May 17, 2025
Day 6 Lewiston to Naples
Average speed: 9.2
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Ad left today. I’m sad. She spoiled me by spending three days on the trip.
Today was a short day, somewhat by design. My original route was based on the older NT maps and had me going from Brunswick to Durham. The newer NT maps, which I got just before the trip, now go through Lewiston. In any case, it was good to have shorter day for several reasons.
There was a light rain pretty much throughout the am. And the hills were more than I had expected (poor review of the route yesterday). Coming out of the hotel, I took a side street to get back to the NT route and was hit with multiple 10% or more hills. Lewiston is hilly, which explains why it used to be a mill town.
On the route, I had 9 official Garmin climbs with rolling hills in between. The climbs were sometimes more than 10%, and upwards of a mile or more and so the granny gear was kicked in. So much for saving that gear for the Kancamagus.
But more than the number of climbs or grade, was that several climbs were on busy two lane highways of 70mph traffic. That is harrowing, and the wet pavement increases the sound. For most highways, the shoulders are 3-4 ft wide, but on Poland Spring Road (the route goes just south of Poland), the shoulder is under 2 ft and the pavement is cracked and patched. This makes it harder mentally to focus on keeping within the shoulder.
However most drivers, at least here in Maine, are pretty good at passing. Either giving plenty of space, changing lanes like they would be passing a car, or slowing down and waiting for oncoming traffic to pass. However, there are some who don’t have the same consideration or awareness, or perhaps have antipathy towards bikers. Fortunately I was able to get a good bike mirror in Lewiston (thanks to Ad’s research) which helped.
I don’t track the mile count on my Garmin because I would be too focused on the number rather than seeing my surroundings. I do keep a coarse mental status based on rough calculations and clues. It’s a nice surprise when you realize you’re off, on the good side. I had thought I had 15 miles left to Naples and saw this sign:
The pictures are limited today because of the rain!
Tomorrow on to Conway, with light rain!
Today's ride: 31 miles (50 km)
Total: 276 miles (444 km)
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