Nowhere To Be: Chapter 38: Into The (hamp)Shire Where It's Just So A-Maine-zing!

We crossed into New Hampshire on the most scenic coastal route of the trip so far! The state contains the shortest (yet absolutely stunning) coastline in the country. 1A is full of beautiful rocks cascading into the Atlantic on its short 18 miles. The views were just breathtaking.

Our destination was the town of Portsmouth where Danny, Zack's father's old high school buddy and avid cyclist, was to pick us up and put us up in Lee, NH. Danny is the man! We had so much fun talking bikes, farms, and life in general. His daughter, Jetta, and her partner, Burt, joined us for a Chinese takeout dinner and beer. Danny showed us his wood shop the next morning before we took off, where he designs and builds gorgeous furniture.

We crossed into South Berwick, Maine around noon! We finally made it to the last state! I was overwhelmed with joy all day long. Since we arrived so early I don't want to be done with the bike just yet, especially during this perfect weather, we decided to take our time through Maine and explore Portland over the weekend.

Just out of Saco I found a trail crossing Route 1. I immediately checked my Google Maps and discovered it hugged Route 1 all the way to Scarborough not far from a State Park where we decided to camp for my last night in the tent. The Eastern Trail was so beautiful that I was constantly jumping off the bike to shoot photos of the scenery when a guy riding a Surly Long Haul with an Ortlieb pannier rolled up to chat about my gear. Aaron, who lives in Portland, is going to Scotland at the end of May with his bicycle to ride to London. We absolutely had to talk more especially with Zack. Since they have a matching taste for touring bikes and panniers (Aaron's Surly is blue with black Ortliebs whereas Zack's is green with yellow panniers! So adorable), I knew a bromance was a brewin! We exchanged information and planned to meet up for a drink over the weekend.

Not 5 minutes after Aaron rode off to make it to dinner on time, Caroline stopped on her way home curious about self supported touring and our long trip. She asked where we usually stayed at night so I explained free camping and warm showers when she interjected to ask where we were staying that night. When I told her about the State Park up the rode she smiled and then chimed in "I have a warm shower, and I'm a lot closer to the trail than the State Park." I said " Well, if you're offering, Zack and I would certainly love a shower!" Although I my dreams of my last night in the tent were killed at this point I simply could not turn down an offer like that. I had been wanting, throughout the entire journey, for someone to randomly invite us into there home. So I was elated when Caroline and I exchanged information and then to tell Zack of the news after he had caught up.

Caroline is such a beautiful human being! She is always dipping her hands into new ventures and activities and really seems to live a fulfilling and exciting life. In talking with her and staying in her home I had a sort of epiphany. Throughout this journey I have not focused on making long term friends because I knew most people (with some exception of course) I would never see again. I was more interested in the short meaningful interactions with random strangers that would have a greater and more lasting effect on me. It dawned on me, while with Caroline, that this is my home for the next seven months and I need to make these connections last longer than a fleeting moment in passing. Over a lobster roll dinner, she spoke often about her off the grid Yurt in northern Maine and I look forward to spending some time there together this summer/fall gardening, knitting & crafting, or kayaking (just a few of the many things we have in common). Thank you so much, Caroline, for your wonderful random act of kindness!

The next morning we rode the 6 miles into Portland to eat lunch at Duck Fat (a restaurant we had been looking forward to since before we left). It was recommended to me by one of my customers in Florida and it was incredibly scrumptious with fries, doughnuts, and more all deep fried in duck fat! However, the best part about Duck Fat was not the food. We sat at a bar with a wall of magnetic poetry in front of us. We started out building phrases each taking turns with the words as a game as we waited for our food. It quickly morphed into a hilarious, inside, funky rendition of our journey together and a really phenomenal moment!

Then we met up with Aaron and his partner, Jamie for drinks and had a wonderful time talking about our experiences, bike trips, and non ultra lite set ups! I hope he and Zack can align their plans to do some UK riding together! With the guys overseas that will leave Jamie and I to get in some girl riding time! I've never had friends to bike around with until now... this really makes me smile!

We spent our last evening in Portland with Nancy, our warm showers host. She and her husband have biked around so many parts of the world. They did a huge 6 month long trip, in '87 before they started a family the beautiful photos, of which, decorate the walls and hallways of their home.

Before we headed to Bowdoinham, we stopped by Maine Bicycle Coalition's Bike Swap event and had a great time chatting with Mainers about our trip. We certainly attracted lots of attention from the Portland bike community!