The Journey Begins...Sort of
It was a most unauspicious start. Sitting on the tarmac in Helena, waiting for the mechanic to show up to fix the plane, we wondered if we were ever going to get started. We ended up missing our connection in Salt Lake, resulting in being re-routed through Boston, where we spent the better part of 5 hours wandering through Terminal A and drinking Dunkin Donuts coffee. We called ahead to the Bar Harbor shuttle, and they were dutifully waiting for us when we arrived in Bangor. Alas, our luggage decided to take a different route, so we headed off to our motel with the clothes on our back and trusting that Delta would find a way to deliver our equipment to us the next day. Luckily, we had decided to ship BOB and Olga ahead, so we knew, at least, that they were safe and sound.
After a night of fitful dreams and anticipation, we awoke to a glorious sunrise in Bar Harbor Maine. The town is the gateway to Acadia National Park, which is one of the smallest national parks, but accomodates nearly 4 million visitors a year, making it much busier than Yellowstone or Glacier. The town is right on the water, and totally geared to a large tourist trade. Art galleries, T shirt shops, eateries, souvenier stands...the normal thing you'd expect to see, but more upscale than we are accustomed.
We spent the better part of the morning at the Bar Harbor Bike shop, getting the bike set up and ready for the road. Not knowing where our luggage was certainly did put a crimp in our preparations, but luckily, it arrived at our motel while we were at the bike shop. All was well with the world.
It took about 2-3 hours to get our food shopping and final supplies purchased before finally setting out to the Park. Something we noticed right away...BOB and Olga sure are eyestoppers! Everywhere we went, people would gawk, stare, point, take pictures...it was like we were a tourist attraction of sorts. Our rig is also a conversation starter. People were either amazed, energized, bemused, or in disbelief that we are going to ride to Florida. It's a pattern we've seen repeated virtually everyday, and we're getting very good at giving our 15 second sound bite answers to the same questions. We know that they mean well, and are curious, but it can get tiring at times. We also have found that many folks feel the need to tell us about their adventures or dreams of what they would like to do some day. Our bike and trip become a way for them to relieve something in their own life. It's suprising the number of people that approach us who have taken a long distance bike or hiking trip, and just want to share that experience with us. We listen, we smile, we nod in agreement...we know what it's like to live out a dream.
One such person is Helen. She's the co-owner of the Villager Motel where we stayed in Bar Harbor. Helen had never really been bike touring, but decided she needed to do something to challenge her, and ended up on an Adventure Cycling tour on the Southern Tier route. She gushed about the trip, what it meant to her, and how she can't wait to go on another trip. It literally changed her life. It's a story we've heard repeated since then, but talking to Helen brought us full circle. We moved to Montana 30 years ago when Matt went to work for Bikecentennial, which has morphed into Adventure Cycling. Matt has been involved with the organization ever since, and it was both reassuring and uplifting to know of the impact and the difference it has made in people's lives...people like Helen. And here we were, at the beginning of our own great adventure. With butterflies in our stomachs, but faith in our own abilities, we waved goodbye and pedaled off down the road.
After a night of fitful dreams and anticipation, we awoke to a glorious sunrise in Bar Harbor Maine. The town is the gateway to Acadia National Park, which is one of the smallest national parks, but accomodates nearly 4 million visitors a year, making it much busier than Yellowstone or Glacier. The town is right on the water, and totally geared to a large tourist trade. Art galleries, T shirt shops, eateries, souvenier stands...the normal thing you'd expect to see, but more upscale than we are accustomed.
We spent the better part of the morning at the Bar Harbor Bike shop, getting the bike set up and ready for the road. Not knowing where our luggage was certainly did put a crimp in our preparations, but luckily, it arrived at our motel while we were at the bike shop. All was well with the world.
It took about 2-3 hours to get our food shopping and final supplies purchased before finally setting out to the Park. Something we noticed right away...BOB and Olga sure are eyestoppers! Everywhere we went, people would gawk, stare, point, take pictures...it was like we were a tourist attraction of sorts. Our rig is also a conversation starter. People were either amazed, energized, bemused, or in disbelief that we are going to ride to Florida. It's a pattern we've seen repeated virtually everyday, and we're getting very good at giving our 15 second sound bite answers to the same questions. We know that they mean well, and are curious, but it can get tiring at times. We also have found that many folks feel the need to tell us about their adventures or dreams of what they would like to do some day. Our bike and trip become a way for them to relieve something in their own life. It's suprising the number of people that approach us who have taken a long distance bike or hiking trip, and just want to share that experience with us. We listen, we smile, we nod in agreement...we know what it's like to live out a dream.
One such person is Helen. She's the co-owner of the Villager Motel where we stayed in Bar Harbor. Helen had never really been bike touring, but decided she needed to do something to challenge her, and ended up on an Adventure Cycling tour on the Southern Tier route. She gushed about the trip, what it meant to her, and how she can't wait to go on another trip. It literally changed her life. It's a story we've heard repeated since then, but talking to Helen brought us full circle. We moved to Montana 30 years ago when Matt went to work for Bikecentennial, which has morphed into Adventure Cycling. Matt has been involved with the organization ever since, and it was both reassuring and uplifting to know of the impact and the difference it has made in people's lives...people like Helen. And here we were, at the beginning of our own great adventure. With butterflies in our stomachs, but faith in our own abilities, we waved goodbye and pedaled off down the road.
posted by Matt and Mary Ellen | 8:50 PM
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