Thursday, 25 May 2006

Camden Hills to Camden Hills (RV Resort to State Park)

Overslept again this morning, but this time it was more to do with not being able to get to sleep. There's not much you can do when you've got insomnia in a tent. You can't just get up and watch TV for a bit. I've don't carry a book, except for my book of Guardian Cryptic Crosswords so I struggled through one of those as far as I could. It's not as if I was in rush as I'd been told that Camden was nice so I thought I might spend the day there and camp at the State Park just north of town.

When I'd had to get up in the night, the sky was completely clear, and by the morning there was some high thin cloud but plenty of sun, so the tent got hot pretty quick which helped to dry the condensation. I stopped off at the Rockport Diner again, for breakfast, since it was on my way. By the time I came out to set off to Rockport it had already clouded over and cooled down. On my map, Rockport and it's adjoining neighbour Camden, are shown in a boring tan colour to signify urban area; in reality it is very green and leafy and a pleasant cycle.

In Camden I found that the Visitor Information Centre was based in the Chamber of Commerce, so I'll remember to look out for the Chamber of Commerce in other places. I popped in to pick up some local information and then went to the Deli on Main Street to sit on their deck, in the sun, overlooking the falls and harbour, with a bowl of seafood chowder and a hot latte. Life doesn't get much better. It's like being on holiday!

Having read the brochures they were quite surprised to find me returning them. I cycled out on US 1 to the Camden Hills State Park where I set up the tent. ($20) I then did some of the bike maintenance I had been meaning to do for a few days; mainly cleaning and re-oiling the chain and doing some slight gear adjustments. I had a problem with the chain coming off when I changed down on the front derailleur from middle to small chain-ring; which is a bit of a problem when you're struggling uphill and clipped on to your pedals. I can now change gear with confidence.

Having done my bike chores I set off for a afternoon hiking in the park. (I'm lugging these damn boots around, so I'm gonna use 'em!) It's been a while since I've done any hiking so it was a pleasant change from pushing pedals. I hiked up to Mount Megunticook (1385 ft) which was a bit of a disappointment at the summit as it was in the trees but there were some great views on the way at Adam Lookout and Ocean Lookout. On the return trip I went via Mount Battie with it's tower and views looking down over Camden.

Okay, I'm coming round to the idea that Americans might be a tad lazy; I saw a couple reverse their big RV (Recreational Vehicle) out of their campsite and drive to the wash-house to do their washing up. It took them longer to drive there than it took me to walk there - including the time I had to wait while they reversed out of their campsite. Hilarious. I was on my way for a hot shower. (Bliss.)

After my shower I cycled back into Camden to Peter Ott's Steakhouse and bar for a small (7 oz.) sirloin steak with mash, salad and fresh bread. Excellent ($28.30) Oh, and that includes 2 beers. (My first in over a week) Oh, how tempting it was to have a third.

Distance: 10.0 miles
Cycling time: 1:13
Total distance: 357.9 miles