DAY FOUR  Contoocook, NH to Wells, ME (85 miles)

I woke up today feeling fine! Three-fourths of the Ride was finished, the last quarter is to be spread out in the next two days. Of course there were a few major climbs in the morning, but at least this led to some respectably fast downhill runs. No mystery hills, thankfully.

As we descended into Maine, the salty coastal air filled my senses. AHOY! I've been landlocked for much too long, the sea beckons for me. For pretty much the rest of the day we biked along the coastline, battling tourists both on foot and in vehicles. With so much time on our hands, a groovy biker named Maria and I decided to take an extended break at the last outpost before camp.

The stop is actually not a full pit stop. It just had Gatorade and some first aid products. But we had a different idea. First of all, the Grab and Go was located at the end of a nice beach. I dipped my toes into the chilly ocean. Nearby was a video arcade, so we went head to head on , ironically, a driving game: "San Francisco Rush". It was ironic in the sense that here we are biking 400+ miles and hoping to avoid the kind of #&*%$@ drivers like what we became onscreen. After that, we decided to take things to the next level, literally. Across the street from the Grab and Go was a bar called Above the Waves. We had so much time to kill before we were due back at the next campsite that we grabbed a nice frothy brew. We relaxed and enjoyed the afternoon, cheering on fellow bikers and be dazzled by the Atlantic at the same time.

After the Grab and Go (uh…for us that was Grab a beer and Go), the late-evening traffic started to grind to a bumper-to-bumper halt. This really didn't hinder the biking nation, except slow down the pace. This allowed Maria and I to reflect on the Ride and the fact that we are in Maine and it was dinner-time, so a quick stop was made at the Lobster Pound for a couple lobsters and some clams. We actually finished eating after the official "must-be-in-camp" time and were worried that sag vehicles would pick us up (thereby giving me the shame of not saying that I did the full Ride). But traffic was so gridlocked, the sag vehicles couldn't pick anyone up. Everyone had to finish the ride. A crowd had gathered at the campsite entrance to support and cheer those that are just pushing the limit to finish the day. Then here comes Maria and I, half lit on wine, beer, and lobster. The crowd goes wild! I'm doing bunny hops down the block as everyone is giving us the victory celebration. If only they knew that we had lobster, fifteen minutes ago…