Of all the reasons to come to Maine this is by far my favorite; biking the carriage trails of Acadia. The hills are deceiving and I’m in awe of people who just fly by me. Today we did a 9 mile loop with a stop at Jordan Pond House for some pop overs.

Route: We parked at Bubble Pond, headed up to the Jordan Pond loop, went by Jordan Pond House, then around the mountain, down the backside of Eagle Lake and then back up to the Bubbles parking area.

Observations along the way:

• I bike up hills at 3-4 mph
• Stopping for longer than a minute after mile 5 garnered much longer start ups
• 65 degree weather and cloudy is perfect for me for biking
• Pack a small point and shoot camera
• Get an extra battery pack for the iPhone
• Listening to the Crystal Method for most of the trip seriously kept me moving?

Accomplishments:

• First ride of the season, 9 miles
• Did not have to stop on the hills, just went slow and steady
• Did not stress about hills, but accepted them and chose to conquer them

We managed to time our ride perfectly again to bump into the horse and carriage teams leaving the stables with their passengers. Each group waved to us and said Hi.

As always I loved the ride, had a great time and wish I could do it every weekend. A slightly easier version would be nice everyday to get to work.

We had fun later in the trip where we seemed to be the only ones on the trail and we shot some video. Craig is going to be compiling it into something fun to watch and I’ll post when he does.

Thursday was the one day with a guaranteed window of sun. We decided to head down as a group to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. Our first stop was to Bar Harbor Bike Shop to rent Kerry a bike. My CR-V was fully loaded for the day, 2 kayaks and 3 bikes.

We headed over to Eagle Lake to ride the shore side and then up to Bubble Pond. There were signs and warnings of wash outs. For comparison, we’ve been coming here this same week of June for about 4-5 years now. Two years ago, the streams were so bone dry it looked like it hadn’t rained in many weeks. This year the gravel from the carriage trails was washed all through the woods. In one spot the water was rushing so loudly and going over the banks and through the trees. The trail for the most part was in good shape.

I was happy to be able to bike without stopping up the hill to the Bubbles. This had been a spot that I used to have to walk. Although when we crossed the road and started over a steep short incline for a bridge, my thighs were burning. We rode out to our usual spot and snapped some pics.

We rode back to the car, making a few more picture stops. I’d love to come back here someday and be able to just ride through 8-14 miles of trails in a day and consider that a good workout.

After our ride we headed up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain to eat our lunch. I got to see a sight I had never seen; fog rolling over the islands. We were above the clouds and looking down on the bay. I managed to get sunburned on my shoulders, but I don’t mind, it was so nice to see the sun for just a few minutes.

We tried to go to Hadlock Pond to bike and kayak but we weren’t sure if kayaks were allowed. The biking parking lot was full. So we headed back to Eagle Lake for kayaking and biking, but the waters were too choppy since the wind had picked up significantly. We headed up to Jordan Pond, the parking lots there were all full as well. I hadn’t seen Acadia this packed ever. Not sure if gas prices being lower got everyone out on the go again.

Kerry, Kathy and Marty took another bike ride along the Jordan Pond trails. Craig and I napped in the car.

The sun was really shining and we all commented on this is how summer should be. Not this rainy dreary constant gray we’ve been having.

We headed back to Bar Harbor to drop off Kerry’s bike rental and then grab a light dinner. We went to the Cottage Street Bakery and had delicious lobster raviolis. I made a stop at one store trying to get more gifts for people.

A quiet ride back to our place and we all slept very well.

Wednesday the weather finally let up. We all took advantage of the satellite dish getting some coverage and hopped on the internets to catch up on life.

Kerry, Craig and I explored the peninsula we’re staying on via bike. The mosquitos kept us moving briskly. If I went too slow on hills, they’d be right there ready to eat me. The temp had gone up a bit too and the air was very humid.

After freshening up we headed down to Ellsworth for some shopping. Cadillac Mountain sports again, to get new tires for my bike and some clothes for Kerry. We also stopped at Shirley’s Yarn and Things where I picked up some gifts for friends.

It was fun driving around just the three of us, we hadn’t done that since probably around 1997.