Day 3--Acadia National Park--Sparky Rides the Carriage Roads!

So-o-o-o-o...We're in Bar Harbor, and it's time for Sparky to ride the carriage roads! She has been riding the flatlands back home in FL...about 60 miles a week, so she should be in good shape to ride the carriage roads, right! HA! Wish we knew what the inclines were on these carriage roads, but first things first...Rent a bike. There are several shops where you can rent bikes in Bar Harbor, but Sparky is partial to Bar Harbor Bike Shop on Cottage Street. It's right down the hill (remember that) from an entrance into Acadia, so you can ride right from the shop to Acadia National Park. Cool beans! as Judy would say, (Travels with Judy and Emma blog).

Sparky likes Bar Harbor Bike Shop so much she bought her Trek 7300 bike there four years ago. But since we flew into Bangor, we didn't have bikes with us this time. Sparky rented a Cannondale Quick...a fitness bike. It's lightweight, and it's awesome! Much lighter than her Trek bike back home. the price of the rental is 19.00 for four hours. They have put wider tires than what normally the bike comes with, in order to give the rider a safer trip on the carriage roads without tire incidents. Sparky thought she would start with that time period and see what happened. You can rent cruiser bikes, and comfort bikes, but for the carriage roads, you really need a lighter bike and this model was perfect! No cushy gel seat, but you can swap the existing seat out and for a few bucks more, get a gel seat to rent! The shop replaces their rentals EVERY year, so you are getting a really recent model of bike. They have fantastic sales in the fall when they get rid of their old models. Sparky wished she was going to be back in the fall, but that's not possible this year. But she's going to start saving for a Cannondale Quick! There's a Quick 4, 5, or 6 to choose from. Sparky will check out all the options for sure! She's tired of getting passed by on long bike rides by the road bikers. A lighter bike would help and motivate her to ride even more back home.

The shop gives you a nice map...the one in the shop is color coded so you know which carriage roads are challenging and which are easy. The map they give you is black and white. There are stars for the bridges, but no bridge names on the map. Sparky tends to forget the order of the bridges after she gets back home. She tried to find some piece of literature that had it all in one spot while she was there, but didn't find a good combination. Oh, well!

Sparky marked a copy of the map so she could see which roads she covered. "Easy" is a relative term. Just remember that!

You head out from the bike shop and almost immediately, you go up a STEEP hill, West Street, and head out on Duck Brook Road. It's so steep it's almost impossible to ride it up, even with the proper gear functioning. Sparky actually got off the bike and walked a bit. Oh, boy...Not as good a shape as she thought she was! Finally, the road evened out and--first bridge, a road bridge---yay! It was drizzling and COLD, in the low fifties! But Sparky didn't care...She was on the carriage roads, everything was a lush, lush green, and the brisk temperatures kept her cool!

Along with some nice warm merino wool socks from Vermont that Sparky bought in town...They are called "Darn Tough Socks from Vermont"....Very lightweight, very comfortable, and WARM, but not hot!

Duck Brook Bridge is the largest, most expensive bridge in the system...It's a triple arch bridge...

The streams were full of rushing water....Tons of little waterfalls.....

Sparky rode past Eagle Lake and the Eagle Lake Bridge (1928)....

She could see a loon and hear him in the distance....

Sparky spotted one solitary lady slipper...There were NONE others around, and she looked!

On she went, past Bubble Pond and its bridge....

Sparky continued on the carriage roads....There were definitely steep inclines but overall, the roads evened out just when she thought she might have to get off the bike and walk....

When Sparky got to marker 17, she decided it was time to turn back. It was exhilarating, and she wanted to keep going, but for the first day out, she decided to get the bike back in time for a four hour rental, so back she went on the same path. It was roughly about a 12 mile ride round trip. Sparky didn't have an odometer on her bike, and trying to use the app, Map My Ride ran her battery down before she was even half way through the ride! If you figure in all the hills, that was a good workout! Sparky LOVED it! She'll be back for another ride another day for sure!