The Sun, The Moon, & a Bike
When we headed home to Maine from our quick trip to Pennsylvania for the Workman Wedding, we realized we only had two more months working in Maine. That got us thinking a little more seriously about all the things we wanted to see and do before we start our journey South for the winter. Pressure is on with October 15 quickly approaching. Oh how lovely it has been. With the solar eclipse being a buzz of excitement from the west to the east coast, it was part of my plans for August 21st which just happened to be a day I had off (Russ not so much)! While we weren’t close to the path of totality, a lunar / solar phenomena like this is not to be ignored. These kind of things intrigue me! Remember, I am a total science nerd thanks to my dad, Tom Dutt the Science Nut! He should have had a PBS show don’t you think? Step back Bill Nye the Science Guy, there is a new scientist in town! So with plans for for solar viewing from 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM, I was in search of a Monday morning adventure. A little carriage road biking to the rescue.
With some new construction taking place along the carriage roads, I had been telling people who were renting bikes from us at Acadia Bike about the detour they would need to take to bike the portion of the carriage roads we recommend. I felt like since I had been and would be telling so many people about what turns to take, that I should go check out the actual route myself. I started off at the Eagle Lake access point along the carriage roads and set out for a 15 mile bike ride. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and while I missed my favorite biking pal, Russ, I was happy to be out there enjoying Rockefeller’s carriage roads! While we had done some walking around parts of Jordan Pond, this was my first time circling the entire Jordan Pond carriage road. WOW - some magnificent views with shady stretches of woodlands all while skirting the peaceful lakes and ponds. While I could say I went for a bike ride today, I also have to admit I went on a bike walk as there was a few times I had to hop off the bike and finish off a hill on foot. That rolling terrain is the real deal. Some of those inclines just don’t bode well with my out of shape self.
As I continued on the ride, just as I expected, there were plenty of large signs warning about a closed section of the carriage roads with a mention of the detour. As I approached the intersection of the closure, the actual detour signs were pretty small. Looking to my left, I caught the temporary bike detour sign and realized that the detour entailed taking my bike down a few steps to Park Loop Road. Probably something we should have been warning our bike rental customers about - oopsie!
I also learned the one-way Park Loop Road detour we tell them about, becomes two-way before bikers can get back onto the carriage roads. So this little bike ride was good as I am now able to give more detailed detour instructions to our customers! Maybe I should ask to see if I can get paid for this bike ride. If you are reading, Glenn, whatcha think?
After I returned to the car and got my bike all strapped back into the bike rack, I headed down to Bar Harbor to catch a glimpse of the Solar Eclipse. I had decided to spot of viewing would be the Sand Bar. I parked and headed down to the Bar where conveniently I found my hubby helping launch a group of kayakers for an afternoon paddle. He had a few minutes before his next pick-up/drop-off so we quickly enjoyed our packed lunches while watching the sun eclipse. Don’t worry we didn’t look directly at the sun. We did use the selfie mode on our phones and enjoyed seeing all the unique solar viewers people were using. We finished up our lunches and I headed back to the car. Lucky for me, I passed a couple random ladies who share their eclipse glasses with me. It was most certainly worth a look. Thank you to those friendly folks - you made my day!
Carriage Road Progress: 21.2 miles down, 23.8 miles to go
