Day 66: Wild & Free

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“Guten Morgen!” was our morning greeting from NJ on this, the morning before the final day...!



This morning, I went rogue. With little food options and time to spare, I threw my cleats on and walked over to the Dunkin Donuts across the street to grab myself a bacon, egg, & cheese croissant and iced lattes. Don’t worry though, I changed out of my “Can’t get out of bed, send coffee” moomoo beforehand. I sat with the team in typical circle form on the floor and soaked in the moment for a second since this is our last normal Bike & Build day. NJ was on a mission to find brown sugar for her oatmeal and once she found it and added it in, she exclaimed “FROM PASTE TO GLORY!!” Lol



Chore time then proceeded so I swept the large room floor before it was time for route meeting. Aiden led his last route meeting (with a bit of the feels) with a silly dry-erase picture of Jana of just her half-up top bun. I didn’t pre-plan my ride group so it was a bit of a scramble getting the groups organized to roll out, par usual. I asked “who wants to ride bikes?!” and Jess said “Aly, I’ll ride bikes with you!” Since it was one of our last rides, I wanted to try to ride with a few more people so I asked the sweep team of Ryan & Jana if they would mind if we teamed up and they said it was cool. The other two left were Magpie & Mikey, and he insisted on stopping at Dunkin before rolling out. Beth’s team of Raffi & Noah had already rolled out & Carly’s team of Kristi and NJ were waiting on Chris to be ready, again par usual. They rolled and we rolled to Dunkin to wait for those who wanted a coffee/food fuel.



As I waited, I didn’t mind resting a bit as it allowed me the opportunity to post about Acadia on Insta since we haven’t had WiFi for two days & data/service is hard to come by these days—Bike & Build problems. Mikey & Jess then rolled and Magpie and I were going to roll with Sweep, however they decided they wanted to go on a date ride so Magpie and I rolled out as the third couple ride group.



There were some confusing turns and rough roads and then we found Jess & Mikey also pulled off to check the cue. We rolled on together over a gravel road for a few miles before getting back to paved Route 1. Magpie got a flat so we all pulled over (with some really bad communication due to gaps in the group and lots of cars back) where Mikey insisted she learn how to change her own flat. Jana & Ryan caught up with us so they pulled over too and the three us listened to some Kesha, JT, and other dancing tunes while Jess meditated and Mikey & Magpie worked on the flat. With the help of my tire lever, they were able to fix it, many mosquito bites later.



The four of us rolled out from Sweep and stopped again at mile 10 for a picture of a sign for a road for a Bed & Breakfast that was labeled “B & B Dr” —you can’t pass up that opportunity even if it is on the other side of the road! Sweep caught up with us and we made it a group laughing shot, which turned out pretty cute! For the next 20 miles, we rode fast & strong up the hills of US1 with some segments of singing but mostly quiet concentration.



Casey found us a dope lunch spot that had a trailer full of food made to order and since the lunch options in the bins & coolers was limited, most of us opted for burgers or sandwiches with a side of coke and/or ice cream or a milkshake. Gotta live up this Bike & Build food life as much as we can while we can! I asked the server what she recommended or what everyone loves and she said the fried fish sandwich. Though that’s not something I usually go for, nor something I felt up for, I went for it and boy am I glad I did! It came out piping hot and on a fresh bun and the mayo, lettuce, & tomato made for a great sandwich (again can’t believe I’m saying this since normally I’d be disgusted but it really was good!). And only made better with the small peanut butter milkshake I got to go with it! Basically I threw all caution to the wind and fully expected to have a stomach ache and feel slow but thankfully that didn’t happen! Instead, I was actually pretty energized since I was with the team and could talk to people, lay down and relax, and help out as needed. I think knowing this was one of our last lunches brought a new energy (though also somberness) to me, as noted by NJ.



After laying down for a bit, we geared up and rolled on in the same ride group. We stopped about 13 miles in at a Dollar General so Mikey could take care of business and I was inspired to buy some Troll stickers, silly string, and fake flowers. Stickers to add to the warm fuzzies cards (though mine were already complete), silly string for our finish line celebration, and fake flowers to give to the leaders tonight when they do paper plate awards bc I remember from my last B&B trip that they didn’t give one to themselves and they are MORE THAN deserving. I did refrain from impulsively buying ice cream for my ride team remembering that Jess doesn’t eat ice cream with lots of miles still to go...and the fact that we had ice cream/milkshakes at lunch



We continued on in silence and just enjoyed rolling up and down the hills while taking in the scenery. We came across Beth, Noah, & Raffi who were in their glory picking wild Maine blueberries and hoarding bags and water bottles full of them. We joined them in picking, eating, and stowing—even Magpie, who doesn’t eat fruit (!!!) ate some and said she liked them! We took some photos and enjoyed the wild & free spirit of this field and wanted to stay here forever. In fact, Beth said this is where she wants her final resting place to be. They were the most happy and it rubbed off to us too.



Eventually and reluctantly, we got back on our bikes and left the beautiful hilltop overlooking the fields and hills. We rode silently for the most part again until we ran into Beth, Raffi, & Noah again miles later who had stopped to pee but also to check the cue because they thought we were way off. And, indeed, we were. At this point we were so off and with half the team so we decided to reroute rather than back track. It was a much more enjoyable ride since it wasn’t busy US1, which is what we were suppose to be on, but rather rural hills and somewhat residential. We’re thinking this may be the route for next year to get people off the same, long US1 stretch and enjoy some of the less busy backroads. And it only added 3 miles to the cue!



With 66.3 miles under our belts, we rolled into Machais where we were staying in a lounge room at a local university. Most of the team got there around the same time so we took turns in the showers and lounging with The Office on—a treat we don’t get too often. We snacked (including on some fresh picked blueberries!), relaxed, and worked on the warm & fuzzy notecards. I was being sneaky and worked on the leader awards for later after the paper plate awards ceremony. We then got a special delivery from Amazon from Dylan to NJ for the team—TEAM BLUBLOCKERS!! NJ went into full Oprah mode and started throwing blublockers (sunglasses) at everyone exclaiming “You get some blublockers & you get blublockers!” Hilarious and so hype! We’ll be looking fly in those tomorrow when we roll in Canada—-TOMORROW!!



It then was feeding time with no host dinner so we all decided to walk downtown to the local dive bar called the Thirsty Moose Cafe. Since the first small group of us did not consist of any leader, I discussed with the team about the roses for the leaders & Casey. I had made some notes for each of them & then proceeded to finish cutting the roses apart so that each person would have one. I got some input from the team on attributes we admire about each and/or silly things they are known for. We ordered dinner and a round of drinks and toasted to us making it to Canada tomorrow! The rest of the team started showing up in waves and we added to our tables and chairs and food orders.



Once we all ate & Amanda showed up (!!!), we got started with Paper Plate awards. I received the “Uber Award” —to the person who is always super enthusiastic, always gives 110%, and knows someone in every city we go to ️ They even listed the zip codes of the places where I actually saw friends/family! So much thought & intention to that detail! ️ The other awards included “The Bean Award” to Amanda for always pumping us up, always making us coffee, and finding the best local coffee spots when there wasn’t coffee available, the “Pumper, Didn’t Even Know ‘Er Award” to Noah for not only always being notorious for getting flats, but also for added the pump and stoke level to our team, the “Parallel Universe Award” to Jess for being in tune with our team and our zodiac signs and concerned about our balance and how we compliment (or complicate) our group dynamics, the “Full Frontal Award” to Sarah for her open & direct questions, the “Shit Eater Award” to Carly who has lots of hassles to overcome and does so gracefully & with a good attitude, the “Undercover Diva” to Raffi who is secretly a diva with his sleep mask, electric toothbrush, & the only tear he shed was over losing his sleep mask, the “Salesman Award” to Kristi for always selling you stuff (leftovers) you don’t actually want, the “Seashell Award” to Mikey who may seem like he is rough around the edges with barnacles, but has a pure heart, the “Cushion Award” to Chris who likes his comfort and ease, the “Iceberg Award” to Magpie who on the surface seems quiet & chill, but has so much more mightiness going on below the surface, and to Jana the “Stick it to the Man” award who will say what needs to be said and doesn’t care if it rocks the boat a little. They were all fantastic and very well thought out!!

I then announced that we had some awards for the leaders & Casey and presented them their roses Bachelorette style. My notes for each person was as followed:



Casey: Most likely to show up on the route w/ fruit & weird cookies, find dope lunch spots that are always on point, always cool-calm-&-collected, selfless dedication to B&B—she’s living out of a van for us!, and the ultimate anima who always has helpful input “Casey will you accept this rose?!”



Beth: To the leader who is most likely to make you stop and eat some fruit—from mangos in FL to blueberries in Maine, the go-to for facts & details, is a kid at heart & helps us all have fun—and so committed to fun that she strapped roller skates to her bike!, lover of pyramids, has wisdom in many areas of life, & will always encourage you to jump into a body of water with her “Beth, will you accept this rose?!”



Aiden: To the leader who is most likely to make you feel safe—both on & off the road, gives the best hugs, excellent conversation skills, loves warm & fuzzies & always wants to bond with you, most likely to make you stop to pet the pups, & can single handedly run a dance floor “Aiden, will you accept this rose?!”



Ryan: To the leader who is most likely to do impressions and knows all the movie quotes ever, most likely to squat human bodies, makes every free throw from the bike, is Pit Viper’s #1 brand ambassador, & loves to pat your belly from between your legs “Ryan, will you accept this rose?!”



Nora Jane: And last but certainly not least, to the leader who is most likely to coin her own phrase & you find yourself using it too, who gets us awake & fired up every day with varied & well thought out music jams, most likely to spoil you with coffee and lunch if you’re her Safety Nav, watch out if she enters into full Turbo mode, to the leader you will always find waiting patiently in the back of the food line, and who knows more fun facts about the state of Kentucky than we know of town facts up the East Coast “Nora Jane, will you accept this rose?!”



We all laughed and enjoyed highlighting some of the best qualities of our fearless leaders in just a small attempt to honor them and all of their hard work & dedication this summer.



After another round of drinks or two, we walked back to the host, some of us stopping on a hill in town to hang out a bit and soak in the last few moments of the night before our Grand Finale. When we got back to the host, we watched the tail end (pun intended) of “The Shallows” before crashing in our separate corners of the host, by pool tables, or on the couches. I have to say that on this last evening, I am grateful that we all get to fall asleep together in the same room (well, for the most part anyway), as we anxiously await the joys that the following day is sure to bring...

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