Take the wheel straight into the bay. Stay just one second more and let me try to change your mind. That’s a great height to fall from the top of the bridge.
Maybe you’ll change your mind. Text me in the morning. Call me around 5:30 — 5:40. Get a good night’s sleep. Stay away from the Delirium Tremens. Have a communion wafer from the corner church. Place a wager at the pub.
You need a change of mood. A change of brood. A change of food. Go back on pablum. Go back to gruel. Go back to school. But, don’t go back to Rockville… and waste another year.
Now the climb begins.
image: p. remer
What I’m Reading:
The hours I give to volcano podcasts and vampire T.V. shows prove that I am susceptible to disconnection.
Bike with front wheel detached on Amtrak’s Downeaster to Brunswick, ME.
The day started so well. A splinter of Spinners got back to ride together again.
Brunswick, ME
Scott and I met in Brunswick after my train ride in. The idea was that I would bike to Waldoboro — where I had a reservation at Moody’s Cabins, and Scott would bike with me to Bath or Wiscasset. Great company is always welcome!
Brunswick, ME
The problem is hubris, counting chickens early, booking every lodging in advance in an elaborate itinerary — it leaves no margin for error, dehydration, or heat exhaustion.
Woolwich, ME
I’m suffering from something completely debilitating after a hot and humid 23 miles. As an illustration: since February 27, 2025 and this year — up rollers coasters, P.U.D.S. (Pointless Ups and Downs) and 13% quad busters I hadn’t dismounted my bike and walked up a single hill, and today I walked up a few 4-5% short grades. And I could barely manage that!
My body was (is!) completely depleted, enervated, useless at the slightest exertion. I was dizzy often, cold-sweated a few times, nearly threw up, and nearly passed out on a couple of occasions.
The temperature was warm: 84 degrees. The humidity was a manageable 55%. And the dew point was 60 — enough to feel a bit sticky; but none of those numbers are aberrant, or unusually high, and yet I felt like I would keel over various times!
Wiscasset, ME
After a mere 23.51 miles my body would render no more. I took shade in a gazebo on the grounds of the Wiscasset Lincoln County Museum — the Historical Old County Jail — around 3pm and didn’t move again until nearly 6:30 pm. All this after being dropped by Uber and Lyft from ride requests three times; calling every shuttle and taxi company from Portland to Nobleboro, ME; and trying to maybe get a shuttle from Moody’s to their property in Waldoboro, ME. Even standing up was thoroughly challenging and enervating.
Wiscasset, ME
I was gassed. I was cooked. I was clearly done biking for the day — maybe for the week. I’m beyond exhausted and spent.
I found the good folks at Sea Salt Cottages willing to help out an ailing cyclist, and luckily it was a downhill coast to their property — which I was oblivious to for 3.5 hours!
The plan is Pattie will pick me up today, and I’m going to try and see my M.D. I’ll let you know what all this inauspicious physical short-circuit is about as soon as I know.
Oy!
Woolwich, ME
Day 41: Start: Brunswick, ME Finish: Wiscasset, ME Miles: 23.5
I’ve been hospitalized with acute renal failure before, and had two other emergency room visits that required multiple liters of saline IV’s during long distance thru-hikes.
Unfortunately, this feels a lot like those situations. Now I’ve got to find out what it is.
May 2, 2025, Charlotte, ME.
What I’m Reading:
Heat lingers where nature is absent—cooling the city begins not with technology, but with restoring the living systems that once regulated its climate.
This is what the last 5 days on the East Coast Greenaway / Atlantic Coast Route / plus Northern-most Extension bike tour will look like for me. Just to clarify, there is no mapped and set route from Key West, FL to Lubec, ME. The Lubec, ME, and specifically West Quoddy Head Lighthouse was a Spinners conceit, i.e., something dreamed up by Scott and Richard that everyone involved enjoined because it seemed fitting to go from the southern-most point to the northeastern-most point of the US in one route — and with the aid of good weather, two very scenic and photogenic terminal points, it’s what I intend to finish.
Here is the itinerary for the last leg:
Today: after I arrive in Brunswick, ME at 12:10, I’ll bike 44.2 miles to Waldoboro, ME.
Image: Ride with GPS
Wednesday: I’m biking from Waldoboro to Bucksport, ME.
Image: Ride with GPS
Thursday: The longest and most elevation gain on the last leg of the tour, biking from Bucksport to Milbridge, ME.
Image: Ride with GPS
Friday: The reason I’m breaking up the last 53 miles up into a 2 day ride is twofold: 1. I really wanted to stay at the Inn at Schoppee Farm in Machias, ME, again.
The Inn at Schoppee Farm, on May 3, 2025. Machias, ME.
AND, 2. It wasn’t available on any good night this week where I could double it up with a stay by the lighthouse in Lubec, ME.
At the Inn at Schoppee Farm, on May 3, 2025 .Machias, ME.
So I worked the schedule backwards from West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, hence the short last 2 days.
Image: Ride with GPS
Saturday: I drove to Lubec, ME this past March and went in to Canada, but never visited West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. As the northeastern-most point in the US it became de riguer that I finish the ride here.
Image: Ride with GPS Image: Jason Peterson
One literally runs out of land to the northeast.
Image: Pat Mogensen.
And after researching the area, staying at the West Quoddy Station also became obligatory. Regardless of weather it’s a dramatic and photogenic place to spend the last night of the bike tour.
Image: Laura Casey
That’s the itinerary for the last 5 days of the tour. I’m hoping for good weather, but I’ll take whatever I get.
My right knee has responded well to treatment and time off from fully-packed long distance riding. I have been riding, but with greatly reduced weight on the bike, and substantially lower mileages these last 10 days. But I can’t manage that reduced weight and mileage (exactly) over the last 230 (or so) miles from Brunswick to Lubec, ME, but I can strive for something close to it.
So, I’m keeping daily mileages under 60 miles, and going out with a reduced load. That means a “credit card bike tour” ending to the ride. In bike touring parlance a “credit card tour” means going out without camping, cooking, and sleeping gear. That means staying indoors — usually motels, hotels, Air BnB’s, Warm Showers hosts, etc. Just a light set-up — usually pannier free — in order to cover more ground without so much effort expended on the riding side.
That’s what I’m doing. The last four and a half days of riding are already planned out — all mileages are predetermined and under 55 miles, all reservations for lodging are booked, and I’m going out without a rear rack and panniers; although I’m taking a 14L saddle bag and mini front panniers, as one must take some extra clothing for dryness and warmth, and gear for dealing with mechanical issues and first aid.
This approach and set-up allows me to shed about 10-12 lbs of weight off the bike and makes it easier to pedal up some of those memorable Maine hills, thereby stressing my right knee less — and hopefully the swelling and flexion problems will not become issues.
Due to the logistics of lining up lodging (read: vacancy issues) and especially because I wanted to line up the Inn at Schoppee Farm in Machias, ME and West Quoddy Station in Lubec, ME as my last two lodgings, I won’t be leaving today as originally planned.
I’ll be headed out tomorrow on the 8:50 Amtrak Downeaster to Brunswick, ME, and should be at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse (the northeastern-most point in the contiguous US) by Saturday morning. All tickets are purchased, and lodgings reserved and confirmed.
February 27, 2025. Key West, FL.
I hope this 2,800+ mile journey, that began on February 27, 2025 (which was supposed to be uninterrupted and done in 2 months) comes to the resolution I envision. Like life itself the ride has been unruly and unpredictable — and subject to disruptions and health issues.
It’s all about the journey — not about when I reached the destination.
Here’s hoping to four and a half good riding days to round out the 3 months spent on this journey over the last 2 years.
To a fitting final 230 miles! And to good weather!
Aging may change the way we ride, but it doesn’t have to mean giving up on goals or the pursuit of joy and endorphins. In fact, many cyclists who ride into their 50s, 60s, and 70s report that in some ways the experience is better than it was in their younger years. Without the obligation to shuttle kids to sporting events, or after retiring from work, older cyclists have more freedom and time to ride. The 2017 National Household Travel Survey found that cyclists over 50 ride more often for fitness and recreation than their younger counterparts.
— Molly Hurford / “8 Powerful Tips to Ride Strong at 50+ From Senior Cyclists Who Are Crushing Their Goals” / Bicycling
Inside me, bones inflating, kites crowding a florid dome.
In answer to a question, the poet said I write to return opacity to the glassbright world.
— Sarah Ghazal Ali / “Künstlerroman”
If we lose the stamina for real conversation, if we embrace our narcissism and accept language as a flat surface, then not only do we grant politicians and other advertisers the right to say anything (I think we’re already here, at this extreme form of sophistry where even words underpinned by actions can be taken as somehow not literal), but we risk a slower and total form of alienation. Imperfect though it is, language is our connective tissue.
— Matt Greene / “On the Rise of ChatGPT and the Industrialization of the Post-Meaning World” / Lithub
Often one thinks the urn should have more bones Than skeletons provide for speedy dust, The urn gets hollow, cobwebs brittle as stones Weave to the funeral shell a frivolous rust.
— Allen Tate / “Mr. Pope”
Newly discovered immune cells called ‘ruptoblasts’ explode when triggered, ejecting toxic chemicals that make quick work of surrounding cells. This process, dubbed ruptosis, seems to be a new form of cell death that differs considerably from other known types, say researchers. The team discovered the cell type while studying Schmidtea mediterranea, a species of flatworm with extraordinary regenerative capabilities. In vitro, ruptosis of a single cell killed as many as 70 surrounding cells without discrimination — bacterial, flatworm and human cells all fell victim to the blast.
— Flora Graham / “New immune cells go out with a bang” / Nature
In heat, things expand. So do minutes. Fire swallows trees, entire forests. At some point, there won’t be anything left to burn. Fire has no future. What a relief for the fire.
— Selma Asotić / “Landscape with footprints in
The U.S. just had its worst year for international tourism since the pandemic and it wasn’t even close. While the rest of the world broke records in 2025, America was the only country out of 184 to see a drop in foreign visitor spending.
Four million fewer tourists came here and eight billion dollars gone. We were the only major destination in the world moving in the wrong direction.
— Alt National Park Service / Facebook post
What I’m Listening To:
What’s the matter with me? It ain’t like I can breathe When the storm clouds Calm down then I’m gonna scream
— Poliça / “The Matter”
in this (my) neighborhood pt. 141
Day 37: Start: Brunswick, ME Finish: Falmouth, ME Miles: 21.3
Zero day on Sunday. I start north for the last 217 miles from Brunswick to Lubec, ME on Monday.
We tweaked the experiment — the train experiment. In all honesty, spending half the day on trains just to bike 4-5 hours is fairly exhausting. It takes just as much time — or more — to commute to the bike ride terminal points than it does to ride the route.
Then it occured to us — let’s take a weekend in Portland, ME — use Portland as a base and bike in to Portland from points south and north and cover the same mileage while doing vacation type things.
And so we did. I drove us to Wells, then Pattie drove to Portland and spent the day at the Portland Museum of Art — while I spent a few hours biking from Wells to Portland, ME.
This is an estuary near the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge northwest of Wells, ME.
Kennebunkport, ME was also on yesterday’s route.
Farms in the Kennebunkport, ME area.
Later in Saco I traversed about 10 miles of the 62 mile long the Eastern Trail. Saco, ME.
Here the trail — a “Rail Trail Hall of Fame” inductee — parallels I-295 near the Old Orchard Beach turn off. Saco, ME.
At an Eastern Trail kiosk near Old Orchard Beach, ME.
The Great Scarborough Marsh on the Eastern Trail. Scarborough, ME.
36 miles later the right knee is a little cranky and needs treatment. Portland, ME.
Pattie at the historic Old Waterfront in Portland, ME.
Day 36: Start: Wells, ME Finish: Portland, ME Miles: 36.5
Today is the last day of experimentation / day rides. I’ll be biking from Brunswick, ME (the end of the Amtrak Downeaster line, and where I’ll head north from with my loaded bike on Monday) and riding back to Portland, ME.
The knee appreciates the lower mileages.
What I’m Reading:
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?
Day 35: Start: Newburyport, MA Finish: Wells, ME Miles: 52.3
What I’m Reading:
i never wanted to grow up to be anything horrible as a man. my biggest fear was the hair they said would snake from my chest, swamp trees breathing as i ran. i prayed for a different kind of puberty . . .
I didn’t take the commuter train out to Newburyport and bike back to Boston yesterday — instead, on a whim I biked out to Newburyport and took the commuter train in to Boston.
Jamaica Plain, MA.
I missed the 8:35 train and so I biked out and took the 3:53 pm train from Newburyport back to Boston.
Cambridge, MA.
My knee tolerated the 47.5 mile day well — not too much swelling (there was some, think small grapefruit-sized, instead of knee sized) of the right knee, and very little pain. So that’s a good start, and proof that this plan can work as long as the knee complies.
Walnut Hill – Woburn, MA.
I’d already covered a lot of this ground before — at least 3-4 times, but there were new routings within the larger route, and some of the ride was quite novel, and the ornery 12% hills were not on this route — there was one 11.4% hill, and that was enough.
Harold Parker State Forest, Andover, MA.
The weather was perfect high 60’s to start and it touched 80 degrees at Newburyport when I arrived at the station. Sunny day with good canopy cover, and no to light traffic for a good portion of the route.
Stearns Pond, Harold Parker State Forest, Andover, MA.Harold Parker State Forest, Andover, MA.North Reading, MA.Georgetown, MA.Georgetown, MA.
Elevation was tame, save the 11.4% hill — it was short after all. And the Commuter train back to Boston from Newburyport was uneventful.
Newburyport, MA.Newburyport, MA.
Back in Boston I had another 5.4 miles to add to the 47.5 riding out to Newburyport, so it was an excellent way to test out the knee — it did well and didn’t get to swollen or painful. So the train experiment is a go.
Newburyport, MA.
Day 34: Start: Jamaica Plain, MA Finish: Newburyport, MA, back to Jamaica Plain Miles: 52.9
Today I’ll take the Commuter train to Newburyport, MA, ride to Wells, ME — Maine the last state on the tour! — and take the Amtrak Downeaster home. Another warm and sunny — great weather day — is forecast.
What I’m Reading:
Loss made me, iron-hot, shaped me. Without this ember grief, only burnished light remains. Snowless.
— Muriel Leung / “At the end of the world, you tell me about the bees”
Yesterday I did what I’ve wanted to do most — I got on my bike and rode it a few miles.
image: Ride with GPS
My knee responded to treatment and time off. I tested it with a short 10.4 mile ride around my neighborhood, and it, again, responded well to treatment afterward.
Today I’ll go out on the commuter train and bike in to Boston from Newburyport, MA — about 48 miles — without panniers or extraneous gear. This allows me the opportunity to cover the mileage and treat the knee at home overnight — and the option to easily seek medical attention if necessary — and to spend the night at home.
If this turns out well, I’ll repeat something like this for a few days using Amtrak’s Downeaster service that runs from Boston to Brunswick, ME — I’ll then end up at home each night.
I’ve plotted out an itinerary in the event all goes well today. At a certain point, probably Freeport, ME, I’ll return to the route with my gear and no longer return home in the evenings. I’m also taking a zero day on Sunday for the sake of the knee. Breaking the remainder of the bike tour into two 4 day blocks.
If this works it’ll be four days of using train service, covering the mileage, and coming back home — followed by an off-day — then four days of biking with a lighter load of gear up to Lubec, ME.
That’s the plan.
What I’m Reading:
Of all of the greenway projects underway in America, the East Coast Greenway is by far the most ambitious. Back in 1991, city planners from Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C., came together with the idea of connecting their independent greenways. That vision grew to become the East Coast Greenway, a multi-purpose trail that would connect Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida. The goal: Encourage non-motorized travel for work and recreation. More than three decades in the making, 65 percent of the Greenway is completed or in advanced stages of development. It’s already become one of America’s most visited parks, with an estimated 50 million cyclists and pedestrians using the greenway annually.
— Jen Murphy / “A Bike Trail that Connects Moose to Manatees” / Substack
Nothing new to report on the cycling front. One more day off while I “plannify” — yes, still plannifyin’ to finish this ride which has detoured into a an icy convalescence. Detoured and detuned. A moment of dissonance follows:
… And apropos of nothing some Sturm und Drang …
Disconnect
Have you ever felt like a one trick pony? Have you ever seethed day in and day out?
We screamed. We protested. We sat-in. We occupied.
We are in a persistent somnolence— In a pathological spiral of disconnect.
I can’t know what I’m unable to perceive. I only know this, what we do, is insane.
I iced and I iced until my brain disconnected, until my vagus nerve went into deep freeze, until I detoured America with horns.
If my knee returns to human dimensions I will be out riding tomorrow, if it remains looking like a leaden zeppelin — like a denatured dirigible — then I shall not be out cycling, but psycho-ling is a definite possibility.
Let’s hope sanity wins out and that the general practitioner and orthopedic specialist go without a new referral.
Find out tomorrow . . .
What I’m Reading:
If I die, this very moment, no one will finish what I set out to say. What will you do then, my misery?
— Selma Asotić / “Landscape with footprints in ash”
thee istsfor manity reader 