With a map and a mission: 500 miles, 10 days, 1 bike

It was my first solo bike trip. I spent the summer training so that I could ride 60 miles comfortably, and took a repair class to learn how to fix a flat and a broken chain. The Adventure Cycling Association’s touring resources online said to budget 55 miles a day, so I plotted stops accordingly on Google Maps and used DeLorme’s topographical atlas to get a sense of the terrain. But in other ways I treated it like any road trip, planning visits to lighthouses and blueberry farms, expecting to wander and explore.

It took only a few hours to learn that detours are risky on a bike. Portland’s streets quickly dissolved into countryside. When I saw a hand-painted sign promising fresh fruit just off the highway, I followed it. The back roads were peaceful, with gardens and picket fences, but they were also unmarked, and soon I was lost and consulting a compass. By the time I found someone to ask directions, the farm stand didn’t matter, but the setting sun did. I stuck to main roads after that.

The lakes region is within a day’s ride of Portland. Had I not gotten lost it would have been a gentle start. I spent my first night in Winthrop, a faded resort town that straddles Annabessacook and Maranacook lakes, a good jumping-off point for the area. Serious bike tourers camp out, but I was glad to sink into a mattress every night and start the day with a feast. Friendly Annabessacook Farm Bed and Breakfast served a particularly fresh spread: homemade goats’ milk yogurt, granola, and just-laid eggs. Another way that cycling beats driving: You can eat all you want.