Gravel & Grit...and Singletrack and Loose Stones and Sand and Some Hiking

For whatever reason, this century a week thing has gotten addicting.  This week I was flying solo and decided to take the cross bike so I could plan a route uninhibited by the restrictions of tarred roads.  The weather was beautiful, hot and the ride didn't have as many negative thoughts as Last Week's Post.

Long Lake

I planned the ride so the wind would be with me for the last quarter, as I try to do.  This meant that the first part of the ride included a lot of the climbing including Douglass Mt.  I decided that instead of just climbing the road I'd continue up the trail to the tower.  We scattered some of my dad's ashes at the top so it is a special place for me.

I took a trail I knew to the top but took a longer loop around to come back down thinking that it would be flatter and rideable.  The top, not so much but the bottom was a nice riding trail.

Hi Dad

From there I headed to Limington or Limerick.  (And now a limerick about pickups)

Back roads are fine here in Maine
They are far from the mundane
But the redneks abound
So keep an ear to the ground
And don't end up as a stain

I can never keep those 2 straight since they both start with "L", are both in about in the same place and are both places I never go.  I'm pretty sure I went to both of them yesterday.  Most of the back roads I found actually had tar on them.

I had checked google maps for a place to buy drinks midway through my ride.  When I came to the spot to turn to go to the general store there was a Dollar General conveniently located at the cross-road.  Well FU Dollar General, you are a cancer spreading across Maine and I hate your stores and will never shop one!

Baby Food, Ice Tea & Ice Coffee - Power Food!

I stopped for "lunch".  I found that baby food squeezes available for $0.50 at Big Lots are almost identical to the Cliff Organics Squeezes that cost 3x more.  I think I had Sweet Potato, Mango & Millet .  I realize that Big Lots probably isn't that different than Dollar General but hey, I like them more.

From here the adventure began.  The paved roads gave way to gravel, the gravel gave way to sand, the sand gave way to loose stones and the cycling gave way to walking.  To call these gravel roads would be optimistic.  The trail I road to the top of Douglas Mt was a better ride. 

We'll call that "loose" gravel.

Actually there were only a few sections that were so bad that they needed to be walked.  I didn't stop to take pictures of the giant sand washouts that also slowed me down, 'cause it was getting late.  I did take the time to ride down a short trail to a place on the  Little Ossipee River that was very cool with water flowing over big flat rocks.  It might be worth exploring sometime.

  Little Ossipee River

Overall it was a great ride with over 7000' of climbing even if I did get back 2 hours later than I thought.

Random Thoughts in 100+ Miles

So, my wife and I have been doing a century/weekend for her Ironman training and she's started to taper.  This week I was going to ride 60 with her then finish up a century on my own.  With the rain we got a late start so I rode my own pace so I'd get home before dark.  100 miles gives you a lot of time to think.  Most of these went through my head as names for my ride.

- Holy Shit, Holy Shit - Wooden bridges are slippery when wet. (Saw my skin flash before my eyes)

- Fuck this ride, it's raining and I could just turn home.

- Tour riders are really strong.

- Mile 27 to mile 55 are taking for-ever. 

- Aero bars rock into a headwind.

- Fuck this ride, it's raining again and I could just turn home.

- This isn't the most unpleasant century I've ridden but it's a close second. 

- Does it make people in pickup trucks feel good to be assholes? 

- You got this segment, just don't blow up.

- I should not try 5 back to back segments on a 100 mile ride.

- I should eat fewer cookies.

- I'm going to eat a cookie tonight... with ice cream.

- Am I helping my legs or hurting them. 

- Maine needs to pave their roads more often. 

- Wow litterbugs drink a lot of Fireball.

- Thanks Scott B for selling me this awesome bike at price I couldn't refuse.

- These last 14 miles suck.

- My knees hurt.

- Most people train all year for a ride this long and need 6 rest stops, I just did it with 3 granola bars some water, an Arizona iced tea and 2 iced coffees.  

- My bike is really dirty.

- I should check my chain (It was time)

I'm going to wash it as soon as it stops raining.

Don't Always Trust Route Builder

So the goal was to bike 60 miles to a birthday party about 55 miles away and back.

Actually it was Wiscasset but we came in the back way and didn't get a welcome.

I made a loop that was about 60 miles there and 56 miles back.  Normally I build the route by putting makers where I want to go and then dragging some points off major roads.  This time  I brought us through Lisbon Falls and up over the Kennebec River in Richmond.

This Bridge Will Be Torn Down Soon

This Mill Will Be Too

 Mission accomplished on staying off main roads. This road was not major and not even a road.  We turned onto "said" road, and after climbing 1/2 a mountain there was a "Dead End" sign.  We thought "A", why didn't they put that at the start of the road and "B" we've come all this way and if we go back we'll have to find a re-route and "C" The route builder said that it was a road.

Not even on a cross mountain bike.

Other than pushing our arrival time out about 40 minutes it was a very nice hike.  It's a good thing it hadn't rained because it would have been a stream.

The birthday party was good, we had 20 people in amazement that we could ride that long with the sequential questions from each one: "How Long Is That" and "How Long Did It Take"  At least we had a good story.

The ride home was into a good stiff headwind but "luckily" we were out there long enough that it started to die down at the end.

This was my wife's longest ride at 118 miles.

I've Been Everywhere; I've been to: Raymond, Windham, Sebago, Standish, Steep Falls, Limington, Hollis, Waterboro, Alfred, Lyman, Arundel, Biddeford, Saco, Scarboro, South Portland, Portland, Falmouth...

Another century done. 4th one since the middle of may. A few years ago I wouldn't have imagined that I'd ride 100 miles every weekend but it's starting to get routine. It does take up the better part of a weekend though.

Any of you ever drink Poland Spring water? Our trip brought us by the "headwaters" of Poland Spring. I'd never seen it. Not as picturesque as one might imagine. This building was FRIGGIN HUGE! So huge I had to look it up. 838,000 sq feet. (about 20 football fields) The Bottom Line: Where profit flows from the ground up - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Over and out.

Third Century of the Year: Pinkham & Evens Notchs

Notches?

Anyway.We rode 100 miles.  We could have used more food.  Thanks for the water Vickie & Jay!  Mostly just pictures. 

It's a really long climb to here.  Not too hard but long.

Mt Washington in the Background

Ironwoman

All Our Photos Lately Look Like This

This Time We Actually Decided to Ride On This Road - NOT lost.

All Our Photos Lately Look Like This

100 Miles Isn't as Long as it Used To Be

I did my first century ride in 2010.  Previously my rides topped out at about 50.  To be honest, I wasn't sure if I could finish it.  Fast forward 6 years and I have already ridden 2 self supported centuries with my wife this year!  That's what Ironman training will do for you.  I'm signed up for the Loon Echo Trek and The Dempsey Challenge. (<---You can donate now if you want)  I will probably try to fit in a few more including another Workday Century. 

So on to this ride.  The IIT (Ironman In Training) needed to do a 6 hour training ride this weekend.  These things are more fun with friends.  I've had fun planning the long ride routes to places we normally wouldn't drive because it is too far.  Go figure.  This destination was OOB.  The Garmin course feature was great at getting us there on roads I have never been on.  Despite the title of the ride I didn't actually eat any pier fries.Wasn't sure how those would sit for the 53 miles back home.  We stuck with a few granola bars and a Chia Kale Squeeze I probably could have used some more water.

World Famous OOB

Portland Headlight is not showing at its best

Raymond was sunny and 75, everything by the ocean was 60 and clammy with lots of fog

Our ride took us through the "big city" after a short delay

I know you are wondering about the last century.  That brought us to Cousins Island and LL Bean.  This ride wasn't actually planned as a century but once we got to 80 miles we figured, "What the heck."

It was a much nicer day at the ocean.

World Famous L.L. Bean

The Dogs Really Get Excited About Going For A Ride

"Do you want to go for a bike ride?"

Once we got out of the house we headed to Morgan Meadows.  I've never tried biking the narrow trails there.  Other than a few steep climbs that I couldn't make it up and a little riding along the side of a hillside where my cranks kept bashing the slope and trying to send me down into the ravine it was good.

The Cliffs Of Gibraltar

My biggest gripe about those trails is that there is a point between the cliffs and the ridge where the trail disappears.   I'm thinking some trail work would go a long way.

I did find an ATV trail that was pretty fun and ended up on Vogel Rd where I found a tiny plain unfinished house for sale for a mere $180.  I was thinking it might be a bargain if it was $80.

No Driveway, Tiny Windows, Zero Landscaping

No Drywall, No Plumbing, No Electrical, No Insulation..$180?? It's a lot with walls.

Mission accomplished.  

Not so loud now.

Who Needs a Pillow?