The town of Ticonderoga is up above the lake. We rode down to the ferry landing then realized we had to "call" the ferry. This consisted of pulling up a red board so the operators on the other side could see they were needed. They chose not to see us until a vehicle arrived, but we really only had to wait a few minutes. I used the time to ask the truck driver if the road I had chosen would be suitable for bicycles. Once again we found a driver unfamiliar with pavement and shoulder conditions in an area he grew up in.

Since we are trying to make a deadline and also tired of mountains, we decided to leave the AC route and head off on another "Debbie Route". This one is straighter, probably less scenic and hopefully has fewer mountains. Instead of going north through Middlebury and Breadloaf Mountain we are headed straight east through Brandon.

Ate my first fried dough. Couldn’t figure out what it was at first. Dipped in confectioner’s sugar and served warm before dinner. Yumm!

I was commenting today that Vermont was delightful when we drove through it last year. We have been through so much prettiness, so many rural, pastoral parts of this country that it’s almost a shame that – you know, you enjoy it – but it’s not as dramatic as in the beginning when we started. The stormy mountains were all enshrouded by fog. When we were going up the Brandon Gap we were sweating like pigs. It was hot. It was muggy. It was humid. I was trying to ride up as far as I could, but it was too steep. I didn’t want to hurt my knee so close to the finish. I don’t even know if Axtell could do it. He might do it, but loaded I’m not sure. I know he hauls people. I rode all the earlier part, but the last half mile I couldn’t do.

Halfway down the other side it started pouring. Not hard, hard, but very steady rain. We rode slowly because the roads were slick. Luckily the last half of the day was mostly downhill or flat. At the bottom of the pass we picked up the AC route again and followed it to Sharon. There was no food along the way. We stopped finally for a hot dog and hot chocolate and stood dripping under the overhang while we got some nourishment. Our route mostly followed the White River. It’s still relatively clear and mostly placid now with large flat granite boulders in the riverbed. I guess it flooded here last week and would have looked totally different. Part of the route got us off Route 14, so we’re back along another River Road. How many River Roads and Lakeshore Boulevards are there in America? Most of the drivers were pretty considerate even on sections with no shoulders, so we made it.

Back in the land of white steeples and really cute little towns. If you went north and south in Vermont, it wouldn’t be so hilly, but when you go west to east you have to cross these mountain passes.

There was no "Welcome to New Hampshire" sign. Today was a day of nice riding of some wonderful and some crappy roads. We went from a 4-foot shoulder to no shoulder and back to a 2-foot shoulder then a section with lots of cracks in the road. It was often difficult to follow. We went through moose country; we saw "Moose Crossing" signs, but no, we didn’t see any moose. The countryside was really delightful.

    Bob Making the "Sign of the Moose"

We left without coffee this morning, which distressed me. Bob would not stop at the first diner we saw. He didn’t like it enough!!!! He was looking for something better. There was nothing at all for another 10 miles. The first next diner was 25 miles so we ate muffins and juice and bad coffee at a gas station. Was I talking to him? No! Forget this. We haven’t seen a lot of diners, so one should ALWAYS stop when one sees food. Bob should have remembered that from Our Honeymoon Ride, but no, and I didn’t assert myself.

Then we reached some wonderful roads rolling through marshy meadows and slight hills. We stopped at a local store to use their phone book. Since it is the weekend, we are concerned about lodging. The area around northern Lake Winnipesaukee of Meredith is rather expensive and we knew that reasonably priced summertime lodging would be scarce. After a few calls we booked a room to the south in Weirs Beach.

    For those who don't like purple - We found this on the way to Weirs Beach

A local rider out for a spin saw us along the road. He turned around and quickly caught up with us. He was a talker. He had done a cross-country tour with a group earlier in the summer and wanted to hear about doing it by ourselves. The 10 miles we rode with him passed quickly. Someone else to talk to besides Bob!

The 2-lane road from the turnoff of Highway 104 south to Weirs Beach was crowded and had no shoulder. There were also some steepish hills. We came upon a motel with little cabins and a vacancy sign so checked in there instead. Anything to get us off that road and do fewer hills both today and tomorrow morning.

After our ritual cleansing, we walked down to road for the beer and food hunt. Found us a biker bar—Harley’s. They could not understand why we would chose to ride a bicycle across the country when there are such better options available.

Getting pretty excited. We are almost THERE! Lots of flowers; lots of trees---same old stuff.

Leaving Weirs Beach was hilly. We were glad we had not ridden further to our original reservation. We had stopped 2 miles and 18 hills short of our destination. My muscles had no time to warm up or my knees to break loose for the day before the first climb. Said to myself, "Just go slow! Don’t hurt yourself right before the end!"

The road between Meridian and Center Harbor by the lake is a terrible riding road. We were glad it was still early Sunday morning with little traffic. The shoulder kept disappearing. This time Bob agreed to stop at the first breakfast establishment we found. He might not have survived if he had continued riding. The road got a little better heading into Moultonbourough. I was beginning to think that maybe I hadn’t chosen such a good route today. Once we passed the turnoff south onto Highway 109 our road to the east Highway 25 was wonderful. It was gentle climbs, sloping drops, rock walls, ponds, lakes, marshes and streams. It was perfect riding until we arrived at the "Welcome to Maine" sign when the pavement corroded and crumbled at the state line. The road follows along the Saco River, so it was still quite scenic. This continued for 10 miles ‘til we got to Cornish. We decided to continue on since it was only one o’clock. This would take us closer to the coast to make an early finish tomorrow. We continued on to Westbrook along Highway 25. I would not recommend Highway 25. It is very busy. Take a little longer and use one of the smaller highways.

        Welcome to Maine - Our Last State!

Tomorrow we will circle around Portland to come in from the south along the coast to end our journey at The Portland Headlight. Right now we are trying to find somewhere to store our stuff and somewhere to stay before we leave for Erie to Ben and Sharon’s wedding on the 29^th. Problems, problems. Bob is disgruntled.

Today we hit the coast.

The Portland Headlight is a very recognizable landmark here. It is a lighthouse commissioned by George Washington. We wanted to complete our journey at a memorable site.

We have had such good luck with our bicycles. Today, the last day, riding down the road I heard a squeak, squeak, squeak sound. Finally we discovered that a screw from Bob’s rack had worked it way out and the rack was rubbing on the wheel. We stopped in a marshy area to fix it and where on this last day I got more mosquito bites than the entire summer. It wasn’t that many…only three, so it was a pretty good summer for bites.

We saw quite a few cyclists out in Cape Elizabeth. Most said hello. One rode with us a couple of miles. He was scouting a route for a future senior’s ride. I had a feeling he would have offered us a place to stay, but we said we already had a reservation. The people at the bike shop were very nice. We emptied the panniers in the shop and took with us what we wanted and they stored the rest for us.

Before we even saw the ocean we could smell it. You know…the ocean smell. Personally I never thought this would happen that we would actually do this. While we were riding, it was only one day at a time. I never thought about the completion. It is anticlimactic. We don’t have any bicycles to ride tomorrow. I enjoyed it. It’s an accomplishment. I’m proud. I told all the cab drivers today.

Bob thought it was done, but it wasn’t done until we had our celebratory lobster tonight. We asked the cab drivers and hotel clerk for a recommendation. The cabbies said Captain Newick’s in South Portland; the hotel clerk said if it is a special occasion to go to Dimillo’s, a floating ship in Old Port. Since it was a short cab ride and a special occasion, we opted for the more touristy floating ship. Bob ate his 2.5# Larry the Lobster. Mine was 1.5#er stuffed with crab, but really only a bread stuffing with titches of crab…don’t get it!  Bottle of wine, grinning Bob and nice sunset.