Just back from two weeks of training in the hills of Maine. Here's a photo essay of a typical training day! I'm featuring my Endurance Nation training garb, as an homage to the great results I've been getting with this program! More on that later.
Your friendly Endurance Nut (let's call her EN) provides a guided tour of a day in her life in Eden, Paradise, or Triathlon Training Heaven--aka Mount Desert Island, Maine and Acadia National Park. (BTW, it’s great to check in again after almost two weeks of being unplugged—no Internet, cell phone, or TV.) Anyway…your tour begins…
EN welcomes you to the Northern Neck Mount Desert Isle, Maine.
We’re 1.3 miles down this dirt road. EN and her DH started coming here about 25 years ago. In the old days, the road was not so nice. You dodged one pot hole and hit three. I loved it. You can’t see it here, but even this little road has some, um, challenging (read: sucking) little hills.
Here is Great Long Pond, which is about 25 feet from the back door. The “pond” is actually a 7-mile long swimmable lake. The land across the lake is owned by Acadia National Park, so it will never be developed. You best swim early in the morning when the lake looks like this. By the afternoon on many days, the sea breeze sweeps across the long fetch of the lake and turns it into “the roiling, boiling cauldron of death,” sometimes with major whitecaps.
The lake is home to nesting pairs of loons. They are amazing to watch and listen to. To us, they are the sound of summer. (Except you might want to shoot them at night. They are L-O-U-D.) We also have hummingbirds everywhere. They’re wonderful, except at 5 a.m. when they sound like B-52s swooping low. Wild Maine blueberry bushes fill the yard. We pick them for breakfast. This is our view from the deck.
EN Bikes the Hills: Cadillac Mountain Hill Climb—From Sea Level to Summit
There is nothing here but hills—big ones, long ones, steep ones—constant up and down, up and down. EN cannot get enough! She is seen here atop of the favorite hill of all, Cadillac Mountain (Caddy). EN especially likes the long climb that goes from sea level to the summit. She rides it as many times as possible while up here. EN has climbed to the Cadillac peak on her bike, what? 50 times? More? But this year, EN made it up +3’ faster than ever before! She was very happy. You can see the gorgreous vista behind.
This screaming descent on the bike is so incredibly beautiful.
After a 50-minute Funtional Threshold Test and the Caddy Climb, we were feeling pretty good. So what does any self-respecting EN do? Climb it again! Just because we can do cool sh*# with our fitness! Very sweaty on this hot day, but happy.
EN and hubby atop Caddy. (My photographer.)
Park Loop and Sargent Road
Park Loop Road is a 19-mile loop through Acadia National Park. Most of it is just two lanes--both one way--so there is no issues with cars. Just climbing and vistas. These pix don’t really do it justice.
EN
Here's a history lesson. The roads in Acadia don’t have guard rails, but are lined with these big granite stones called “Rockefeller teeth,” after John D. who donated all the land. (No EN gear today—too windy and chilly. Park Rangers warned us not to climb the mountain on our bikes lest we be swept over the side!)
Take a look at these roads in Maine. So many of them are like this. Not a pothole in sight. Yeah baby, no problem screaming downhill at 40 mph in the bars! Boobs to the tube! Wheeee!!!
Eagle Lake Carriage Path
After all that riding fun, EN does her brick run on one of the carriage paths in the park.
EN has tons of fun in Maine, but still has to hit the grocery store far too often!
Finally, EN gets a bath and a rest, (Certainly, no washer or dryer here!)
And after a week on the dirt road, it’s the perfect EN rolling billboard! It says it all!
