Belfast to Rockland, Maine

Last evening we had several hours of severe thunderstorms but woke up to calm weather and moderate temperatures.  We headed to the only eating place opened at 7 a.m. that was just a few miles on the other side of Belfast.  We got to "The Only Doughnut" just a little after 7 and faced an offering of exotic doughnuts.  They didn't serve anything but doughnuts and coffee.  We each had 1 toasted coconut doughnut and coffee; could have eaten several more but we behaved ourselves.  

Most of the day was spent on country roads with a few unpleasant hills that required using lower gears, and a few enjoyable downhills.  One of the more interesting downhills took us to the shore of  Megunticook Lake.  That was a nice diversion from the hours of cycling through wooded areas.  While going through all those wooded areas we hoped to see some moose but the only wildlife sighted were a few wild turkeys.   While not wildlife, we stopped and talked to Denis and Phillis, who own a local Airbnb and are long distance cyclists.  Two very friendly people.

As we got closer to Rockland the weather deteriorated and the heavy mist turned into light rain.  Looking for dinner we walked through the downtown area of this resort town.  It is right on the water and should have been picturesque, but the shoreline was hidden by the mist.  It was so  heavy we could not see much beyond the docks.   

Map

Pictures

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GOING GREEN GOING SOUTH 2024

So it begins, again.  Jeff drives to Joe’s home and then we drive north to Bangor, Maine for our bicycle journey on the northern section of the East Coast Greenway.  It will only take a long day to drive to Bangor, but weeks for our return.  When driving, it is easy to miss the historic and natural sights and unique restaurants along the way.  However, when traveling at 10 miles an hour, stopping is easy, sometimes it is a relief, and good food is always a necessity as we burn thousands of calories a day. In 2012, we drove past Bangor to cycle Acadia National Park and Canada’s Cape Breton Island.  Since we saw that part of Maine, we were content to start our ride from Bangor. We plan to follow the East Coast Greenway from Maine to New York.  The East Coast Greenway is a 3,000-mile bicycle route between Maine and Florida. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was started in 1991 to create a north-south route with off-road and shared-use paths.  O...
Read more
Brewer (Bangor) to Belfast, Maine Unlike past trips, we slept in until 5 a.m.  For those of you who don't know, both of us are early risers and 5 is actually late. After a light breakfast we were cycling in cool temperatures on low traveled country roads for the first 22 miles of the day.  We enjoyed many fast descents and found the climbs to be easy.  A perfect morning. At mile 22 we crossed the Penobscot River to see Fort Knox.  No we weren't in Kentucky and this fort was the first Fort Knox in the United States .  Named after Major General Henry Knox of the revolutionary war.  Its granite structure was started in 1844 to keep the pesky British out of the United States. After leaving the fort ,the East Coast Greenway route took us onto US Route 1. While it had a lot of traffic, its wide shoulders gave us plenty of room. We stayed on this highway until we reached Belfast.  Along the way a local cyclist stopped us to chat.  Steve, has taken severa...
Read more
  New Haven, CT to Rye, New York Today’s ride was tough.  We had 60 miles of urban cycling and warmer temperatures. Lots of traffic, no trails and no rural roads.  We did manage to find things for Joe to photograph and we enjoyed the water views when they came. We started cycling without breakfast and went about 20 miles when we decided to stop at a Dunkin Donuts that was in a shopping center.  Right next to DD, was a bakery so we went there instead.  The shop was filled with an unbelievable variety of pastries.  Lis, the baker, told us that she just got some blueberry muffins out of the oven.  We could not believe the amount of blueberries in each muffin.  We usually prefer muffin tops but these bottoms were the best we ever had. We are sad to announce that our ride is being terminated here in Rye, New York.  With the high temperature alerts for the week and long cycling days ahead, we decided to call it quits.  Leaving from here is ide...
Read more