Weekend in Maine: Another 40 miles

This past weekend we went to our 'ol stomping grounds, Brunswick Maine. Well more accurately we stayed on Bailey's Island in a nice house with a bunch of old friends. Of course we bought the dogs and now our other main stay, the road bikes. Friday's drive up was pretty mellow, and Saturday explained why. We woke up Saturday to thunderstorms and no power. We also had no water as the house was set up on a well/pump system. There seemed to be a few moments where it would let up, but then we would hear a rumble. Megan got dressed while I decided to get another cup of coffee.

During the day, we roamed around the Bowdoin campus and spent a bunch of money at the Bowdoin bookstore. We also stopped at our favorite sandwich shop, Wild Oats. Saturday night was spent reliving the "good 'ol days" with a trip to Cooks Lobster House then some drinking games.

Thankfully Sunday we didn't wake up with the "good 'ol" hangover or any more thunder clouds. We lounged outside the house, let the dogs run for a bit and then headed to Freeport to ride with some friends. Once again we saw some ominous clouds. Once again we thanked our lucky stars, as they disappeared, and we were able to get our ride in. Thanks to Kelsey and Pete for showing us around. Here's a pic from Winslow State Park with about 5 miles to go.

Want to ride a similar route? Check here for nice route by Explore Maine (Maine.gov).

40 miles = Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend was filled with lots of housework (inside and outside) as well as a fun ride. Here are a few shots from our weekend.

1. The Super Beer Bag from a quick trip to Marshes Liquor store to start the weekend.

2. Megan gearing up for our 40 miler around the South Shore. We stopped in Scituate at the Coffee Corner 1/2 way through our ride for some more fuel. Jelly donuts, yum!

3. A little Memorial Day weekend celebration at TK O'Malleys prior to seeing Indiana Jones 4.

Orientation

Last week, we spent an evening at PMC headquarters in Needham MA. It was for a required orientation meeting that focused on logistics, training information and inspirational stories. To be quite honest, I was thinking that this would be a waste of time, but I went in with an open mind. As everyone filtered into the back part of the PMC's office, basically a large warehouse, Megan and I looked around to see what other PMCers looked like. Most were what you would expect: white, heterosexual, mix of male/female, 40s - 50s, primarily white collar. There were also some that were much older and much younger in the group as well with a few different races sprinkled in there for good measure. Megan and I did feel quite young: bonus! But of course, it's not about who is participating, it is simply that there are 5,460 people riding this August with another 1,865 volunteers.

At the end of the night, I found that the most valuable portion of the night was indeed the inspirational stories. We heard a variety of stories from the beginning of the PMC to a cancer survivor to someone who works day-in and day-out with kids at Dana Farber. I stand corrected and was glad to have been in the presence of such inspirational, hard-working, compassionate people.


June is almost upon us and this will signal a ramp up in both training and fundraising as the number of sunny days increases (fingers crossed).