South Portland, ME, to Portmouth, NH

South Portland, ME to Portsmouth, NH

Weather Undergrounds forecast for today:
"Cloudy. Patchy fog in the morning. Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms in the morning...then a chance of showers in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s. Southeast winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent." The forecast was wrong, it rained 100%! While yesterday was sunny and warm, today was cloudy, cool, and wet.


After breakfast, we all gathered for group photos before signing out. It was raining when we left the hotel and it continued to rain during most of the ride. Fortunately, it wasn't a cold rain, with temperatures in the mid-sixties. Our route took us down the coast of Maine on Highway 1A or parallel to it. We passed the home of George H. W. Bush in Kennebunkport, but it was a very gray day for taking pictures.


The riders have already sorted themselves out into groups, mostly among friends who did the cross country tide together; those friendships run deep and they have formed very strong bonds. I joined Al, Peter, Jack, and Al's friend, Larry, for most of the ride. Jack had two flats and Al broke the chain on his bicycle towards the end of the day, otherwise, it was an uneventful day. We crossed into New Hampshire over a draw bridge (we had to wait for them to lower the bridge to continue) and had our "first dinner" in Portsmouth before riding into the hotel.


There was mud in my bathtub! Tomorrow is supposed to be wet, too. Stay tuned.


Portsmouth, NH (1653)
Pop 21,000 elev 20'
Paul Revere rode to Portsmouth to warning that the British were coming.
Home to John Paul Jones, father of the US Navy.


70.4 miles; 4:28 riding time; 1,148' of climb; 3,606 Calories

Yesterday, I flew to Maine. It was a long day, but everything went smoothly and I arrived safely at the hotel in South Portland. My bicycle had been unpacked and assembled by a local bike shop. I checked into my room, unpacked, and went to the lobby to meet my old friends from '09 and the other riders. Several of us went into Portland for dinner at a very posh Italian restaurant.

Bright and early this morning, I went in search of coffee and ran into several riders who said they were going to do a short ride to the coast. Of course, I asked if I could tag along. There were eight of us and we rode a very nice thirty mile loop, stopping for lunch at a local dive and having lobster rolls! You can't visit Maine without having a lobster roll. Oh, yes, it was sunny and warm - a beautiful day in New England.

30.7 miles; 2:12 hours of riding; 1,148 feet of climb; 1,535 Calories

Blogs

Here's a list of the other riders' blogs: 

Jan - http://www.bikingacrossamerica-jan.blogspot.com/ 

Al - http://whereislance.com/ 

Bob - http://www.bykruslatoboston.blogspot.com/ 

Don - http://www.cyclethroughamerica.org/ 

Chris - http://clhall2011easternseaboardtour.blogspot.com/ 

Stuart - http://levycrosscountrybicycletour.blogspot.com/ 

Tom D - http://xclifeintheslowlane.blogspot.com/ 

Champ - http://www.walkerride.blogspot.com/ 

Hank - http://www.crosscountryrider.blogspot.com/ 

Larry - http://larrysride.tumblr.com/

Weather Underground

During my bike ride across the country in 2009, I became addicted to Weather
Underground (www.wunderground.com). The main topic of discussion every
morning at breakfast was the weather, most important, wind direction and
intensity. (It's a myth at the wind always blows from the west!)

Although it's a few days away, wunderground.com is predicting showers for
our first day of riding from South Portland, Maine, to Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, with head winds!

I've completed my training, a thousand miles on the bicycle in the past four
weeks! The bags are packed; I'm only taking a bare minimum. Tuesday, I fly
from Los Angeles to Maine. Wednesday, I'll check out the bicycle, meet the
other riders, and attend the orientation. Thursday, we start the adventure!
I'm excited.

Big Dogs

"Big Dogs" are the fastest riders on any bicycle tour; they're the ones who arrive first at the hotel each day.  While these bike "tours" are not races, some of the participants will be Type-A personalities who will push as hard as they can.  I have to admit, when I rode across the country in 2009, I was one of the BDs.  I started out with good intentions but my competitive spirit soon overcame my better sense.  This trip, I hope to relax a little more to enjoy better the ride and the camaraderie - taking my time, stopping to take pictures, and interacting with the locals at every opportunity.

The bicycle is now on its way, via United Parcel Service, to Portland, Maine.  My local bike shop packed the bike and I dropped it off at the UPS store for shipping last Wednesday.  Luckily, I have a second road bike that I can use to continue my conditioning for the ride.  It's only been three weeks since we returned from our non-bicycling vacation in Mexico and I've been putting in many miles trying to get back in shape for the ride.  The first week back was challenging, but I think I'm going to be ready by the start.  Only ten days to go before I leave for Maine.

This summer, the east coast of the United Sates has been hit with an earthquake, a hurricane (Irene), and a tropical storm (Lee).  While the earthquake was frightening, it did little damage, but both Irene and Lee were devastating storms which destroyed a lot of infrastructure and many homes.  It is going to be very interesting to see how much of the road and bridge damage will have been repaired by the time we get there on our bicycles.  This may turn out to be a real adventure, especially on the Outer Banks.  Is there a plan B?  We will just have to wait and see.

Cast of Characters

Riders: 

Don (NY)                                              Mike  P (NC) 

Hank (CA)                                            Charlie (AZ) 

Larry (MI)                                             Peter (NY) 

Bob (NJ)                                               Tom R (NJ) 

Michel (Canada)                                    Doug (Great Britain) 

Chris (VA)                                            Ilze (CT) 

Scott (IL)                                              Michael T (CT) 

Stuart (FL)                                            Beverly (NY) 

Jan (SC)                                               Champ (IL) 

Amy (MI)                                             Sam (SC) 

Al (MI)                                                 Bill (WA) 

Jack (Israel)                                          Barbara (CA) 

and me (CA)

Staff: 

Carol (CA)                                            Robin (CO) 

Tom D (CO)                                         Mac (CO) 

Tracy (CO)

Eastern Shore - 1600 miles