Right on que, Day 88 arrived. It was our last day of riding. We had been one day behind on our schedule since way back in WA when we found Loop Loop Pass had washed out and needed to make an unexpected detour that set us back one day. We made up that day in WI by combining several days and dividing by three (I think).

It was supposed to be raining when we woke today and there was an 80% chance of rain starting in Bar Harbor at 3:00pm. No rain yet . . . we still needed breakfast and lunch for the day, so there was our feed table, set up by Ally, out in the parking lot of the motel!!!

. . . one last sandwich with a bunch of Oreo’s to pack . . .

Soon we were back on the highway that would take us to Bar Harbor. But more funny rural Maine humor along the way this morning . . .

. . . and some great roadside stands . . .

. . . one last chicken photo for my Smoochie. This one had nice colors and may have actually looked pretty good in our back yard

. . . we passed many blueberry fields today. You can see the white strings laying out the ‘pickin’ paths’ !!!!

. . . there were lots of wet areas like this along the coast before we finally hit the highway for the rest of the ride, and a last chance to see a moose . . .

. . . but this would be the only moose I saw on the trip!!!

. . . and one final chance to experience the ‘pleasure’ of riding on state of Maine roads. On most of their rural roads, like the old Burma Shave advertising, they need a sign like this on every telephone pole . . .

. . . not sure how the ‘engineers’ determine where to put the patch material. Here was a new patch, on an old patch. Go figure!!!!

. . . oh, you know we are ‘up nort’. First one of these I have seen along the ride.

Halfway into the ride today was a moving moment for me . . . time to switch the map over to Panel 153 . . . our last panel of the trip . . .I’m sad!!!!! I could see the final push to Bar Harbor.

Bar Harbor is right next to Acadia National Park. Like so many other parks and natural beauty areas we have biked by on the trip, they maybe preserved but right outside their border is the most crass, commercial crap you can imagine. I wonder if it is just an American thing . . . Here was a Pirates Cove, the usual ‘amusement park’ one found on the perimeter of the park like this.

Word must have got out that the elite 2017 ACA Northern Tier riders were arriving today because the town had given us our own lane to drive in on . . . NICE!!!!

. . . with less than 2 miles to go, I stopped to take a cloudy, foggy shot of this cruise ship from Germany. Bad photo but I was reluctant to start pedaling again. Unlike so many times I had stopped in the last three months to grab one of the 3,900 photos taken to ‘capture the moment’ this would be the last of the road trip.

. . . and then . . . there was Cottage Street, the main drag of Bar Harbor. A ride to the end, and a left turn . . .

. . . would take me to the end of our ride. Corvin had ‘shot ahead’ during the day to capture the moment riders came into town. I was the fourth rider in and the rest would filter in during the next half hour . . .

. . . including Doc Mike . . .

. . . Wade . . .

Rod . . .

 

Ally . . .

. . . Anne  . . .

. . . and Hugh. Nice moment for the two of them to share. I was jealous and would have LOVED to have ridden this trip with my Smoochie.

Rod explained to some of the local visitors what was going on . . . as usually, our group of 15 sort of ‘took over the place’ when we arrived!!!!

Good Mikes whole family was there to greet him, with signs too!!!!

Nice moment . . .

. . . and here was one of Corvin pointing to the German cruise ships website on the side of the ship!!!!

Jim rolled in . . .

Alan met up with is wife. She had surprised him, several days before, by showing up unannounced at the end of a bridge!!!!!

The last day was not without mechanical issues . . . this is how Wade’s right pedal should have looked

. . . but the platform had fallen off 20 miles before, in Ellsworth.

Even with his new wheel, Rod’s tire failed in Ellsworth and he had to buy a new one.

Bernie’s brake pad failed in Ellsworth and he stopped to get it replaced.

Right out of Ellsworth, and right before a hill, I went to shift into my small chain ring and my shifter cable snapped.

My front derailleur defaulted to the small chain ring. With only 20 miles to go, I decided not to replace it and pedaled on to Bar Harbor with a smaller gear set. No problem!!!

All this in the last 20 miles of the trip. Good thing it is over!!!

. . . one last ‘for she is a jolly good fellow’ for Ally!!!!

. . . who was sporting the latest in bicycle body art . . .

. . . and, still thinking of her little gaggle of chicks, had it in her to make a run for pizza!!!!

We were creating quite a scene with our yelling, and high fives every time a rider appeared coming down the street, but even we could not draw more attention then these two pups . . .

Jesse, age 8, weighs in at 185 pounds . . . but only eats about 4 cups of chow a day. His owner said St Bernards REALLY eat big when young and sort of ‘coast’ in their elder years!!

. . . it was about to rain when Bernie rolled in after having his brake repaired. It was time for a group shot . . .

. . . one last individual tire dunk . . .

. . . followed by a group tire dunk!!!!

Wade was so overtaken by the moment . . .

. . . he jumped in the ocean . . .

The heavens opened up right at 3:00pm, as predicted, and the rain poured down . . . the trip was over.