Day One
By Forrest MacCormack

Location: Camden Hills, Maine
Date: May 28, 2000

Hello everyone, Today was my first official day of biking. I left my friend Walter standing in front of his new vacation house on the coast of Maine. He waved as I pedalled out on my 1,000 mile trek back home to Arlington, VA. (Which is just outside Washington, DC) I've spent the previous five days helping pack and move my friend to his new vacation house. We drove the largest Ryder truck one can rent from DC to Maine this past week. My bike and camping gear were packed on the truck... now I'm biking home and really enjoying the Maine air.

I took it pretty easy today.. going around 50 miles. I left from Penobscot, ME which is a small crossroads about halfway up the state on the coast. The largest business in Penobscot is the nursing home. The town also has a beautiful 19th century church, town hall building, new post office, small store/gas station, and several hundred year round residents.

When I arrived in Maine this week, I was reminded that I was travelling to a far more northern clime than I'm familiar with. I first started to notice the quality of light as I neared the Maine border coming up in the truck. The light strikes the earth in Maine at much lower angle than at the equator. Sunlight has a beautiful quality late in the day... reminiscent of fall or winter light that I've grown up seeing in the southern US. Another thing I've noticed is that the sun rises quite early this time of year in Maine. The sun is high in the sky by 5:00 am... twilight starting at around 4:15 AM. The last bit of light is gone by 9:00 PM. It is wonderful to be outdoors with the abundance of light and magical qualities of its low angle. A photographer's dream come true.

So I write this at 10:30 PM by flashlight on a picnic table in Camden Hills, Maine. My sleeping bag beckons me. Good night.

Forrest