Exploring Bar Harbor, ME

26-27 May 2014

These two days were spent getting to know each other,  getting sorted and packed in the trailer,  picking up any missing items, visiting the town and enjoying being a tourist. 

Some of the highlights
- Maine lobster for dinner my first day in town
- Orientation, meet and greet, and receiving the rest of our kits
- Discovered 2 new delicious beers,
Atlantic brewing comp,  bar harbor real ale and otter creek brewing, otter creek black ipa
- Crossed over to Bar Island and hiked the mile to the summit for the view of town

The weather is cold and wet and it looks like it will be this way for the next several days. We are set to dip tires in the Atlantic tomorrow at 8:30 am.

A few disclaimers for the posts that are to follow.
1. Mileage is ridden miles, not route miles. The overall total will not add up since sometimes I will ride around towns after we already reach camp, These are throw away miles and will be included in the overall trip total. The ridden miles do include distance traveled to visit things in route or thanks to detours (a better way of calling wrong turns).

2. Town populations are taken from the Adventure Cycling Associations maps and are approximate populations that I have rounded off (I like round numbers).

3. I will most likely be adding more here when I think of them.

The Journey Begins

I apologize for the lack of updates.  I arrived in PA at my mom's place the day after mother's day,  it's the thought that counts.  I spent some time visiting her and my sister and my friends cat and dana. Got to help my sister and dana do some moving and even made it out to Lancaster to visit my friends Ashley Smith and Stephan. I attempted to do some fundraising but didn't have a whole lot of luck. I spent the last day testing gear and packing. I started by packing as if I was doing a solo self supported tour and the through in a couple luxuries.

After 4 hours of driving from my mom's house to Hagerstown,  MD I got to meet some of the group I will be riding with this summer.  Upon stuffing my belongings into my cubby it is clear that I need to get rid of some stuff.  I was running late making it back to the meet point so doesn't have time to weed through my belongings,  will have to start that tonight. 

I was hoping to swap out my beefy tires for more modest ones but last night I realized I didn't have tubes for the smaller tires and through all my looking couldn't find any on my way to the meet point. Looks like that will have to wait as well. This leaves me with some logistics to work out in Maine.

We stopped along the way and picked up one more cyclist,  and then continued the long drive to Waltham, MA where we are calling it a night.  We are still working out the kinks in the trailer but I should fit fine even with all my stuff. 

Picking up Kevin

We are staying in a hotel tonight,  meet three more from the group here.  Tomorrow on to Maine.

This is my first post from my new galaxy, and I have found several auto corrects,  I fixed some,  so if something doesn't make sense, that is probably why.  I will go back and review all my phone posts once I have pc access.

Fundraising as of May 25
Raised $3500, that means I still need to raise $800 more.  If you haven't donated yet to support this great cause, please do.

05 May 2014 Update

Happy May everyone. Time is flying by and there is no real change. As expected this past week was cold and rained every single day. I managed to get some of my stuff moved and get some of my plans start falling into place. Each time I cross something off my 'to do list' I seem to be adding two new things to it.

I have four days of work left ... just 4! This coming Friday I officially move out of my apartment and head to Pennsylvania where I will get to visit my mom in time for Mothers Day and visit some friends that are long over due for a visit. I want to thank everybody for all their words of encouragement. I am still a long way from my fundraising goal and will have an event at some point in PA still working out details and will most likely need some help. I will keep everyone posted as things progress.

No Change in Fundraising ... Still need $145 to reach Glendive, MT geographically and $684 to reach 80% of my goal ($4300).

28 April 2014 Update

ONE MONTH that is all that is left before we start pedaling from Bar Harbor, ME west towards the Pacific Ocean. It has begun to sink in how unprepared I am. I still need to move everything out of my apartment, sell a large portion of my stuff and get everything in order before I head first to Pennsylvania and then to Maine. I also need to get myself in tour ready shape, and complete my fundraising.

I need to apologize for the lack of updates. I haven't been out on my bike much, the weather in Iowa has flirted with a few days of spring but its been cold, wet and windy. I took this week off work to get everything set but every day is suppose to be cold and wet.

I have had two successful fundraisers lately. I need to thank everyone from my work for all the help and donations. The first was a bake sale on April 18th which raised $316 and the second was a breakfast fundraiser today April 28th that raised $220.

Fundraising as of 28 April 2014

So far I have raised $2756. This is far short of my goal of $4300. If you look at it geographically (at $1 per mile) I still need $1539 to reach the Pacific Ocean. However just like while riding I like setting smaller goals. As of now I have enough to cover from Bar Harbor, ME to Hebron, ND along our route at $1 per mile. I only need $145 more to reach Glendive, MT and finish the 12th of 15 states.

03 April 2014 Update

I can't believe it is already April. The weather is starting to improve, still cold and windy but not as cold and the snow is almost done. There is some forecast for tomorrow but after that it should be gone. Although I haven't been out riding much, I have been getting a use out of my exercise bike and the gear that I have been ordering has arrived. Only a few more things to get and I am set.

Nothing really knew here yet, still have yet to submit my notice for work. They know I am going I just haven't finalized the date yet. I need to get my storage unit and I begin moving my stuff there, that will help me decide what else I need to sell or donate to thin out my belongings. So much to do in such little time ... but it will be well worth it.

Fundraising as of 03 April 2014

As of now I have raised $1730 that is $270 short of my goal for March.
Since I didn't reach my March goal I really need to step it up in April. I have a few events in the works and hoping that they can make the difference. I announced the bake sale and have already received orders for 7 dozen cookies, so even more than 2 weeks before the sale I have a good start there. When they say start early and remind often, it really is the case. Here is hoping to a successful April in terms of fundraising.

25 March 2014 Update

It is hard to imagine that in approximately 2 months I will be dipping my rear wheel into the Atlantic Ocean in Maine and beginning my ride west towards Seattle. I have gotten little riding in lately, we have had a few decent days but mostly cold, wet and windy. As much as I am ready for spring, I am not one to complain about the weather. I would much rather have it cold where I can throw a sweater on than for it to be hot (there is only so much I can remove and still be decent).

Instead of training, I have been spending a lot of time cleaning and getting organized. As I move the important stuff into my storage unit I am finding lots of clutter that I am removing and hopefully even make some money from to help support this trip.

An update on the blog. I had mentioned that I would also include my previous bike tour and Appalachian Trail journals. I checked with the settings and I there is a limit to the amount of photos I can post without upgrading so I have opted out of posting my Appalachian Trail Journal and instead will only link to the old one in the side bar.

Fundraising as of 25 March 2014

As of today have reached $1710 ... only $2590 to go.
I am still hoping to reach my March goal of having $2000. That leaves me 6 days to raise the remaining $290.

At this point all teams combined we have raised over $104,000 for MS research, awareness and the service projects that we have planned. The Northern Tier Team has raised over $34,000 of that total and there are still 2 more months left before we leave. As always I want to thank everyone, not only for donations but for words of encouragement that you have given.

11 March 2014 Update

It hit above 50 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday and that tells me that May is quickly approaching. The snow and ice are melting and soon I will be out riding on the roads instead of in my apartment on an exercise bike. This past weekend I went over my bike to see what I needed to get it ready for the ride. I think I will be getting some new tires and will definitely need some new brake pads. Other than those two things I should be ready to ride as is.

Knowing that it is almost time to put all my stuff in storage for another summer, I started getting a list of things to sell before hand to pay for my travel to and from the ride. Hopefully I will have some luck on Craigslist or our local swap sheet to offload some of my furniture and appliances.

I also have another fundraising event planned for April. I will be holding an auction on my blog.  Look for the link at the top of the page Sometime starting March 28th. I am hoping by then to have acquired several gift cards and items to be auctioned off. All money raised will be donated to Bike the US for MS.

In other news, I read that Bike the US for MS has a system to communicate with twitter, so I caved and after avoiding creating a twitter account until now, I now have a twitter account @meanderingrob.

Fundraising as of 11 March 2014

$1235 raised of the  $4300 ... $3065 to go
My goal is to reach $2000 raised by March 31st. 
Again I want to thank everyone who has helped support me so far.