Belfast, ME to Surry, ME 45.6 miles

I packed up a wet tent and headed back to the Belfast Community Co-op for a cup of coffee and some breakfast.

While crossing the (don’t laugh) Passagassawakeag River on a pedestrian/bike bridge, I stopped to admire and take a photo of the Belfast harbor. A guy on the bridge asked if I wanted him to take a picture of me with the harbor in the background. I said yes since my selfie game hasn’t improved all that much on the tour. I ended up talking to the guy for a while. He was interested in what I was doing and shared that he had suffered with addiction for a number of years and was clean now and was on the right track. I don’t know why it is that folks seem open to talking to me on a deeper level than small talk but I am thankful they are.

A little way up route one, I came to a bridge on a much grander scale.

Sometimes you have to eat desert first on a bike tour, you are at the mercy of when bakeries present themselves. That is what I told myself when I went in Sweet Cheeks bakery for a treat before lunch.

Eventually I ate lunch at Naiad Country Brewery. Pairing PB&J on a bagel with an IPA was rather avant-garde but it worked.

I was grateful to turn off route 1 in favor of the lightly traveled little roads on my way to my Warmshowers hosts, Erin and Paul. Erin had explained that her parents were visiting and that I could stay in their homemade tear drop trailer. I was thankful that they were willing to host me when they already had house guests. I took a shower, got some laundry started and headed down to Morgan Bay behind the house. The tide was out and I walked around the intertidal zone. It was greatly different than the intertidal zones near me on the Atlantic, the Chesapeake bay and the Delaware bay. This was way more rocky and the tides were much bigger up here. The high and dry seaweed beds were striking.

I really enjoyed hearing about Erin and Paul’s 2023 bike tour through Europe with their daughter who was 5 at the time. They were on tour for 80 days and met up with family. Their daughter had her own bike and would ride some then either ride on a bike seat on Erin’s bike or her bike could be hooked up to the back of Paul’s bike and she could keep pedaling along.

I really enjoyed being included in a family dinner and game night. And sleeping in their tear drop trailer was perfect, especially since it rained. Thank you Erin and Paul for your hospitality in your warm home.