31 August Tuesday Conway, NH – Poland, ME

Starting Point: Conway, NH
Ending Point: Poland, ME
Via: Center Conway, Fryeburg, Bridgton, Naples, Casco and Webbs Mills
Mileage: 62   
Time: 6:15   
Mph: 9.9
Terrain: very hilly
Vertical climbing: 2,372
Temperature High: 104
Temperature Low: 76
Lunch: turkey/cheese sandwich
Dinner: chicken salad rolls
Weather: sunny and humid, bad ozone
Lodging: Range Pond Campground
Cumulative Mileage: 4,163
Miles to Go: 30
Projected Distance: 4,200
Days completed: 86 (including 9 rest days)
Distance Completed: 99%
Days to Go: 1

To pledge: http://pledgejohn.lungne.org

     With great anticipation I left the campground to breach the Maine state line. Giovanni was right behind me when I arrived there and he offered to take a picture of the longed-for sign. There was a part of the sign missing: “The Way Life Should Be.” I mentioned this to Giovanni and he commented that maybe they had changed their minds.

Maine - At Last!

     There was oppressive tropical heat and really bad air. The ozone index must have definitely been in the unhealthy range. The only relief was when biking in the shade of roadside trees. In normal circumstances I wouldn’t go biking in this weather, but today is the second to last day of this expedition and I wouldn’t want to prolong it any more than necessary.
     At one point I came upon a detour that had a “Accident Ahead” sign. My first thought was, “I hope it’s not a cyclist.” My second thought was, “How far out of my way am I going to have bike?!” The road crew worker assured me that it wasn’t a cyclist. Later in the evening I did find out that Dan N. did get hit by a car, but miraculously he escaped with minor injuries and his bike didn’t fare much worse. He was incredibly lucky; he was saying in the evening that if he had been positioned just a couple of inches in a different direction the outcome could have been severe if not fatal.
     It was a very long day with lots of hills and harsh heat so we were all quite whipped by the time we got into camp. It was our last evening as a group of 8 because Andrew was leaving the group for a couple of days to visit a friend in Portland. The camp host offered to make us hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken salad sandwiches so we wouldn’t have to leave the campground to find food. It wasn’t the most nutritious meal, but it was certainly a most welcome one.