Blue Hill - Aug. 28 - 2 miles

    My daughter and I hiked up the access road to the weather observatory at the top of Blue Hill.  The observatory gift shop was open, but no tours of the observatory were being offered today as they were short handed.  The bored shop attendant bounced around at random releasing more energy than he would have if he had taken us a tour and watched the shop at the same time.  We enjoyed looking over what they had for sale, including many books on storms-the hurricane of 1938 and the famous blizzard of 1978.  Outside, it couldn't have been a finer day. 


    On the summit was a monument summarizing interesting weather highlights recorded at the observatory.  The deepest snow on the ground was 42" in January of 1948.  The highest wind was 186 mph, calculated during the hurricane of 1938 and the greatest monthly average percent of possible bright sunshine was 76% in June of  1971 - it was a good day for sunshine!

    The hike back down was great.  A refreshing breeze sprung up and clouds shaded us from the direct heat of the sun.  We were starved by the time we got back to the car, and thought of food the whole way home.

A Bump in the Road - Aug. 1, 2014 - 7 miles

    Todays ride began on a wet and wild woods road that led into a broad and level meadow where yellow daises bloomed beside the path.  After a steep climb to the top of a ridge, I was enjoying a 100 mile vista without pedaling as the road now descended. 


    Suddenly a black dog streaked across a yard on my right.  The next thing I knew, I was picking myself off the ground, with the dog barking at me as I checked over my bike.  Noticing that the front wheel was too bent to fit through the forks-rendering it unrideable,  I glanced across the street to the nearest house, whose yard the black dog had come from, but decided to avoid any further encounter with the dog, and walked uphill instead to a house where another dog's bark greeted my knock.  Fortunately, the husband and wife soon responded.  Seeing my torn and bloody T-shirt, and learning of my accident, the young man called an ambulance, who was there in just a few minutes, arriving nearly at the same time as my wife and mother-in-law, who I had phoned earlier.

    X-rays and CAT scans at the emergency room at Central Maine Medical Center revealed a broken right and left clavicle, first rib right side, and left neck bone.  The doctor warned it would likely be a six week recovery for the bones to heal and then more time for the muscles to rehabilitate.  This bump in the road forced a change in strategy for the Pure Water Ride. 

    With bicycling out of the picture for prime weather for the rest of the summer and likely the better part of the Fall, I would have to switch to hiking, if I was to have any hope of completing this year's three hill challenge.