Getting to the start

Before the ride starts, a few notes on getting to West Quoddy Lighthouse in case anyone is considering a similar ride.

West Quoddy Lighthouse is the most northerly point in the US on the East Coast and I wanted to start there and ride to the most southerly point, Key West. I was coming from New York and hired a car and dropped it at Bangor Airport, the nearest place I could drop a rental car (about 100 miles from West Quoddy). You could of course fly to Bangor instead but I wanted to leave my airplane bike bag and luggage with friends in New York so drove.

I then spent the evening in Bangor where I had a splendid evening of sprawling conversation at Paddy Murphy's and later The Waverly. The similarities between teaching and barkeeping, Chinese politics, American healthcare, trout fishing, the end of western civilization and the tactical intricacies of bump pool were amongst the important issues discussed during the night. Many thanks to the good people of Bangor for a fantastic evening and in particular, James.

The next day I took the bus from Bangor Airport to Whiting and then cycled the remaining 13 miles to West Quoddy, ready to start the ride the next day. The bus leaves once a day at 3.15 and gets to Whiting around 5.50. Details here: http://www.westbusservice.com/
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If you take this route it's probably worth riding directly to Lubec before checking in if you need to eat as it is the only place nearby with food and everything closes at 8pm. You could also stay at Lubec and then ride out to the lighthouse in the morning to start your ride.