Day 6 - Thetford Center to Middlebury, VT

Mileage of the day: 66
Total mileage to date: 358
Another amazing cycling day! Great weather, great traffic and only some wind towards the end of the day. I left Dave and Jennifer early in the morning and faced yet another frigid morning. Thankfully my day began with some steep climbs to warm me up. I wanted to note my favorite noises so far on the journey include the songs of the frogs - I pretend they are cheering me up the hills. I also named the bike I am riding (which is actually Nicole's bike) the other day. Since this is a new bike to me I have accidentally crossed chained (which is bad for the bike) a couple of times and have apologized to the bike saying "sorry," so naturally I said sorry Charlie at one point and his name was created. The brand name of the trailer is called the "Bob". So for those of you who think I am going at this alone, never fear because Charlie and Bob are with me every step (or should I say petal) of the way. After I took a nap in the sun during my lunch break I had some more hills to climb, I told myself to ride for one hour and then I can take a break. At the one hour mark there was a couch sitting on the side of this random rural road so I kicked back and took a 10 minute break on the conveniently located couch! My legs were getting upset with me as I approached the summit of the steepest hill I have ever climbed (15% grade at some points) so my new friends JoAnne and Kirt gave me a 3 miles boost to the top. I had the most magical 12 mile decent through the Green Mountains. As I approached my destination two cyclists joined me who were out riding for the day and escorted me the 4 miles into town. Once into town they gave me a brief tour and showed me all of the places I needed. I wish I had an escort in each town - they were great! I met my host Aviva (from couchsurfing) at her dorm and we headed for the dining hall for a free yummy dinner. After a lovely dinner with Aviva and her friends I went into town to just make it for the opening night of the college musical, "Bare." I stayed awake for the whole show which proves the entertainment quality of the production. I went out for a glass of wine with my friend Alex who I met through couch surfing who invited me to the show. I fell asleep quickly on the floor of Aviva's dorm room. Another great day!

Day 5 - Conway, NH - Thetford Cener, VT

Mileage of the day: 81
Total mileage to date: 292
Today was a huge physical day - I hit my high record of 81 miles and I went over two significant passes (east coast standard of course). About one hour into my ride I was on a high; sunny, no wind and I was baffled that not one car had past in nearly the entire hour. I soon realized the reason when I approached a closed gate with a road full of snow...hmmm...what to do? I walked about 1/4 of a mile through the snow to find pavement clear of snow and then enjoyed many more miles of no traffic since the road was closed. As I started up the first big pass a moose darted in front of me and posed for a photo opportunity. At the top of the pass I saw a sad sight of a man feeding Cheetos to a fox - some people just don't get it! On the way down from the pass I hit my trip record speed of 42 MPH. New Hampshire is gorgeous - especially through the White Mountains. As I approached mile 80 for the day I crossed over the amazing Conneticut River into Vermont, which means I basically rode across New Hampshire in one day. My hosts for the evening, Jennifer and Dave, are friends from Ski For Light. My timing in impeccable as I pulled in just in time for the dinner party. They are a beautiful couple and have offered me lots of fuel for tomorrows ride which I am very thankful for! I must rest now as tomorrow will be another physically tough day through the mountains of Vermont.

Day 4 - Norway, ME to Conway, NH

Mileage for the day: 40
Total mileage to date: 211
I had the most amazing cycling day in the whole world! I completed my first state and crossed into New Hampshire today. The sun shined all day, very little traffic, no wind, beautiful windy roads through forests, rivers, lakes and streams. It is amazing how quickly I can ride when the wind is not present. I realize now I should give myself more credit for tackling 44 miles yesterday in the crazy wind. I thought the picture of the Fryeburg was funny because when I read the sign I thought to myself, Fryeburg this way and "No! Fryeburg this way - on second thought it was probably funny because of my delirium. A funny thing happened, my beet salad sitting in the same back as my passport leaked beet juice onto some pages of my passport. I am sure I will be looked at with serious scrutiny in the future with officials. I am proud to say that I am staying with Becky, who is the mother of the Casey who created couchsurfing.com - this is a huge day! She is also a natropathic doctor and she gave me a test and I learned my blood type - who knew the things I would learn on this bike trip. I must get rest as I have an 80 mile day tomorrow with a serious pass to conquer - wish me luck!

Day 3 - Damriascotta to Norway, ME

Mileage for the day: 44
Total mileage to date: 171
I first want to say thank you for all of the comments, phone calls and emails from those showing their support and I am sorry I can't respond to each one of them personally! It was an eventful day to say the least! I got an early start to my intended 80 mile day but the wind quickly knocked down my spirit. At one point someone told me the winds were charted today at 40 mph. I took the maps suggested short cut in the middle of the day and ended up doing a loop back where I began the short cut, but luckily my new friend Lance gave me a lift and an additional 5 mile bonus to boost my spirits. I took a long leisurely lunch before battling the winds again. Later water began falling around me, but this was not from the sky, instead a helicopter desperate to control a very recent forest fire fueled by the chaotic winds. I rode through a terrible scene of firefighters, ambulances and police cars in an awkward stooper as I was merely recreating while they bustled about resolving this tragic event. Only 5 miles later did I find a major car accident and I again had to ride through in a nearly apologetic manner. 5:30 rolled around and it was time to find a friend with a truck. Ken swooped me up and took me the remaining 25 miles to my hosts house. Ian, Tegan, Trish, Tom and Natalie from couchsurfing are taking excellent care of me and I am loving the energy from this interesting and fun loving family! We will see what tomorrow's day shall bring. My bum is feeling less sore, knee and Achilles tendon are also flaring down.
Til tomorrow....

Day 2 - Belfast to Damariscotta, Maine

Mileage of the day: 54
Miles to date: 127
My host's, Donna, 90 year old mother (who lives next door) came over for a morning chat and coffee. I made a yummy breakfast with the eggs from her chicken coop out back. The two ladies sent me warm wishes as I rode into the cold sunny day towards my next town. The sun brought some happiness, but the wind tested my patience throughout the day. Although the day was supposed to be a short 46 mile day, I thought I would add on an additional 8 miles for fun due to lack of attention to the map. Lesson learned: when asking strangers about my whereabouts confirm findings with at least two strangers. I arrived at my hosts, Sue and David's around 4:00 and took a long warm bath to warm up my bones. I found David and Sue through the Rotary club and they are amazing people and I am so lucky be a guest in their beautiful and warm home. After great conversation and a yummy curry coconut veggie dish, I made my way into my very own bedroom where I hope to get some good rest for my epic bike day tomorrow!

Day 1 - Bar Harbor to Belfast, Maine

Miles of the day: 74
Miles to date: 74
Written as if April 11th:
I awoke to the sight of snowflakes flying about outside seriously questioning my sanity. My bag safely arrived the night before at midnight and now I only needed my bike. Bar Harbor Bike shop was amazing and they gave the bike some good treatment. Finally after some serious delays my bike dipped its tires in the ocean and I began on journey at 10:30am as what I thought would be a 60 mile day. After 8 hours of rolling hills, amazing views of endless bodies and passages of water, closed up summer tourists towns filled with ice cream, antique and doll shops I arrived in Belfast after biking 74 miles. Although the day was cold day and my fingers and toes pretty much had no feeling all day, I was grateful for the absence of any significant wind or precipitation. After grabbing my dinner at a local co-op I finally arrived at my host's, Donna, house. We had a great night chatting and I must share the house was most unusual but brilliant in the same breathe. Her house had a permanent RV/trailer inside the home providing the kitchen, bedroom, toilet and other amenities. The only trouble throughout the day was pain in my knee that I hope soon finds its way out of my body! I fell peacefully asleep on her couch by the wood burning stove - it was a good first day.

The Epic Flight East

My dear friends Nicole, Andrea, Brandon and Zoe wished me off in Fort Collins on Thursday evening when I flew out of Denver. After 4 flights and 16 hours later, I arrived today in the Bangor, Maine airport. I was met by my ride, sweet Sal, who even had a sign "Yates" as we had never met before. Sal and I drove away from Bangor with no baggage as the airline lost my luggage. When we arrived in Bar Harbor the bike shop had not yet finished putting my bike together. Sal took me to my couchsurfing hosts house, Lynn and Colin with only my purse and sleeping bag in hand. The airline folks are supposed to bring my bags by this evening and Joe the bike mechanic said he should be arriving at the shop by 6am to have my bike ready to go in the morning. Let's hope tomorrow bring a smooth day free of rain and freezing weather for my first official bike day!