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 Day 7
What a difference a day makes!
(Didn't I say that yesterday?)

ROUTE: Sanford to Portland ME DISTANCE: 47 Miles WINDS: WNW 20-30  A little breezy
WEATHER: Cool morning start...wind chill 28!  TERRAIN: Hilly to rolling TOTAL CLIMBING: 1500 feet

DAILY DOINGS:  Well, we've brought another season to a close.  This has been a great ride and we couldn't have had better color for both weeks in New England.  This morning we woke to sunny skies, but the wind had been howling all night and was still had a cutting affect as we loaded for breakfast and were heading out.  The wind chill was sharp as everyone was wearing just about every piece of warm clothing they had brought for the trip...the bags were pretty light this morning as we loaded them in the truck.  We were under a wind advisory until about noon, but when we pulled out at 9:00 it wasn't blowing quite as bad as they had forecast...20-30 with occasional gusts over 40. 

By the time everyone got to the SAG, the temperatures had mellowed and the winds had somehow managed to get behind us except for a time or two we turned for a short segment into it.  When we had to ride into the wind, it really made us appreciate the fact we didn't have to ride in that direction long. 

In spite of the heavy rains yesterday and the howling winds overnight, the leaves were still vibrant on most of our route.  There were places that were usually colorful that had already become bare, but for the most part we finally had nice sun light to accentuate color.  Even the areas that were past peak were nice as the fallen leaves painted the ground around houses and yards.  All in all, it was a great leaf peeping trip this year.

We got everyone in safely by 2:30 and got them all packed up and the bikes taken care of by 4:00.  We said our good byes and everyone parted to the four corners...a couple went sightseeing in Portland while a couple others got on the road for a long drive home.  We wish them all a safe trip home and hope we see them on the road again someday.  It was a great group and we really enjoyed riding with each of them.

As I said before, this is the end of another season.  I hope you've enjoyed following our progress across the country this summer and the final New England episodes.  Thanks for your interest and we hope you'll come out and ride with us yourself.  Until then...take care and keep riding...be safe.  Mike and crew.

DID I SAY THAT?:  "I can't wait to get home and climb those hills that I thought were so tough."

"Didn't we pass this intersection a half hour ago?"
"It does look familiar, but weren't we going the other direction?"
"You're right, but why would they route us back through here again."
"I don't think they did."

"I can't feel my toes."

"Brrrrrrrr."

"I always thought wind chill was overrated until this morning."

"Those leaves just keep hanging on."

"Great ride, I'll ride with you guys again."

 MAGELLAN AWARD: Goes to Dan and Amy for the navigating prowess they displayed today.  They've been following Tifany all week but today Tif got ahead of them.  We spent most of the morning responding to a "Missing Rider APB" trying to find them.  I had just left the SAG and was finally enjoying a brisk tailwind when I got a call from Dan...no message, just a ring.  By the time I got my phone out from all the clothes I had on, he had hung up and hadn't left a message.  I told Karen to stop and that Dan may be in trouble...he and Amy hadn't shown up at the SAG by the time we left so I'd better go back and look for him.  It was a bear to ride back against the wind I was enjoying before I turned around, but I finally got back to the SAG and jumped in the truck and headed back up route.  I finally found them about 8 miles before the SAG and they were OK, just temporarily disoriented because the name of the road they were on wasn't on the street sign when they turned on it and by the time they got to the next street sign, the road had changed names..."Are we on the right road?" they thought.  They had ridden back and forth for several minutes trying to figure out if they were on the right road or not...and they had to climb some significant hills in the process.  Oh well, we didn't charge them for the 'bonus miles' or the extra climbing.  Needless to say, they were happy to see me when I found them.  If I hadn't found them, they may still be out there in the backwoods of Maine trying to find our motel.  Moral is...never let the navigator (in this case Tifany) out of your sight.

DAILY DIGITAL DELIGHTS

Now that's using ingenuity in cold weather...just don't ride by any ATMs.

Dan, how many pairs of socks does it take to wear sandals in below freezing wind chills?

When this group prepared to leave, they weren't sure when I mentioned Looney Tunes characters if I was talking about the ones painted on the windows or if I was talking about them.

After stepping outside, Amy started knitting an emergency pair of thermal underwear...knit one, pearl two...knit one, pearl two!

Dan and Amy...did you see this?  It was on route...everyone else saw it.

It's a wrap.

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