I thought Maine weather was supposed to be on the cool side, and I packed accordingly.
Wrong move.
Today was particularly hot — I think it topped 90 — and that made it a tougher day, especially on the back half of the ride, all along U.S. 201 with barely a lick of shade.
Once again, the East Coast Greenway route overlapped with U.S. Bicycle Route 1. Climbing-wise, the “official” cue-sheet estimate was 2,032 feet, which seemed OK. But there was a really nasty hill in Augusta, after the heat had worn us down, and we had already detoured to the Viles Arboretum, which involved another big hill.
The day’s big highlight was being guided by Peter Garrett during the first half of the day, until we got to Waterville. Peter has led an amazing effort to build trails in the area — 40 miles and counting, for astounding low cost of about $2.5 million. He’ll be the subject of a separate post.
We stopped at the headquarters of Johnny’s Seeds, a fun spot for any gardener. Wouldn’t I like this sort of protective set-up in our garden!
Exploring by bicycle 