocean. We started talking about the ride back and how we were gonna rig the back to be like a bed for Will. After a long rest, the cyclist set off to the coast to complete their final century of the ride.

Unfortunately, I wasn't there to capture the excitement of the cyclists seeing the coastline, but I was assured they got there. It was getting late and I had to get my run in. There will be more photos in the days to come.

At dinner, there were more cheers and hand shakes than any dinner prior. The century streak has officially come to an end, with a distance of only 82 miles left to Bar Harbor, the objective was simply to complete the Northern Tier route.