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Riding my bicycle across the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route
Where’s Francis? Follow along daily on my map: https://share.garmin.com/FrancisDavis (ask me for password)
First day on the road. After a heartfelt goodbye with dad and grandma, I set off from Bar Harbor around 11:30. Trailer was heavier than expected, but I only had to walk one hill, which I think was attributed more to fatigue than anything else. The riding was good. Either super Low traffic country roads, or higher traffic main roads with generous shoulders. Beautiful boulder fields - something I’ve never seen before. It really fascinates me all of the different biomes of forests, changing several times even within one day. Once I got off of Mount Desert Island, it got significantly hotter. Shade was minimal; the sun was out in full force. I think I had a bit of heat exhaustion, but I consumed a lot of water, and took breaks as needed. I was overjoyed to fix an ice cream shop in Surrey. I pushed on the rest of the 15 miles to camp. As I was riding along, thoroughly enjoying The Snows of Kilimanjaro I felt a brisk breeze assault my face. As I looked up, I saw ominous clouds, and what looked to be rain on the mountain horizon. Most of my stuff is in dry bags, but I have some miscellaneous detritus clipped and bungled onto the trailer. I wasn’t completely ready for the rain. At this point it was about 2 miles from camp; I decided to press on and hope to make i. As luck would have it, I cam arose a rural auto repair shop with an open garage, I poked my head in and found a friendly face. Not 5 minutes after I came into the garage, a deluge hit the ground, causing several small rivulets of water to flow through the gravel parking lot. I was overjoyed - I’d dodged a bullet. AFter about 20 minutes I thanked my friend and carried on to the campground, known as Hothole Valley Parcel, a conservancy group;s effort to maintain some land in Maine, with “rustic” campsites for $5 / night. As I rode the mile gravel loop to the campsite, I should have taken the assault of deer flies as a bad omen. I soon arrived at the “campsite” which was really just open woods. The mosquitoes and the deer flies are the worst I’ve ever experienced in m life. I was overwhelmed with a sense of failure and a general irreverence. Quickly, I regrouped and decided to set up te tent ASAP, just to seek shelter from the vicious flies. I tried to take a nap to no avail, then I read. A few hours elapsed until I heard the sound of a truck - the park ranger. I had only pulled off of the gravel road. Their was one arrow indicating the direction of the actual campsite, through a stud ally growing field with 3ft high grass. Sufficed to say, I had no idea where the campsite was. I talked with the ranger, who advised that I move camp to the designated site. I obliged, and the adventure continued! Finally, I’m settled in for the night. Subpar. I havent cooked dinner, subsisting on measly Clif bars. It is simply too buggy to cook. I had a near meltdown when I couldn’t find the iodine to purify water. My gear desperately needs to be organized. On the bright side, the temperature is finally dropping, it’s dusk, and I’m finally relaxed enough to stop and appreciate the beauty of the woods around me. The mild fog hovering over the expansive field. The pastel colors of the sunset with a halo of deciduous trees in the foreground. The constant chirping of the crickets. This is why I’m here.
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