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Back to Ride Itinerary Bamacyclist Home Day 3
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Back to Ride Itinerary Bamacyclist Home Day 3
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| ROUTE: Augusta to Rockland ME | DISTANCE: 44 Miles | WINDS: Headwinds 10-15 |
| WEATHER: Overcast but dry...high 58 | TERRAIN: Rolling | TOTAL CLIMBING: 2500 feet |
DAILY DOINGS: Another
great day on the bike. Well, any day is a great day on a bike...but today
wasn't without its challenges.
After a hearty breakfast at Friendly's, our route led us into downtown Augusta
with a mix of busy roads and residential streets. Our first challenge was a
steep downhill (approximately 15%) going into downtown (upper left) where the
river awaited anyone who might not use their brakes effectively on the descent.
To make matters worse, there's a set of railroad tracks just before the bottom.
I warned the riders they needed to keep it under control or walk down that hill
but what ever they did, they should approach it with caution...if they didn't,
they'd end up in the river at the bottom.
As I was there taking these
pictures, they were creeping by me as they descended into town. And as you
might imagine since they are descending into a town along a river, they'd have
to climb back out on the other side...well, you are right. About a mile from
the first picture, they turn onto a street that takes them up a steep hill out
of town. The picture to the left shows Ray as he attacked the bottom of the 15%
hill out of town (it must not have been too bad, he's blurry). After departing
town, we rode on highway 17 all the way to Rockland.
The
scenery today was much different from the past two days. We've been meandering
around in rural areas up till now along lots of stone fences and small farms and
ranches. Today we rode along a state highway but it had a nice shoulder the
entire way. The terrain was a continuous challenge of up and down large rollers
and add that to the headwinds we had all day made for a strenuous day to say the
least. The foliage is brilliant this year and it really doesn't matter where we
ride, it's beautiful. I just wish I could do the scenery justice with my
camera. You pretty much need a filter to help with the lighting...oh well,
I tried.
After showering, everyone split
to the far corners to take in the sights to include waterfront, museums, and
artsy shops. I didn't know if everyone would come back for rap in time so we
scheduled a lobster dinner at the motel just after rap...I knew they wouldn't
miss that.
Tomorrow promises to be another great day in the country if the weather holds out and I think the colors are getting better every day. We'll tackle that tomorrow, but for now, I'm ready for lobster! See you then. :-))
Even
though we are riding in beautiful country, there were a couple "warts" on an
otherwise beautiful day. The south has nothing on this area when it comes to
"eye sores" along the road. The picture above right gives a new meaning to the
term "yard sale." This yard has stuff in it that probably was placed in in
it's spot before I was born. This yard, had to evolve over a long time and
I'm sure there are lots of little critters that call it home...maybe some big
critters too.
After showering, everyone split to the far corners to take in the sights to include waterfront, museums, and artsy shops. I didn't know if everyone would come back for rap in time so we scheduled a lobster dinner at the motel just after rap...I knew they wouldn't miss that.
Tomorrow promises to be another great day in the country if the weather holds out and I think the colors are getting better every day. We'll tackle that tomorrow, but for now, I'm ready for lobster! See you then. :-))
| DID I SAY THAT?:
"Weather forecast for tomorrow...heavy
rain." "I'm on vacation." "Our route sheet seems to be wrong.
The route sheet says turn on hwy 1. We turned on hwy 1A and can't
find the motel."
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DAILY DUH: "OK...today's goes to yours truly. At the SAG, I took some time to swing my weighted golf club. Got to keep the golfing muscles in shape while I'm out here. I'll be home soon and really anxious to play golf. Anyway, I was taking practice swings when Leslie wanted to take an action photo of my swing...WOW, thanks! I took my best swing sending a large divot flying across the parking lot. "Swing again," she said. "Sure!" I replied while displacing another patch of earth from it's original resting place. After the third swing I heard Barbara yell, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOUR DIVOTS ARE LANDING ON THE SAG TABLE!" Sure enough, we were focused so much on our photo session, we were oblivious to where the globs of earth were landing. But the photos came out great...nice form. Hey, so now the Trail Mix has a little grit in it...Randy didn't even notice the piece of earthworm in the raisins. |
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DAILY DIGITAL DELIGHTS |
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Rose and Barbara demonstrate the fine art of extracting the prize from a lobster shell. Yep, lobsters live hard around here. |
 The colors are pretty good this year. |
 Leslie got busted trying to retaliate for Mike stealing food from her plate on day 1. Mike came out on the short end of that exchange...he stole mashed potatoes...she pilfered lobster. |
If you can't find colorful leaves to gawk at, you can find some "fall color" houses. I hate I missed the yellow paint sale. |
 Just groovin. |
 No wonder it takes so long for everyone to get in everyday...there's just so much to see. |
Copyright © 2006 by Bamacyclist
All rights reserved.
