Moody's Diner Don't Miss It

Suddenly or not so suddenly the hills became less treacherous as we rolled into the posh seaside resorts of Rockport and Camden. The high point of the day was finding Moody's Diner, thanks to a lady we asked for directions at the top of a hill in Waldoboro. She was planting spring flowers and was quite startled that we hadn't heard of Moody's, which was back DOWN the hill and apparently in every travel magazine in the country.  Started in 1927, the place used to rent cabins out at $1/night.  Our server at present-day Moody's, Jill, steered us toward a mobile exhibit of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and not only loaded us up with the best Reuben sandwich ever created but filled our bottles with ice water and road advice.  Only two  stiff hills, she told us, between there and Rockport.

Jill and Mike at Moody's.  Don't miss the Reuben.

We didn't take the detour to the mobile memorial, having spent hours in the permanent one in Washington one rainy morning, wondering why our country has failed to learn the lesson of Vietnam.  So many lives lost on both sides for no gain.  Bumper sticker of the day award: MAKE AMERICA KIND AGAIN.

Ready for Day 5  from Duck Puddle Campground to Rockport or Camden! Sun's out, light breeze, gorgeous day.

MOMentum

On our very first ride through this part of the ecosphere, our (then teenaged) son Eliot taught me how to take advantage of momentum to tackle the next hill. I'm still trying to perfect the technique here in Maine, where the roads offer up a never ending chain of increasingly challenging hills.  The trick is to get enough speed on the downhill without crashing to make it up the next without bonking. I'm doing better, Eliot!

Rolling Home V is upon us. Getting the sleeping bags packed and tires pumped. Long hiatus since Rolling Home IV, filled with excruciatingly sad and difficult projects in South Sudan (2013) and Yemen (2014).  We came away from both with many wonderful colleagues and remain hopeful that the terrible wars in those countries will allow them to one day live in peace. We are ever more aware that in this interconnected world, we in the West are complicit in the suffering of the poor and marginalized in those countries (among others) and will continue through our biking adventures to spread that message. More recently, an exciting project in Uganda (2015) and the candidacy of Bernie Sanders has given cause for hope for a future we and the younger generation can believe in.

So now, before returning to the important work of education for peace, justice and preservation of our natural resources, the time has come for Rolling Home V, a modest three week door-to-door exploration of the coast of Maine.  There may be a part 2 later in the summer, a train and bike combination revisit to Idaho and Montana. Stay tuned for more posts and pictures very soon.