I forgot to mention that the other thing that was so special about our ride over the past days was the opportunity to see three beavers at the start of one of our days. We had started early in the morning to beat the heat and were riding next to a crystal clear river. We saw one adult beaver swimming toward what seemed to be a small log in the river, but we then realized that it was a baby beaver that the adult picked up. And just further ahead was another adult beaver that dived under the water, but because the water was so clear, we could continue watching it. It was really amazing! And it reminded me of my very first longer bike ride that I took while in high school with a friend. We rode from Bangor to Dedham to spend the night with her grandmother. The ride was about 12 miles each way with one serious climb. Not bad for two girls who had never gone more than a couple of miles to school and back. On the route we stopped by a little pond and watched a beaver dragging some branches to its home. Later that day we saw a moose behind her grandmother’s very modest home. It was a real adventure for us.

The same day Charles and I saw the beavers, we saw another bald eagle. It’s so exciting to see these majestic birds soaring over us. I will never tire of it and hope we will see many more along the Maine coast.

We didn’t have any adventures today. Just a lot of climbing and a fair amount of heat. Sometimes the smaller hills can be harder than the mountains just because they’re so steep. I was in my granny gear several times today, which I hadn’t needed to use while climbing our monster mountain yesterday. And Charles and I actually dismounted and walked 25 yards or so when the incline was just too steep up one hill. Tomorrow will be another tough one. But we only have three to go.