Bar Harbor/Acadia NP, Woman Tours, Jun 15-19

 


What an awesome trip this was!!! The scenery and cycling was amazing. I can't wait to return. Here's a picture dump. 

This is the trailer from the tour company. There were two guides, Melanie and Ruth. They did a fantastic job keeping our bikes ready to go and keeping the group of us happy. I will definitely be taking another one of their tours, I just need to decide which one.










The harbor view from our hotel. We couldn't have asked for a nicer place to stay. The rooms were great, the lobby, restaurant, and breakfast spots were fantastic, and location was amazing. Except for one day when we took a ferry to our ride start, all the rides left right from the hotel and within a mile or two you were in the national park.


There were from day one. We were all getting acquainted with out bikes. Some people brought theirs from home, but I think most were rentals. I rented an e-bike and boy was I in heaven!! I highly recommend it if you are going to b in hills and you are on vacation (in other words, you don't want a work out, you want fun only).

Before every ride they put out a table full of snacks for us to choose from. No way was anyone going hungry. In addition to three meals a day, we had tons of snack foods. We even had beer and wine for after the ride!









First scenic picture from the route on day one. It was so beautiful. I would have loved to take a few weeks exploring all the routes by bike.


Paula and I stopping to take in the view. She was on a regular bike. I can't believe how she made it on those hills, but I guess riding in Cincinnati is very different than riding in Orlando. I was very impressed with her stamina. And, she never complained!! I would like to up my game a but and next time try this on a regular bike.

I saw these lovely flowers along the last stretch of the route on day one. I was waiting for Paula and two of the other ladies on regular bikes (since I had an e-bike) so I had plenty of time to take pictures.

This is called Balanced Rock. Apparently it has been there for ages. It was in the harbor right down a short path from our room. This was a nice little beach with benches that I sat at to meditate with my  morning coffee.

On day two we took a ferry ride to another part of the national park. You could have driven, but this was part of the tour and a beautify trip, though it was cold on the way back. I went off on my own this day while Paula stayed with the few other ladies on regular bikes. It was nice being on roads with very few cars. The town around the national park was cute but expensive and I couldn't imagine life during the winter. I was chilly in June!!






No sandy beaches up here, just slabs of rocks jutting into the sea.

Low tide, they say there is a thirty
foot different between high and low tide. 

Typical lobster boil :)




On the third day we woke up at 4am and rode off with headlights on our bikes to see the sun rise from Cadillac Mountain. It was only a six mile ride to the top, but it was all up. Took me no time with the battery fully charged. The guide van was waiting at the top for us with hot coffee and we all found a spot to enjoy the sunrise. Amazing!






Once the sun was up we got to enjoy the six mile coasting all the way back to our hotel. What a unique experience. 


The the rest of the day we were free to roam as we pleased. I was able to get my NP stamp and get in an easy hike and a nice walk around town. 





Here we all are having an afternoon toast to another fabulous day. I really enjoyed the group of cyclists (even is half of them were "couples"... I'm becoming more accepting as the years go by).

The last full day of cycling was in the park on the carriage trails which were crushed gravel. Again, I was sooooo thankful I had an e-bike. Maybe I don't want to repeat this trip with a regular bike. But I would like to do this trip with a person who is also on an e-bike. I was alone for much of the riding because Paula couldn't keep up and it was hard for me to slow down. Weird to think that it is hard to ride slow, but on an e-bike, since the bike itself is so heavy, you have to use some battery to keep yourself balanced and when you're on the hills, if you don't keep pedaling, you'll tip over.



The last evening together we had a group dinner in the fancy private room on the second floor of the hotel lobby. This was our view over the harbor. 

I was sad to see the trip end. It seemed like I was looking forward to it for so long then it was over in a poof.


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