The final stretch

Well.....we're done! As it turns out Maine wasn't the perfectly idyllic finish we both had imagined, as the roads were some of the worst of the whole ride. For the most part when we weren't riding along 3-4 lane expressway type roads we were on curvy, tourist busy, shoulder less roads with weather beaten chunky edges. More horn honking in three days than the prior three and a half months combined. Never at us, but one driver at another when a considerate person was thought to slow down too much or take to long to go around us. Pretty interesting that the person honking was always a tourist; California, New York, Florida, etc, and the person being honked at always a local or at least a Maine resident. Definitely gave us a better understanding of one of the popular Vermont slogans, "Welcome to Vermont, now go home!" which originally seemed a bit blunt and crude. Hurried drivers aside we still felt blessed to be riding through the beautiful Maine countryside and coastline....humorously realizing  we've become pretty comfortable with life on the road as we spread our stuff out and enjoyed a lunch break and naps in the middle of a grocery store parking lot.

 

 

 

Eventually we cruised into Bar Harbor and the end of our ride. Honestly the day felt like any of the other one hundred and some odd prior days, however, this day ended on the Atlantic coast. Rather than the feeling of a feat accomplished, or anything of the sort, it was more the simple feeling of, What a great way to spend the summer! What a great and true way to see this country. The diversity.....from the mountains to the plains, the wealthy tourist towns to the poor dust blown villages (and believe us there's more in this country than you would ever believe), the cold rainy headwinds to the warm sunny tailwinds, the Pacific to the Atlantic and everything in between. There's something to be said for taking a couple steps back to experience life on simpler terms every now and again. A reminder. A refresher. A thankfulness gained, or I suppose unforgotten, for the little things in life it can be so easy to take for granted. When I proposed the idea to Sarah her first initial reaction was, "We can't do that, we're not even cyclists!" Well......we did, and now we are. A good lesson. To best sum up the whole deal in a few words....a simply beautiful, and beautifully simple bicycle ride. Now, on to new ventures.