Madawaska ME
I got up at 4am and was on the road by 5:30. Learned a few more things on loading the bike to make it go quicker next time.
The ride outa Walpole was scary….dark I-95, and traffic beginning to form. But as I was passing thru Boston, watching the golden orb rise in the east, I noticed the traffic jam on the opposite side going into Boston….seems like getting up at 4am was a smart move after all.
The slab ride on the I-95 was a nice one. Saw the ports and cities and beautiful countryside. Went into a McD for a bkfst and met about 8 seniors in their 70s-80s enjoying a bkfst meeting. Great fun joking with them…I encouraged them to by a Harley and hit the road J
The ride thru ME was fantastic! The scenery is absolutely gorgeous even tho the leaves haven’t turned yet. Out of Bangor to Houlton, where the I-95 ends at the US-1, I made great time doing a steady 70 mph, a speed that feels very comfortable to me with this load and my inexperience. During the whole run to Houlton I saw maybe 20 cars….not too many folks heading to this part of the country for a vacation at this time of the year J….wonder why not?
The total run was 527 miles…not bad for an honest day’s work….HOWEVER! 22 miles before Madawaska and my motel a huge thunderstorm rolled over me like a Mack truck. Speaking of which, I had just left a small town gas station and was out at the last few buildings when I saw a huge garage with its garage doors open and the lights on. Parked the bike and went in asking for shelter. Greg Sirois owns the shop, “The Sled Shed” and in it was his huge Mack truck that he had up on a lift doing maintenance. It was a pleasure to meet him and be the beneficiary of his generosity towards a homeless Harley rider J.
Finally the storm let up and the lightening passed so I got out on the road again….Holy Crap! What a challenge to see thru the wet windshield. I had to stretch up and look over it to barely see the road. With oncoming occasional cars the glare was too much and I had to ride with my focus on the edge of the road….so I knew where not to go….just steer to the left of the edge and to the right of the oncoming headlights….tooooo much fun! Needless to say, speed was at 20mph at that point. But when it was only me on the road I could do up to 35. Took me another 45 min to run that 22 miles.
Jean was holding my room for me at Martin’s Motel….she gave me the larger room at the small room price. Very nice of her and she owns a nice place of business…will stay there again for sure. This morning I did the work required of the SCMA to take photos of me and bike license plate at PO, get a gas receipt, and now to mail a letter to them with this stuff. Then back on the road…tis a clear day…it’s supposed to rain on my way to VT…..hope I continue to meet generous Mack truckers.
C ya mañanaGonzo
twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment