Day 3: Trash, Speed, and More Hills - East Orland to Camden (Maine)

No photos of today, folks. Rain was forecasted as immenent come midday, so we packed up camp as quickly as possible. I accidentally stashed the camera away under all our junk, so we didn't have access to it.

It's just as well, since today was a cold and foggy day throughout, and we had 44 hilly miles to cover. And these hills were different from the sharp inclines of yesterday - it was more a rollercoaster of steep rises and falls that we'd be dealing with. Once exiting the campsite (and having a delicious re-hydrated breakfast), we were immediately greeted by an upward slope. It was a slow but easy ride, and we passed the time counting the many discarded liquour minis along the shoulder. In about half a mile, we counted around 14 (and 35 over the whole day).

Our descent was robbed by road work once again, but it was easy enough to get going afterwards. The first leg (about half our trip for the day) was pretty easy - nothing too challenging, some fun but tough inclines, and crossing two bridges. We also saw the same solar energy installation van pass us three separate times. Pretty sure they got a kick out of the fact that we kept catching up to them on their workday. We got a little turned around at Belfast (that dang road work!), but actually managed to reconnect with our route and avoid a major incline in the process! After a brief rest stop, we were off to Lincolnville Center across 11.5 miles of that hilly, rollercoaster terrain.

This was a serious undertaking - we were already pretty ripe before, and it only got worse (Erin described my aroma as an onion wearing bug spray). We were getting pretty good at using our momentum from the declines to hit the inclines running, so thankfully some of those crests we had to do little to no work to overcome. To give you an idea, our bike computer clocks our distance and speed, as well as our max for the day. Earlier we had a pretty serious downhill, and we checked during our Belfast break to find we had hit 29.5 mph (we were pretty stoked at that). But that was nothing compared to the high speed we got off on the Lincolnville stretch: 40 mph. We certainly don't plan or desire to reach that speed again, but it was pretty dang impressive to have a car that would normally pass us hang at our rear as we sped down the hill together.

All those hills ended up being my undoing, however. I've been riding with a seized seat post that we haven't been able to budge, which means I've been slightly over extending my left leg with every downward pedal. With 8 miles left to our goal of Camden, my left knee was in some pretty serious pain. We took a break to catch our breath and grab our rain jackets (the rain had finally caught us), and we debated attempting that last stretch. Foolishly, I thought I could make it, but about 2 more miles and it was just way too painful to stay on the bike. We got off and walked it up a hill, and talked over our options at the top. It was hard for me to even bend my knee to walk, so Erin decided she would bike us the rest of the way on her own. And like a true hero, she did. I steered and managed the gears with my left leg off the pedal and right leg on, while Erin powered through an incredible distance after already working her butt off the 30 something miles prior. We ended up having to walk up the last serious incline, with Erin hauling the bike and me hobbling up the rear. It was a serious act of dedication and determination on her part, and I'm very lucky to have such a woman in my life.

We're hoping to get that seatpost fixed/replaced tomorrow, and until then I've been nursing my knee with heat pads and a brace from the local Rite-Aid. We're both incredibly tired, with Erin rightfully fast asleep already.And even though today was super difficult, we had a great time.

We had two more roadkill sightings today - another porcupine and a chipmunk. No wildlife, unless you count some rude dogs that very much wished to chase us down.