Sunday, 21 May 2006

York Beach to Sebago Lake

When I got back to my tent after my shower, there was an almighty racket nearby. A flocking great flock of birds must have landed to roost nearby. They quietened down a little as it got dark but they kept up their noise and when I awoke at 1am they were still going. Don't they go to sleep?

The morning was beautiful and sunny, so after a breakfast of hot curry noodles (to help clear my congestion) I packed up and was on the road by 8:20 am. I back-tracked a short way, for a 4 mile round trip to see the Cape Neddick Lighthouse. The campsite owner had given me a local tourist map which was very handy for this. She had given it to me to show me the 'Marginal Walkway' coastal footpath, from Perkins Cove to Ogunquit, which she said was open to bikes until Memorial Day weekend. (next weekend) I had to take a detour on the way due to the road bridge having been washed out in last weeks flooding.

At Perkins Cove - a pretty little former fishing village - I stopped at the 'Breaking New Grounds' coffee shop for a cinnamon bun and a pot of tea. It's these moments of relaxing that making cycle touring so worthwhile. When I got to the Marginal Walkway there was a sign saying no bicycles and being a Sunday the path was quite busy, so I thought I'd better not...

Instead I followed the coast road through Ogunquit, which seemed to be quite an upmarket resort with lots of art galleries and swanky B&B's. After Ogunquit the route detours from Federal Route 1 to pass through Moody Beach and Wells Beach. Here there is a one long road built behind the beach with houses on each side and a large expanse of what looks like marsh or saltmarsh behind. It's very open and reminiscent of parts of Norfolk or Suffolk.

I haven't got to grips with the opening hours here yet, so I stopped a supermarket in Wells to buy some food. I'd rather carry the extra weight than go hungry!

I've noticed that the gas stations here don't have any pressure gauges on the air lines. I guess they expect you to have your own so that you can't sue them in the event of an over or under-fill. I'd finally stopped at a garage and asked; they offered to let me use their air line and gauge for free (it's 75c at a gas station) at my own risk. It's virtually impossible to get a bike tyre inflated to the correct pressure using a little hand-pump, as they run at much higher pressures than a car tyre. Mountain bike tyres are generally rated 55 to 80 PSI.

From Wells I was heading nland again, through Kennebunk, and by about 1:30 I noticed that it had clouded over and become quite dark. The rain arrived gradually and got worse as the afternoon wore on. I passed through Goodwins Mills and Hollis, pausing only for a snack to while watching two teams of youngsters play baseball - a game I have no understanding of. Then through Bonny Eagle to Standish where I stopped for a bite to eat; my cycle computer kept resetting itself and losing the day's data so I needed to figure out why. Possibly the battery. It would also mean that I wouldn't have to cook in the rain at the campsite. I was heading for the Sbago Lake campgound and left the route a couple of mile further along to find the campsite. Shortly after I arrived, 3 other cyclists arrived, 2 of whom had done the whole of the Atlantic Coast route in the last 6 weeks, starting in Fort Myers, Florida.

Distance: 58.0 miles (Calculated from map)
Cycling time: 5-6 hours (Guestimate based on mileage)
Total distance: 217.5 miles