day one

And so it begins. :)

Ben and I left Rockport at 7am. We struggled (I struggled) to find a place where we could dip our tires into the Atlantic before starting our ride. I wanted to hold to the tradition for cross-country riders to dip the rear tire into the ocean on the coast of departure. After a short detour through Knight Marine, we eventually found a boat ramp in downtown Rockland where we posed for a couple of photos and contemplate the new beginning.

We planned a big day for our first ride. Perhaps a bit bigger than we were really ready for. 80 miles on Route 1 South to Portland, ME.

Although I grew up in Maine I found the ride completely exhilarating. I was taking photos of practically everything we biked by... even though I'd seen it close to a hundred times before. I was actually so engrossed in taking photos and (foolishly) working with my phone that I crashed in to Ben later in the day. Lesson learned... I hope. I'm still trying to find a way to share all these photos with everyone without eating up the storage space we've got on this webpage. More soon.

We stopped in Wiscassett, Maine for our first leg break. The town is incredibly old. Took some time to read a plaque in the park off of the road. It was notably colonial in its perspective and lauded the first colonial settlers for the beginnings of the settlement. Left wishing that Mainers received a People's History that included the native heritage. Wonder what Wiscassett would be like today if the "Yankee attitude" hadn't been "passed down" by the Davies family (Wiscassett's first property owners).

Kept biking south, ate lunch in Brunswick, and then stopped again in Freeport at the Maine Beer Company after noticing their solar panels on their roof. There I collected our first brief interview for the podcast and hope to be in touch with more of their staff shortly. The company's motto, "do the right thing," seems to strike a chord through their business operations. Hoping to learn more-- and share these audio clips shortly.

When we reached Portland, Ben and I biked around the Back Cove to meet one my friends from High School, Jay, who offered to host us last minute when I called him the day before we left. Writing this now, I'm so grateful for his hospitality. I think we're both pooped.

Before calling it quits for the evening Jay, who's studying Health Care Management at the University of Southern Maine, took Ben and I out to Portland Head Light for the sunset. He mentioned that we might not see the ocean for a while. Going to miss nights like this.