Year 1 - Ride Day 4 - Camden ME to Wisscassett ME - Sept 4
Weather departing Camden was sunny and bright! Temps in the mid fifty degrees. We were climbing the first major climb of the day and a person stopped his truck in front of us, right in the middle of the road. Luckily it was a flat between two climbs. He jumps out and proceeds to wait for me to get to him. He said you guys have to see the beautiful views from this hill top up ahead. It was called Beech Hill Preserve. According to the sign, the cabin at the top of the hill was built as a shelter for picnics and afternoon tea. See the photo of the descriptive placard for more detail. We parked our bikes, as there was clearly a sign stating No Bikes and walked up the hill to this huge stone cabin. We even had a personal escort! A man from DC, who owns a cottage in the area, was just coming down the hill. He and his dog Peco (spelling may be wrong) walked back up with us to lead the way. The views were spectacular as you can see from the pictures. We could see Cadillac Mountain that we missed by not going to Acadia.
Riding was nice as we approached the Owls Head area. We arrived too early to enjoy a Seven Napkin Burger at the Owls Head General Store.
We continued around the peninsula and went slight off course to the Owls Head Transportation Museum. Free admission for active or retired military. Yes, Uncle Sam is still compensating me for my service! We spent about 2 hours touring the cars, motorcycles, planes and other assorted transportation mechanisms used through the years. The museum has quite a wonderful assortment of items. There are a few pictures of the exhibits included here.
We left there around noon with the intent to stop for lunch along the route in an hour or so. Around 2 or 2:30 we finally stopped along a country road to eat one or two of the snacks we carried. We were also in very severe need of water. A little further down this road I noticed a man out trimming his lawn. We asked if we could fill our bottles from his hose. Bottles full, we continued on our way.
This was a rough ride day, lots of very short but steep uphills with the respective short but too quick downhills between.
As we entered the little town of Waldoboro around 3:30, we decided that our body’s energy stores were almost down to zero. Did I say Waldoboro was small? We found a tavern open where we were able to get some appetizers to carry us through to dinner. I think this was one of maybe two eating establishments in the entire town!
More up and down all the way to the motel. Maine was not giving up easy today. We did 77 miles and climbed 4,721 feet. That is about 60 feet of climbing per mile. Did I say it was a tough day?
Check in at the Wisscassett Woods Lodge was outside! This place is really taking the COVID variant seriously! No one allowed in lobby, breakfast was ordered with a slip of paper the night before and either picked up or delivered to your room.
We decided to eat at the closest restaurant available, the Maine Tasting Room. They specialize in Maine items in both food and drink. I had an open face grilled cheese with lobster and a pickled egg with two different Maine microbrew beers! Tasty!
On our way to the restaurant, I noticed that our motel had a laundry setup. A washer and dryer in an open shed outdoors. The rules were, due to the “quiet time” beginning at 9 PM, the laundry must be in the washer by 8 p.m. It was already 7:30 p.m. and we had not eaten, so making it back by 8 to get our laundry started was not going to happen. It will just have to wait.
I bet you were tired after all those short rollers! The Owls Head Museum looks interesting and that view from Beech Hill is spectacular. Glad it was a clear day! Did you get to see the Owls Head Lighthouse?
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