Day 2: Rolling hills from Belfast to Newcastle

Since the sunrise in Maine is 4:55am, the group woke up early as we were getting baked in the rising sun in our tents. Due to the rain storms, it took a long time to dry out tents and get packed up. Oddly, the women's restroom was locked at the campsite, so we all had to share the men's room, which slowed the process of getting ready a bit.

Everyone left camp by 9 am, with an immediate hill climb out of camp and then we proceeded to bike up another hill in the wrong direction, so we had to turn around and ride up the other side of the same dang hill to get back on course. It was a shorter day of riding (54ish miles) through country roads to Camden, Maine, along busy Route 1 to Waldoboro and a combo of quiet and busy roads into camp in Newcastle.

The highlight of the day was meeting my co-worker Ryan at Moody's Diner in Waldoboro. Ryan is a local and recommended the place, so I recommended it to everyone else. It turned out that the one of the owner's wives has MS, so it seemed almost serendipitous that we stopped there. They want to put us on their website and Facebook page!  We met the owner, but not his wife, unfortunately. She is apparently not using a wheelchair, which is great that her MS still seems manageable. I hope her body stays as healthy as possible for a very long time! They were so thankful at the diner for our riding cause that everyone got a free whoopie pie, my first one, too! And it was delicious, as was the rest of the food.

Coming into camp, my knee pain was really flaring up. We set up our sleeping bags in a local church that kindly welcomed us, then we to eat at a local seafood restaurant. I could barely walk after dinner and had to go to Rite Aid to buy some knee braces. I've never had pain like this before, so I really hope it doesn't keep getting worse. Thankfully, between the physical therapist, the massage therapist and the mechanic, I might be able to get it figured out.

Tomorrow is going to be a very long riding day at 74 miles, so I hope it feels better by morning.

Random field between Belfast and Camden

Camden, Maine

Moody's Diner and my delicious whoopie pie

Group stretching session at the end of the day 

Day 1: Bar Harbor Hills and T-Storms in Belfast

The Northern Tear 2015 ride has officially begun! With a 9am group photo and rear tire dip in the Atlantic, the group said goodbyes to whoever had loved ones make the trek to support them and set off westward. Within 500 ft of the departure point, we had our first hill leaving town. The entire Desert Island was rolling hills and head winds, as was the rest of the day, it seemed. It was about 10 degrees warmer than we thought it would be, so it was a beautiful and sunny day, no tights or ear warmers needed.

The first stop of the day was in Ellsworth, a cute little town and we got smoothies across the street. After hanging out for an hour, we headed west right up another mega hill. This trip is already way more hilly than the TransAm. It's ok; I eat hills for breakfast. We made a few stops on the side of the road along the way to give our... chamois and legs a break. We only had 2 people take falls today, but everyone is ok. My knee that's recently been bothering me really made today hard. I wonder how it'll feel for the rest of the trip.

The 2nd stop was in Orland, which wasn't much but a gas station where we took our break. I actually ate chicken tenders from the gas station and guzzled a delicious bottle of chocolate milk.

The last 20 miles were particularly tough for me. I had reached my exhaustion and pain points, so I slowed down a bit, but made it into camp with the group I had been riding with.

Immediately, we pitched our tents and took showers at a local park along a bike path in Belfast, Maine. It's beautifully scenic along the water. A friend from last year's ride, Stefanie, and I had burritos at local place called Bay Wraps and they were fantastic! Thunderstorms rolled in while we were eating, so we relaxed on the couches and I charged my devices while we waited. After the storm, we headed to a local waterfront brewery called Three Tides, which was a perfect end to the day.

It's only 930 and I'm so ready for bed! Thanks for reading and thank you for your support!

Tire dip and group photo in Bar Harbor

Side of the road selfie stop

Tents before the storm

Three Tides Brewery 

Sunset from Three Tides Brewery 

Welcome to Ba' Habba'

My folks and I got into Bar Harbor yesterday  (Tuesday evening) after a long drive up from Danbury, CT on Monday evening. It was nice to see family Monday afternoon and evening after we left our family farm where I worked remotely on Monday. As I-95 started turned into rolling hill after rolling hill in Maine, I started saying, "Uh oh, it's gonna' be hilly!" And my parents laughed at that, partially because they might be evil, but also knowing I already knew what I was in for. Tuesday night, we stayed at a house where some of the other cyclists were staying in downtown Bar Harbor. It was a fun way to ease into the trip and meet a few people at a time, also so I could remember names.

Today (Wednesday), we had a group orientation at noon at the Village Green park in Bar Harbor, which is when the excitement really began! There seemed to be so many more people than I expected. It was fun to meet all these new, excited cyclists. Some have a close tie to MS and others are just learning about the disease. No doubt everyone will feel close to it once they meet many folks along the way who are living and dealing with MS.

During the Orientation, the Founder Don Fraser introduced himself and explained founding this organization because his mother has MS. He then introduced Cassie who runs so much of the logistics of all the Bike the US for MS trips. She then went down the line and introduced all the route leaders for the trip, who jokingly all say you are "one of them" if you quit your job and are homeless while doing this trip. We continued on with individual introductions, explaining where we are from and our connection to MS. I said I was really touched back in college at JMU when my Advisor (and favorite professor) told me of how MS has changed his wife's life and his, too. Since getting involved with this organization, I'm constantly being touched by people who's parents, friends and even their dogs have MS, and I had never known how prevalent it was before. It's pretty incredible how this organization has brought me closer to other people in unexpected ways.

Next, we moved on to various stations to discuss logistics, such as trailer etiquette, communications with the route leaders, basic road side bike maintenance, and map reading. I even got real maps this year! The trailer has even more improvements and sweet lights inside now than last year. Cassie designed our awesome jerseys. The front is the same as the back, minus the sponsors.

We have yet another great group of riders this year. It's so nice to reconnect with alumni friends from last year, but also not be a total novice myself. My roommate is pretty nervous and I told her I had a meltdown last year the day before the start because my anxiety just broke me down, but that she will totally get the hang of it and that I feel extremely differently about it this year.

After Orientation, my family and I drove around a bit of island, through Acadia National Forest, and back in the road I'll ride out on in the morning, which had some decent hills to start us of with. My sister Meg flew in today, also, so she and my parents will go exploring and meet back up with me in a week in Middlebury, VT. After a waterfront lobster dinner, I headed to the hotel to start prepping my gear for tomorrow. Everyone is excited, but sleepy, so hopefully we can all get a good night's rest.

If you'd like to donate, please do so here: http://biketheusforms.org/cyclists/detail.asp?cid=727

Me at sunset 

The house we stayed in

Orientation 

Don, Cassie and the route leaders

My elevation profile for the week

Our sweet jerseys

Downtown Bar Harbor, Maine

Packing for Maine

Today, my parents and I are heading north to begin our journey to Maine. I'm telling people I tricked them into taking a vacation so they could drive my north, but my sister will be joining us on Wednesday, so they really are taking a vacation!  Since it's a 12 hour drive and I am working remotely tomorrow, we are breaking the trip up into a couple of days. We will stay at our family farm tonight in Harrisburg, PA and then drive as far north as we can Monday night, maybe getting into the Hartford, CT area. We will drive the rest of the way Tuesday to Bar Harbor. I'm excited to be one of the first people in the US to see the sunrise Wednesday morning as Bar Harbor is the first place the sunrise can be seen in the US. Then, the excitement will begin with Orientation at noon on Wednesday and off we'll go Thursday after a ceremonial rear tire dip in the Atlantic Ocean.

It's complicated to pack camping gear, cycling gear, off bike clothes, toiletries, and rain gear for this trip into a 30" duffel bag; all of it, including my tent.  Luckily, I can take a separate grocery bag with my food.  It's been done year after year, but it seems more complicated for me this year because rain and cold temps are in the forecast for the start and then hot weather at the end. I suppose I'm mostly worried about being cold at night. I have everything laid out and I know it'll all fit, somehow perfectly, but I'm always wondering if I'll need more. Following the suggested packing list is always a smart choice. Even with all my travels over the years, I always seem to find myself trying to over, but it always works itself out in the end. Well, I guess I should get to it!

Here's a sneak peak at the section of the route I'll be participating in, starting on Thursday morning.

If you would like to donate to Bike the US for MS, please do so through my page:

http://biketheusforms.org/cyclists/detail.asp?cid=727

Check back soon for more posts!

Donation Dinner for MS

Last night, some very good friends, Brian and Emily, hosted a wonderful Donation Dinner in honor of Bike the US for MS. Each month this year, Brian and Emily are hosting a Donation Dinner in honor of a selected charity.  They work seemingly tirelessly for days leading up to the dinner and invite their closest friends to share in the meal, as long as each person contributes a minimum of $10 to the selected charity.  This month, they selected Bike the US For MS as their charity for the Donation Dinner. 

Brian and Emily prepared a deliciously grand Mediterranean meal with proper mezze of hummus, eggplant puree, chickpea fritters, chorizo, haloumi, veggies and pita.  The main course was a fabulous spanikopita and concertina squid.  The meal was rounded out with the most amazing panna cotta that was topped with mango and raspberries in rose water.  

The wine was flowing and the conversation was full of laughter and good stories.  To allow for 14 dinner guests, Brian and Emily set up their tables outside.  We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather, too. With lights strung out to the street over the dinner table, we spent all evening outside in the gentle breeze and comfortable temperatures. 

Thank you so much to Brian and Emily for their generosity and hospitality in hosting this fabulous fundraising event!  And great thanks to all of the guests for their generous donations, as well as to those who donated, but could not attend the dinner!  

The Bike the US for MS Donation Dinner was a HUGE success, raising approximately $300 for the charity!  I hope all of the donors understand how grateful I am and how grateful the recipients of these funds will be.  


Only 18 days to go before we start pedaling on the Northern Tier 2015 Bike the US for MS tour. Check back soon for more stories and trip updates!

My cyclist page: http://www.biketheusforms.org/cyclists/detail.asp?cid=727