WOW's, June 29

This amazing group of women accomplished something they will never forget and can also be very proud to have participated in. I am amazed at the riding these women were able to do day after day and love it. This was an opportunity to see the the US up close and personal which most people do not take or have the time to do. As you can see, our day was very foggy and cold as we rode through town to the water. I think there were only two who had ridden the first of this last year, from Anacortes, Washington to Fargo, North Dakota. Others had ridden parts from last year and this year. Of course the Wows are ready to do the first part now or maybe after a rest and to save up some money. Our dinner last night was fantastic and of course we had Maine lobster, clam chowder and toasted with champayne. The riders who joined the group in Cleveland sang a song with words appropriately written by Kathryn to the tune of You are my Sunshine, we sang happy birthday to Rosie, from Australia, shared gifts with special meaning from special riders and said our goodbyes and gave hugs to those who came with big decisions to make about their lives. We have repacked our suitcases and hope they don't weigh too much, taken our bikes to be mailed home, gotten special gifts and congratulations from special people and now just look forward to sitting on an airplane for 10 hours instead of a bicycle seat. Thanks for being interested in this trip and sending your notes, they really cheered me on each day. Back to my golf and feral cat and especially to my friends and family. Brakin Bev
Sent from Bev's iPad

Blue Skies and Tailwinds

Here's the statistics: 42 days, 12 states, 37 motels, 104 beers, 35 peanut butter sandwiches and a total on my bike computer of 2478.2 miles. Whew! It seems like only yesterday we left on a windy day out of Fargo and here we are on a foggy day in Bar Harbor.
Today's ride was a treat in that at least half of the 46 miles were on freshly paved roads. What a treat! Made up for the 4000 pot holes the day before. We rode back roads through green pine forests with minimum traffic except the two areas where there was major construction. Bad winter weather makes for bad roads so the few months they have to fix them are now. We have been through lots of construction sites in the past few weeks.
We now have to take our bikes to the Bar Harbor Bike Shop to have them disassembled and sent to our respective cities. They got some good business today!
Tradition is that you dip your front wheel in The Atlantic when you finish the ride. We all rode single file through the town( people were staring!) and rode to the beach where we all followed tradition.
We then went to our motel to pack for the journey home. The WOWS were very lucky in that our good friends Pat T and Jan B sent us a congratulation present-some beers and wine which we shared with some of our friends as we packed.
Dinner tonight was a Maine lobster feast! We all donned our bibs and chowed down. We toasted each other with champagne then said our farewells. Sadly I will probably never see most of these ladies again. We lived, rode, cocktailed, shared stories, and ate together for 6 weeks so we became " cycle sisters". There will be a lot of memories we all will take home. We all agree that our bodies need a rest. Knees are starting to ache, saddle sores are not healing, backs are aching, and we are getting tired of the same clothes.
If I had the opportunity to do a ride like this again I would do it in a heartbeat! To spend days just riding your bike and not having a care in the world, somebody making your meals, making your bed, enjoying mother nature at her best and her worst, enjoying new friendships, and knowing your retirement check is in the mail for next month's bills is the way to go. But it is time to get back to the real world.
Thank you for listening to all my ramblings and your wonderful support. To know your friends and family were behind you on this adventure meant a lot to me.
I am looking forward to being home and taking it easy for awhile. Until I see you again I wish YOU - blue skies and tailwinds .
Signing off............Donna

Sent from Donna's iPad

Bucksport

Suspension Bridge in Bucksport

WOW's June 28

This is the view from one of the many bridges crossed on our ride to Bucksport. We started the morning riding over a very large and busy bridge. The entire riding day was noisy with 18 wheelers and traffic. I did not feel threatened with the traffic but the noise. We had a wide shoulder for riding and other than some road and pavement issues not bad. My riding partner and I wanted to do our 40 plus miles but could not make good enough time so sagged to the van before our cook, Sue had to leave for Bucksport. I appreciated the quietness of the van for sure. We did stop at a cute restaurant for a lobster roll that was delicious. Lots of lobster and looking forward to the final dinner and Maine lobster. We will all try to get to Bar Harbor at the same time for the ceremonial dipping of tires in the Atlantic as we have some riders who were on the first part of this trip and started in Anacortes, Washington last year. It was a history day as we passed through Rockport -shoes, Fort Knox, many rivers, and bridges. One bridge I was not expecting was the big suspension bridge over the Penascot River and can view from our hotel.  I had a chance to walk through the town, shop, get money, take more pictures, and have a beer with Bev P and Jeanette, the first riders in on the 86 mile ride.  Have 46 miles left and a few more hills to ride or walk depending on the steepness. I get to see more when I walk that is for sure. Brakin Bev

Lunch in Camden

Lobster Roll yum