Day 105- Acadia National Park

Well, it rained all night. Not really hard, but steady.

Waking up in the morning, the rain had stopped so there was no question about whether to ride it not. Ride it would be! But make no mistake. It is a dreary looking day. No sun at all this morning.

For some reason, along with the rain last night came warmer temperatures. I had started off wearing all of the same gear as the last couple days, but found that I was sweating too much and had to stop and take some of it off. That was a pleasant surprise.

This morning, I only needed to ride 20 miles to reach Bar Harbor, ME. This is the end of the Adventure Cycling Northern Tier route so it represents a milestone, but it is not quite MY final destination. That would be Acadia National Park which really is adjacent to Bar Harbor, but a significant distinction in my mind.

I had lunch in town. Amazingly, right when I entered Bar Harbor, the sun came out. Only briefly, but it seemed to be a sign from the cycling gods.

Right after lunch I set out to ride the Park Loop Road which is the basic loop road in the park on the main island.

Riding around the Park Loop road, the weather returned to the overcast dreariness of the morning. The scenery was still impressive with the famous rocky coastline. And the sea was angry my friends.

I completed the loop and headed for the ferry dock in town. I was going to take the ferry over to Winter Harbor on the Schoodic Peninsula and camp there so I could ride the loop road there and see Schoodic Point. Unfortunately, the rough seas forced the cancelation of the ferry service for the day. The Schoodic Peninsula would have to wait for another day.

Given this change of plans, I needed to find a place to camp on the main island. The closest was the Blackwoods campground within the park. It was only 5 miles away, but the weather was deteriorating pretty quickly at this point. The wind slowed my progress to a crawl at times, I did eventually make it to the campground for the night.

So, the trip is over! I made it to Acadia National Park and saw the Atlantic Ocean. That feels so great to say that. I do need to ride again tomorrow, but not far and actually backtracking a bit as I start to make my back to Wenatchee. So in deed, the trip is completed. I drank a beer that seemed appropriate for the occasion.

I will still be making some blog entries to chronicle the trip home with some trip statistics and offer some final thoughts on this amazing adventure. And I would be remiss to not thank everyone who has followed me along the way. I never really felt alone because I knew everyone was “riding along” with me. Thank you!

Lastly I think way back to the day that Natalie and I rode through Rexford, Montana. We stopped at a place to fill our water bottles. A gentleman there inquired where we were going. When Natalie replied that we were going to Maine, this gentleman blurted out “the old guy won’t make it”. To that gentleman I simply say “SUCK IT!”