Adventure Cycling's tour of the Maine Coast and Lighthouses

The day before our Maine Coast and Lighthouses tour with Adventure Cycling started. Pretty, huh? Alas, it was pretty much the last time we'd see this much blue sky.

Our first riding day started in the fog, the theme that would continue throughout the week. It was still rather pretty, just not in the way I'd been hoping for.

Lighthouses... It's a lighthouse tour, right? Here's a lighthouse photo. I think. I'm pretty sure it's there somewhere. OK, I may be kidding. 

We actually could see some through the fog. Still, I don't really get the romance of lighthouses. They're non-functional these days. Perhaps I'd have been more taken if they'd been lighted, glowing beacons of safty in an otherwise dark world. 

But that's all OK. I was there to ride, and see the coast. I could smell the ocean and sometimes even hear the waves crashing.

We were thrilled to at last be on an Adventure Cycling ride that used the support van with Tricia's photo on it. I'd photographed her with her new Specialized Ruby shortly after she bought it in 2009. Adventure Cycling saw the photo in my Flickr feed and used it as a van wrap. I hear there's a trailer wrap as well.

It wasn't all fog and rain. In fact, we felt lucky to not have to set up of tear down our tent during any downpours. And several of the campgrounds we stayed at were beautiful!

As beautiful as our ride was, there was no piece of it that was level. It was up down up down all day. The elevation profile looks like a sawtooth. There are no mountains, just endless short double-digit climbs. All those "little" 10% climbs add up.

One of my favorite parts was a brief dirt road far away from cars. It was quiet and mysterious. The fog made it seem very "Stephen King."

Look! More fog!

I took my newish micro4/3 Panasonic camera with me, but it was too big for a jersey pocket and too awkward to drag out of my almost-big-enough handlebar bag so I ended up shooting on my iPhone. I am always at odds with myself on whether to shoot more or keep riding. I hate breaking my slow cycling rhythm, but enjoy the photos later and wish I'd made more. Oh well.

Our last night before loading the bikes on the "Tricia" Adventure Cycling van and heading back to Scarborough, Maine to collect our van and head home.

If you're read this far it may be because you're thinking about taking an Adventure Cycling tour. Do it! Adventure Cycling seems to attract nice, smart interesting people. I enjoyed the folks we rode with quite a bit.

Our tour guides were beyond wonderful. They managed to take excellent care of us while giving us room to have our own adventure. They were organized and patient. I can't say enough good things about Jessica and Sue.

This tour was "van supported" meaning a van carried our tents and stuff. We also had shared cooking, with a different group having kitchen duty each evening. Again, our guides provided support and direction when needed.

I'm a grumpy old guy who wasn't in the shape I should have been for this trip (it was really hard for me.) We rode in fog and rain. Everything was wet and smelly when we got home. I'm still glad I did it and would do it again.

Where we rode: As a native Californian I'd have to zoom this map way out to figure out what it's showing. It's Maine. Scarsborough is near Portland, Maine. For some reason Portland doesn't show up on this map. We ended our ride in Camden.

One final note. We rode with 11 other riders and two leaders. Where are the photos of them? It turns out I'm even slower than I thought. They're all well up the road, well out of camera range.