Katie MacDonald - Bike the US for MS
Day 1 - May 28 - Bar Harbor, ME to Belfast, ME - 66.3miIncredibly beautiful day to start the ride. The sun was shining as we packed/stuffed everything into our assigned cubbies in the trailer and headed to the water. I filled up a bottle of ocean water to keep as a souvenir before the ceremonial back tire dip in the ocean. When we get to Seattle, we'll dip our front tires on the ocean, and I'll fill a second bottle of water. The ride was pretty hilly, especially the first 3mi, but it was doable, and fun to get to know everyone on the trip. At the first rest stop I bought a delicious cinnamon bun from a local farmers market. At the second rest stop I got a slice of gas station pizza that was more bacon than it was pizza. After the second rest stop, Catherine and I checked out a really cool bridge on Verona Island, and took an elevator to the top. The view was amazing! It started spitting a little bit as we came into camp, but the campsite was incredible. Right on the water in downtown Belfast. I had a bit of difficulty setting up my tent, but Bruce, Peter, and Catherine helped me out. While I was sitting in my tent, a toddler wandered up, curious about what it was. When I opened the door, she marched right in and took a look around. So cute! Day 2 - May 29 - Belfast, ME to Damariscotta, ME - 51.1miDay 2 was pretty short. I rode with Alison, Vikki, and Catherine for most of the day. Couple of missed turns, and some pretty tough hills before the second rest stop. Stopped for lunch, and covered the table in ketchup after failing to notice that the cap was not on tightly before shaking the bottle. We we stayed in a church in Damariscotta for the night, and the pastor was kind enough to open up her house and let us shower. The church was a maze with a ton of rooms, but we ended up setting up our sleeping bags in the nursery because it was carpeted and had animal shaped pillows everywhere. Day 3 - May 30 - DamariscOtta, ME to Naples, Me - 79.1miLong day, but a great one. Our route was interrupted in Bath by a Memorial Day parade, so we stopped to watch. We then proceeded to get lost, and ended up adding at least a mile to our already long day. The first rest stop was at Walmart, where we were able to pick up a bunch of food for the week. We then proceeded to get lost again in Brunswick. One of the highlights of the day was cruising along Riverside Drive, which, not surprisingly, was along a river. We we camped on the side of a lake for the night, and were able to cool off with a refreshing (freezing) swim. After setting up my hammock, Alison, Vikki, Catherine, and I cooked dinner on a picnic table. The potato and bacon soup I got from Walmart was fantastic. Day 4 - May 31 - Naples, ME to Lincoln, NH - 75.6miSo much happened today! First off, I woke up from a great sleep in my hammock to an equal great view of the lake. After packing up we headed off, and made it to rest stop 1 without any trouble. Along the way we ran into Chuck, who is biking the perimeter of the USA for his 60th birthday. A little while later, we crossed our first state line and headed into New Hampshire. Rest stop 2 was the last one before the Kankamagus Highway, which is probably the part I was least looking forward to for the whole trip. Catherine and I grabbed a quick bite at a local restaurant, where I had probably the best breakfast sandwich I have ever had. Kankamagus was a tough, but stunningly beautiful climb. Peter and Bruce had made it sound a lot worse than it actually was, so it was slightly easier than I had expected. Stefan and Megan were waiting at the top with dollar store medals and snacks. Didn't hang out at the top for too long because the bugs were awful, but the view was incredible. The decent was completely worth the climb, and the last 10 miles flew by. For dinner, I grabbed some pizza in town with Frank and Ethan. Camping again for the night!
3 Comments
Penney Howeth
1/6/2016 02:13:04 am
Having fun following your journey. Enjoy, safe travels, and hope you raise a lot of money for the cause!
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Jim MacDonald
2/6/2016 10:17:34 am
What an amazing first week Katie! Truly a once in a lifetime experience, and for such a great cause. #soproud
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Noreen MacDonald
6/6/2016 09:20:53 am
With you all the way. Stay safe and enjoy every minute of the road. Great cause!
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katie macdonald
Summer 2016, I biked 4,295 miles, coast to coast across the USA to raise money and awareness for MS. March 2017, I biked self-contained from San Francisco to San Diego with my friend Carissa. August 2017 I connected the dots and biked from Seattle to San Francisco. Summer 2018 I am heading to the UK! Follow my journey here! Miles biked for MS:
6,800.13
Updated August 27, 2018 Archives
January 2019
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